Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
E236: The Tylenol Murders
2.7k Plays4 months ago
In the fall of 1982, terror struck from the most unlikely of places, stemming from a product that so many used each day without a second thought-- Tylenol. But, when seven different individuals in Chicago passed away after ingesting the pain reliever, law enforcement soon realized that someone had mixed the medicine with cyanide. But who would do such a thing? And why?
If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Tylenol Murders
00:00:00
Speaker
In the fall of 1982, a wave of terror gripped the American public unlike anything ever seen before. A series of murders shattered the nation's trust in the safety of everyday products, transforming a simple headache remedy into a potential instrument of death. Something we trusted so blindly ended up killing seven individuals across Chicago. The lack of a clear motive, the random nature of the attacks, and the terrifying ease with which the tampering occurred sent shock waves through the country. Despite a nationwide investigation and decades of pursuit, the identity of the perpetrator behind those heinous acts remains a chilling mystery. In a case less than traditional for coffee and cases, we'll be exploring the timeline of the attacks, the victim stories, the investigations with its twists and turns, and the lasting impact this had on consumer safety and product packaging. This is the case of the Tylenol murders.
Meet the Hosts: Allison and Maggie
00:01:21
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron. We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement. So justice and closure can be brought to these families with each case. We encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, coffee and cases podcast, because as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee and listen to what's brewing this week.
Impact on Medicine Safety
00:01:58
Speaker
You know, I've never heard of this case, number one. Oh, well, welcome. Here we are. um Also, number two, sleuthounds. If you do not know the dedication, let this just serve as an example. Maggie is recording while on vacation at the beach with her family. Currently at the beach in this little bedroom recording. It's fun though. So ah again, this is the dedication. Yes, this should show you just how much.
00:02:41
Speaker
Well, I'm glad though that you have never heard of yeah this case because I feel like we have covered a variety of cases on the show. I mean, we've talked about paranormal, talked about serial killers, which I guess today's is kind of a serial killer though, a little bit different. I mean, multiple people died, but it's just different than anything we've talked about before. Right. I'm here for it. Let's go. And as you may have gathered from the introduction today, we're discussing seven different people, and I hope that my math is correct, but seven different people who took legal doses of Tylenol, but soon started feeling worse and then would die because they consumed cyanide. Oh oh my gosh, I cannot imagine.
00:03:32
Speaker
You, this is why yeah I don't take medicine. I don't know if our listeners know this, but I have to be, even before I take Tylenol, I, my headache has to be debilitating before I even put the Tylenol in my body.
Public Trust and Pharmaceutical Vulnerabilities
00:03:51
Speaker
I wasn't, after I got pregnant, I was like, I never took even, cause you can take, you know, they say you can take Tylenol. I never took anything. thing like that when I was pregnant. And so now even after that, I'm like, no, I'm going to wait. But there was like, you also don't know this listeners, but we were ahead for a couple of weeks. And then I got like a debilitating two or three day migraine that put us behind. So that's the reason but um I'm recording on vacation. and And now she will never take time at all again.
00:04:26
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Caring off that trend, let's talk about the Tylenol murders. So they eventually became known as the Tylenol murders and it did shatter any sense of security that people had in the safety of medicine or things that you would get from like the pharmacy and it kind of forced people to reevaluate what we would have can considered maybe fundamental or just everyday aspects of society. Because, you know, before this, we just had this unwavering trust and the safety of over counter medicines. So we would just buy it and assume it's safe. And, you know, Tylenol is everywhere. I think, I think of in my head, there could have been mistakes with a pharmacist because I think back to its a wonderful life.
00:05:17
Speaker
Yes, yeah. And he hits him in the ear. Yeah, but it's a very similar situation to what you're talking about here where he thinks he's prescribing a medicine, he's getting it ready and it's actually poison. But we do
Stories of the Victims
00:05:31
Speaker
honestly put complete trust into up for the counter that whomever has filled this bottle has filled it with that with what they've said is in it. And you know, it's weird because until I started researching this, I'm really weird about like,
00:05:48
Speaker
when I open milk, if that ring, you know, how like it like, it'll, it's connected. And then when you open it, if it doesn't do that in a certain way or my water or sour cream, when I open it, like once Anthony opened a thing of sour cream and didn't tell me and he was gone for like three days and I wouldn't eat it. Cause I didn't know that that. Someone has opened this before me. Yeah. But I've never thought about it with over the counter medicines and those are in basically almost every house, I would guess. Yeah.
00:06:19
Speaker
The case actually exposed critical vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical supply chain. And it became clear that the acts were going to talk about the person potentially tampered with the products. It's crazy. Like after they were on pharmacy shelves, which is weird. Oh, I was thinking in my head at the factory. So this is someone who went into stores. and hu oh That's what they think. They're not 100% sure, but that's what they think. oh So Johnson & Johnson, their response to the crisis we'll talk about later became this case study about when what is a company's ethical obligation to ensure product safety. i mean But also, Johnson & Johnson, you're in the heat a lot. You're currently being sued right now for talcum powder.
00:07:16
Speaker
Yeah. All those poor babies whose parents used baby powder. Yeah. wow My aunt passed away from ovarian cancer and hers was leaked to talcum powder from Johnson and Johnson baby powder. Wow. Cause she used it all like growing up even into her older age. Pretty standard to use on babies back in the day. We're also going to talk a little bit about the media role. There was a lot of media coverage, so that kind of made almost this fear culture because it fueled this public anxiety and fear. And so more questions were raised. So it's a lot in the span of just three days. So between September 29th and October 1st, 1982,
00:08:04
Speaker
normalcy as we knew it was shattered because these healthy individuals, seven of them, and and they ranged from a 12-year-old girl to a healthy 35-year-old fell victim to these illnesses and deaths. So they were all pretty young. Yeah. Yeah. And all healthy. And the only commonality they had was they had ingested Tylenol. wow Our first victim was an Arlington Heights resident, Mary Killery. So she's the 12-year-old. She was 12 at the time. She was born on March 9, 1970, and she was very inquisitive. And she was the light of her parents, Dennis and Gina's life. So she was, from my research, their only child. And she was showered with love. She was showered with encouragement, all the things that good mommies and daddies give their kids. Mary was the recipient of.
00:09:05
Speaker
She had a very youthful spirit. I read that she liked to create pottery with her mom. She was taking a Torah lesson. She was conquering gymnastics routines. I read that she liked to ride horses and she loved to battle her dad in a Torah game. Throwback right there. That's all right. She had a trio of loyal dogs and a goldfish that kind of were the center of her 12 year old universe. And as she entered her final year of elementary school, she had actually started embarking on babysitting adventures. Wow. yeah so she hasbilities Yeah, she's leaving a lasting impression on all the people that she meets and is just conquering the world at 12 years old. right
00:09:52
Speaker
Her friends would describe her as warm, and one of her friends said, quote, I was drawn to her because I think as a kid, we kind of have a radar for good people, end quote. That's the best quote I've ever heard. I know. That's so sweet. I have kind of seen this in action I feel like this week on vacation because you know when you're laying on the beach or you're at the pool and you see all these kids and they're playing together and they they don't know each other. No. Until they meet then and I've heard them say where are you from and one kid today was like I'm from Quebec and then they were talking about where that is and they're playing volleyball and I thought how sweet are kids where the world corrupts them.
00:10:33
Speaker
Why can we not all be like this? Why can't grownups be like that? Just loving and accepting. Yeah. And what's sweet, and I think you'll, this will pull out your heartstrings, yeah was Mary had even made her, one of her teachers in elementary school, a flower vase. And she kept that vase. And I think that's just a testament of the kindness that she embodied. um Little Mary. and Sadly though, Allison, that sweet little spirit that was full of kindness left Earth all too soon. In the pre-dawn hush of September 29th, 1982, a cold dread seeped into her household. 12-year-old Mary stirred a lake and she felt really sick. So she was actually too sick to go to school and in an attempt
00:11:29
Speaker
And I'm assuming that was the day before, but in an attempt to soothe her throat, she thought, okay, let's take this Tylenol. Cause I'm sure her mom had said, you know, if your throat starts feeling bad, you can take Tylenol at blah, blah, blah time. Cause she's 12 and I feel like right parents would be fine with that at 12. The dad later recalled that he heard her, if I'm recalling correctly, get up and the bathroom door shut. And then he heard a thud. And then just this sickening echo of silence. So Dennis says, code, I heard the door closed. Then I heard something drop. I opened the bathroom door and my little girl was on the floor unconscious. She was still in her pajamas. you Oh. Yeah, I can't imagine what is going through your mind, the emotions, the adrenaline that's going through your body.
00:12:27
Speaker
Yeah. And I mean, I know that that site had to be something that was forever seared into his memory. And so here, according to the Chicago Tribune is, and a lot of my information came from the Chicago Tribune because they have dedicated things to this particular incident. So we know at 4pm on the 28th, Mary's mom buys a 50 count bottle of extra strength Tylenol at a jewel store formerly located at the Southwest corner of Arlington Heights in Elk Grove Village at 6 15 a.m. So that morning.
Family Tragedies and Community Impact
00:13:11
Speaker
Mary takes the Tylenol at her family's house and then collapses. At 956, she's pronounced dead at their local medical center. And there's a picture of her. First of all, that is a swift turnaround. I mean, we're talking 18 hours later, something like that. And second of all, she just looks the picture of innocence. Yeah, I like her. I know this is so weird, but I look back at pictures of me at that age and I always notice my teeth. Cause you know, your big teeth are, you're like adult teeth are starting to come in and that's what I see for her. She's still on that nest of, she's got her baby teeth and some of her adult teeth and you know, they're just so cute. Yeah. In a span of less than 24 hours, her parents' lives changed forever. Oh my gosh.
00:14:08
Speaker
Born in Poland on March 7th, 1955, Adam Janusz. And I hope we're pronouncing that correct because one, I can't pronounce English names and two, this is a Polish name. So there we go.
00:14:22
Speaker
He spent his early years on a small southern farm at the age of eight. He immigrated to the United States with his family in Arlington Heights, so same area. Adam and his wife, Teresa, built a life together in their cozy house. They actually raised two children, Kathy and Thomas. He was Adam, a dedicated postal supervisor, and he found joy in fixing clocks during his free time. That seems very intricate. Yeah, and I know this is probably a little stereotypical, but seems very like European. I feel like that's a very European hobby to fix clocks. Described by his wife as always happy, Adam cherished his family and his work. And even after his passing, his wife remembered him as a loving father who played with his children and truly listened to them and took an interest in their activities. Good Papa. Yeah.
00:15:20
Speaker
And again, according to the Chicago Tribune, this is his timeline. So at about 11 AM on September 29th. Oh, so we're we're talking the same. Yeah. Yeah. Or same day. Right. Cause she took it in the early morning. So yeah, same day. He buys a 50-count bottle of extra strength Tylenol at the exact same place that Mary's parents had bought her Tylenol. Oh, hmm. By 2.33 on September 29th, he was transported to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. And by 3.15 on September 29th, he was pronounced dead.
00:16:04
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Now we're talking like less than four and a half hours. Yeah. And the same day, which is wow. Mary um She was called Lynn, according to all of my research, was born in 1955, and she was the joy of the Farron household in Villa Park, and she was one of eight kids. So she came from a very big family.
00:16:36
Speaker
huh Later in life, she married Edwin and she felt that she had really found her soulmate. So with Edwin by her side, they created a very loving home in Winfield where their family blossomed with four children, two sons and two daughters. I feel like that's such a little perfect family. It is. She was known to be a talented cook and a fiercely devoted mother, but she actually would tragically pass away shortly after welcoming their youngest into the world. Oh my gosh.
00:17:07
Speaker
at the very tender ages of nine, eight, 22 months and seven days old. These four and lost their mother. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Yeah. So she had a week old baby. Oh my goodness. At 3 p.m. she buys a 50 bottle of Tylenol at the Frank Spiner food in Winfield. and so this is what day this is so a different location but same day the 20 knots same day okay
00:17:48
Speaker
At 3.30, she takes at least one capsule of Tylenol at her Winfield home and becomes comatose. At five, she's at the hospital by this point, and then she is moved from life support at 9.05 and pronounced dead by 9.05 a.m. on September 30th. So likely it was life support that was keeping her alive. Oh, that kept her alive. Mm-hmm. And does she not look like the best mom? She does. She's a little bit like Velma. Yeah. Scooby-O-Kat with the glasses. In like the sweetest looking way. Mm-hmm. But yeah, again, swift decline. Mm-hmm. Wow.
00:18:36
Speaker
This I found very tragic with, not that they're not all, but with this next victim. So the next person we're talking about is Stanley Janus. Wait, is there any relation? Uh-huh. Yeah. In 1957 on April 6th, Stanley entered the world in Poland and he was the youngest of four children. His family immigrated to the United States settling in Chicago's northwest side. He embraced his new Midwestern life. He quickly mastered English because he came here not knowing how to speak English and he was really good at making friends. Impressive. Yeah, I always think bilingual people are so impressive and I really wish I was one but
00:19:23
Speaker
who has, who, I don't have the patience, but he continued to embrace his Polish heritage while he was here, and he would always make these connections to his Polish heritage in his new home. Because he was working on settling in, he agreed to go on a blind date with a lady named Teresa, who was a beautiful blonde, and her family had also immigrated to the United States, so that they had that in common. They wed on June 19th, 1982, and they actually went to Hawaii for their honeymoon, a little jealous.
00:20:02
Speaker
But sadly, Stanley's life would end tragically at again, the hands of Tylenol. So his timeline is as such, at 5.40 on September 29th, so the same day, Stanley takes at least one capsule. They weren't sure if he took two of the extra strength Tylenol that was at his brother Adam's home in Ireland. Oh
00:20:30
Speaker
Yep. And then it's reported he clutched his chest and collapsed. He's at the hospital by six 30 and pronounced dead by eight 15 PM on the 29th of September. Wow. Less than three hours. In my mind, I know that all of these are ah extremely quick from the time that they take the Tylenol to the time that it takes their life. I feel like of the cases that you've described so far, the two quickest came from this same bottle. Yeah. Yeah. I was curious to know if, I don't know if I has studied the
00:21:17
Speaker
Tylenol bottles, but I would be curious to know if the amount was similar. Yes. Yeah. Next, we're going to talk about Teresa or Terry, as she was known to loved ones who entered the world on June 23rd, 1962. She was balancing studies as a business major at Illinois Benedict College. And then she was also married to Stanley
Theories and Public Panic
00:21:50
Speaker
on in June 19th, 1982. This poor family. I know, I know. Their new life began on the same street as her parents where they just embarked on an ambitious home renovation project before both of their tragic passing. Stanley's nieces and nephews were particularly fond of Terry's youthful spirit
00:22:14
Speaker
And they were always competing for her attention. One of his nieces actually remembers quote, she had a way of making us all feel special. Everyone wanted to be her favorite. oh no And she was only 20. So these are young people. Well, again, and even if, and it makes sense to me as tragic as this is, because there's no way you would think Oh, you know, my husband took Tylenol. That must be why something you don't think that you think, oh, this was some freak accident with a medical emergency. You're not going to think that it tylenol and it's And what's crazy is they actually take the Tylenol at the same time. So her timeline says she took it out. i'm forty And then she too complains of her chest hurting.
00:23:07
Speaker
She and Stanley arrive at the hospital at the same time at 6.30. But she's not pronounced dead until October 1st at 1.15. So I don't know if she was also on life support and that's why it kind of kept her going for a while. But can you imagine that? Your aunt and your uncle go to the hospital on the same day after potentially your daddy dies. Oh my goodness.
00:23:38
Speaker
I mean, traumatic. Yes, definitely. Next we are going to talk about Mary McFarlane and according to the Chicago Tribune, she was born on December 7th, 1950 in Chicago. Her parents' names were John and Jane. I love that. John and Jane. And they he raised Mary and her four siblings in Elmhurst. She was a sales representative at the Illinois Bell Telephone Store in the Yorktown Shopping Center. And she was a loving mother to her two sons and their names were Ryan and Brad. And they were four and two from what I read. This is killing me. Just stop telling me the ages of the children. I know. and That's what I can't handle.
00:24:24
Speaker
She was a divorced mom and she would often share stories about her boys and their afternoons at the zoo or the park or she would take them swimming. So she was very active in her kids' lives. And she was remembered as Mary Sue. Some people called her Mary Mac. Other people called her and she had strawberry blonde hair and freckles. She was bubbly, outgoing, and she had a really funny sense of humor. So all the good things.
00:24:52
Speaker
And this is her timeline. At 635 PM on the 29th, Mary tells Illinois Bell Telephone colleagues that she feels dizzy after taking Tylenol at her workplace and then she collapses. They immediately call 911 and paramedics arrive at her workplace only two minutes after they call. So very quickly. She is taken to the hospital at 722 at Good Samaritan Hospital by 3.18 a.m. on the 30th. She's dead. Oh my goodness. All of these are happening the same day. Yeah, within hours of each other.
00:25:37
Speaker
So it would have been impossible. It's not as though when some of the connected cases that we theorize or we talk about where we say, oh, police had plenty of time to try to figure out a con they didn't hear. No. And I'll talk about how they finally connected the dots here and just a little bit because we're on our last victim whose name was Paula Prince age 35. Hailing from Nebraska, Paula entered the world on November 21st, 1946. She was the youngest of four children, born to Lloyd and Margaret. She was a stunning blonde. And she actually got to soar through the skies as her job because she was a flight attendant. Aw. I know. I don't mind the flight attendant TikTok. They pop up on my TikTok all the time about
00:26:31
Speaker
I hope I get Chicago. I don't really know what all that means, but I'm really invested in what they get. yeah
00:26:39
Speaker
She was from Chicago and she lived
Investigation and Public Response
00:26:41
Speaker
in a high rise condo in the Old Town neighborhood. And she had recently joined forces with friends to launch a party planning business. Those who knew Paula best would always remember her zest for travel and her adventurous spirit, which I feel like you have to be adventurous and have a love to travel to be a flight attendant. Oh yeah. She was living the single life to the fullest, but she did have dreams of one day finding love and building a family somewhere. And one of her friends said, quote, she was a real beauty and always had a laugh on her lips. Aw. I hope when I die, people say nice things about me. I'm sure they will, Maggie. People say things nice things about you now.
00:27:26
Speaker
They'd probably be like, she had a constant RBF. And her really- No, they would not. No, they would not. One of my coworkers at my last school said, cause we were working on like the closing day and she was like, you know, I've never really talked to you a lot. And she said, I thought you were really shy. And I was like, me? That's the first time everyone's ever said that. Okay. I know. I used to have people who said, Something, now I'm pretty quiet until I get to know somebody and then I don't shut up. But I've had so many people in my life tell me that they initially didn't talk to me because I was intimidating. And I was thinking, me? And me? No. Have you seen that Facebook thing? And it's like,
00:28:21
Speaker
ah rate yourself on one to ten scale, how intimidating you think you are, then let other people do it. Oh, no. I mean, I feel like you give yourself a zero or one, but a lot of people would rank you higher than that because you just carry yourself really well. I think that's why you have a good lot of confidence and you wear the heels, you know, that I do wear heels. I do that. Maybe it's the heels. Maybe that's what it is. And you're sharp dressed. I think you just carry yourself well. Here is Paula's timeline. So at 9 16 p.m. on the 29th she buys a 24-count bottle of extra strength Tylenol from a Walgreens on Well Street in Chicago. At 9 30 p.m. she takes the Tylenol at her Chicago apartment at 5 40 p.m.
00:29:10
Speaker
on October the 1st, her lifeless body was discovered and she was pronounced dead about an hour later at 6 45. So she was probably dead for at least a day before someone found her. Right, right. Wow. So, so just to kind of recap,
00:29:33
Speaker
I feel like tragedy struck Chicago on the 29th, because we have Mary to alleviate the headache slash sore throat. Within a minute, she collapses and dies. um a eventual Her death was initially ruled as she died from natural causes. But then within the next 24 hours, we have six more individuals across Chicago that perished under very similar circumstances. Because, you know, we have that one family that three people were wiped out from the trial. I feel like this would be even harder because if you're not all going to the same hospital, then how do you even compare? But I know you'll get to that. so
00:30:21
Speaker
And I don't think at first, I mean, I might be wrong, because I didn't think to look that up until I'm just now talking about it. But I wouldn't think at first until there was a connection made, potentially the family were three died. But the rest, I don't think their desk would would have really been mentioned in any type of significant news, maybe in the local newspaper or something. Not in the way that the cases we normally cover might be. what Yeah. I do know the first person to make a connection between the deaths and their link to a Tylenol was a nurse named Helenson. She told officials
00:31:00
Speaker
but with the medical examiner's office ah about her theory. She believed that these deaths were connected to Tylenol, but they initially didn't believe her. They were like, this, that's stupid. But as an investigation deepened, then authorities are like, Oh yeah, this probably has some credibility. We need to look into this theory. Yeah. According to all things interesting quote on the morning of September 30th, they began deriving through the streets of Chicago with bull horns ordering people to throw away any Tylenol in their medicine. Public health workers went door to door with flyers and stores began pulling Tylenol from their shelves. Officials had realized that something was wrong with the Tylenol but they didn't know what yet. The bottle that Mary
00:31:45
Speaker
and the Yaunas family had taken their pills from, had been sent off for testing. But even before the results came back, Dr. Thomas Kim surmised that the Tylenol capsules had to have been tainted with cyanide. Nothing else would have killed the victim so quickly. Meanwhile, Tylenol manufacturer Johnson & Johnson issued a nationwide recall of 31 million bottles of pills. It was the first mass recall in US history." But can you imagine how scary you' the police are driving through your streets telling you to throw away all your Tylenol? Oh, you best believe in me in the trash. Even now, every time I take Tylenol, which is rare, but when I do, I'm now going to think about this. Yeah.
00:32:30
Speaker
I mean, like, who may have put my Tylenol in this bottle? Yeah. And while I was writing this was when I got those headaches and I was like, oh oh no, I can't think of Tylenol.
00:32:45
Speaker
yeah Autopsies would reveal the presence of cyanide in all their bodies and they all trace back to those Tylenol capsules. Obviously panic erupts because the noodles are starting to spread. And people actually started to kind of hoard the medicines that they had before all of this happened because the shelves were empty to Tylenol products. Yeah, because if you need that now, good luck. It's like when everybody hoarded toilet paper during COVID.
00:33:17
Speaker
The fear transcended Chicago, casting a shadow of uncertainty across the nation. So not only are people panicking in Chicago, they're panicking across America. the News spread quickly. okay The investigation spearheaded by a multi-agency task force scrambled to identify the source of the contamination and apprehend the perpetrator.
Suspects and Unsolved Mysteries
00:33:38
Speaker
So authorities did determine that the Tylenol bottles had been tampered with after leaving the manufacturer. So somebody took these bottles, put cyanide capsules amongst the legitimate ones. So it's like Russian roulette. Are you going to get one with cyanide or not? Yeah. Yeah. So investigators theorized that the bottles were purchased, tampered with and brought back to the store and placed on the shelf. Now in my mind, and then purchased obviously, but in my mind,
00:34:15
Speaker
I would think someone would sneak and do that, right? Like, can you take back medicine after it's purchased? Well, I wouldn't, I just, I was just thinking that. Cause I thought, I hate taking things back anyway. Something could be broken and half the time I'm like, I'll just buy a new one. And I'm like, if it doesn't fit, I'm like, nope, not taking that back. Yeah. But I would never even try to take back medicine. I'm doubting that you can now, but it could be because of this case. And I feel like it would be more likely you could do it now because we have those, you know, the things you got to pull off or whatever. Yeah. So in my, in my mind's eye, I'm thinking they took it, tampered with it and then snuck it back on the shelf. That's what I think. and sir But it made it kind of hard.
00:35:04
Speaker
to track this person because we know they're in Chicago, but the victims bought Tylenol at varying stores. right So that kind of put a little bit of a hamper in the investigation. And all of this tampering had to have happened quickly if they're buying it at different stores and it's all happening on the same day. So this person was very busy traveling around the city. yeah Let's talk about, we do have some possible suspects, Alison. So let's talk about those now. In the wake of the Tylenol murders that terrorized the nation, this man named James Lewis emerged as a central suspect. There was a letter that was sent to Johnson & Johnson demanding money to stop the cyanide killings that bore his fingerprints.
00:35:48
Speaker
okay And Lewis even described a possible method of the poisonings during questioning. He is brought in and talked to. This shilling detail was further compounded by the discovery of a book on poisons in his possession with fingerprints on pages related to cyanide. Okay, now I will say, That looks a little damning, but yeah we also Google serial killers. this is true So let it just be that he is curious about, he sees the news and he's curious about cyanide, so he but checks out a book in the library. And he thinks, aha, this is my chance to have some notoriety and say that I did it.
00:36:31
Speaker
Right. Could that have happened? Maybe. Is he still a psycho if that happened? Yes. Yes. But despite these incriminating elements, Lewis steadfastly maintained that he was innocent. He did admit to writing the letter, but did not involve men in the murder. So just kind of what you said. He wanted his, I guess, moment of fame. Right. However, his timeline for writing the letter conflicted with the timelines of the poisoning, so that raises some questions. yeah Ultimately, though, Lewis was only convicted of the extortion for the letter, not the murders themselves. okay
00:37:11
Speaker
and eventually when they do DNA testing on the Tylenol bottles, the DNA testing did not match his genetic profile. I'm glad you said that because I had already forgotten that they had collected the Tylenol bottles. So that makes me happy that they have them and can do said testing. Then the investigation also looked into a man named Roger Arnold. He was a dock worker who claimed to have cyanide in his position. Do you buy cyanide like on the black market of the internet? Where does one purchase at?
00:37:47
Speaker
I do not know. I'm not going to Google it though. Didn't it used to be rat poison? Wasn't that cyanide? Weren't they the same thing? Probably. That seems... I don't know why that is lurking somewhere in my brain. The deep crevices of your brain. It could be true. Witnesses did report erratic behavior from Arnold along with disturbing conversations about killing people with a white powder. yeah Adding to suspicion, Arnold had connections to some of the victims, further implicating him with investigators. Yeah, but then he still wouldn't know that they would go and buy
00:38:31
Speaker
Tylenol. Yeah. it And I'm going to pick this particular bottle from the shelf instead of this bottle from the shelf. Unless they're thinking he planted the Tylenol bottles in their bathrooms or whatever, but I think that's a little, that's pushing it to me. I think so too. Just like with Lewis, DNA testing of the Tylenol bottles failed to match Roger Arnold's DNA.
Legacy on Consumer Safety Laws
00:38:56
Speaker
Tragically, his story took a separate turn when he was shot and killed. so
00:39:02
Speaker
So he died in 2008 taking any potential connection to the Tylenol murders with him to the grave. So we will never know if it was him. Despite these leads and extensive investigations, the Tylenol murders remain an unsolved case to this day. oh So those are our two main suspects and really the only ones that were of significance that I've read. So the lack of conclusive DNA evidence has left the case hanging with James Lewis as the prime suspect but he was never charged with murder and then the other potential suspect now being dead. I and I don't know if I really think there's any solid evidence with either one. No I mean all we have maybe they could do like familial DNA if we have something off the Tylenol bottles but I just don't see them doing that. Right. Honestly which is sad we just don't have the funds to do that. Yeah.
00:40:03
Speaker
The cost of the Tylenol murders was profound. So we have those seven victims from 12 to 35 that all came from diverse backgrounds. We have the one family who was almost annihilated after you know taking the Tylenol. We have the flight attendant. We have all of these people who passed away is just from something we take without without even thinking about it. Each victim represented a shattered life and a family left grappling with unimaginable grief. And the investigation led by the Chicago Police Department faced immense pressure because you have the pressure from the families, which I think they're going to have in any case. right But because this was so crazy, you also have
00:40:52
Speaker
this public fear demanding action that is also now putting pressure on you. You don't have a suspect. Again, the people want answers. So I feel like the investigators did have a lot to answer to. I'm honestly, I don't know, shocked. And I know this happened in the 80s, but that from my oldest memories, I don't remember there being fear of Tylenol anymore. And I feel like that would take a lot to rebuild trust. Like, okay, you can trust what we're putting out again and trust that no one else is going to tamper with it. I will talk a little bit about
00:41:45
Speaker
um Johnson and Johnson here in a second and their response because I think that's what helped fill the trust back with him. Okay. So, you know, as the investigation progressed, we start trying to figure out potential motives. So we have theories that ranged from revenge against Johnson and Johnson to, as you mentioned, someone that's just seeking notoriety, but no definitive motive ever emerged because we can't create a clear profile for this perpetrator. Right. we
00:42:16
Speaker
don't really know or have anything to go off of. yeah we know The case also yeah ah case also exposed vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical industry with their packaging practices. So prior to the Tylenol murders, that tamper evidence packaging wasn't commonplace. So it didn't have to be on there. But the tragedy of the Tylenol murders prompted a rapid shift with manufacturers to implement those tamper-proof seals and blister packs to ensure the safety of medications. This case really was a pivotal moment for consumer safety because it led to stricter oversight and more robust packaging standards.
00:42:56
Speaker
The shelves were, though, as I mentioned, immediately emptied of Tylenol capsules, and the product's return came with significant changes. So solid peels were much harder to tamper with, and they were reintroduced alongside those capsules. And more importantly, a new tamper-proof package was now standard. The changes weren't limited to packaging though, tampering itself became a federal crime thanks to what was called the Tylenol Bill that was passed by Congress in 83.
00:43:28
Speaker
so He talked about how did we get trust back in right Johnson and Johnson. So despite the initial panic that led to everybody pulling all the Tylenol from shelves and from their houses, Johnson and Johnson's response was widely praised. as a model for a crisis management response. So they swiftly implemented changes. They were completely rebranded Tylenol and this resulted in a remarkable comeback. So just two months after these horrifying deaths, Johnson and Johnson stock surpassed pre-crisis levels. Two months?
00:44:16
Speaker
yeah wow so i guess people just took how diligent they were and how swift they acted as confirmation that the company can now be trusted and i'm sure the rebrand helped and so their stocks soared well and i guess with the knowledge that the tampering didn't happen at the manufacturing level anyway that it happened at the on the shelves, basically. So now we're saying, and now we're going to make sure that nobody else can do that again. And I guess introducing the pill rather than, you know, something that you can break open and the medicine is inside, right? I which i remember, too I remember the pills that you could break apart.
00:45:08
Speaker
I had a friend in college that couldn't swallow medicine, and so she would her some medicine she took would break apart, and like these little tiny balls would come out, and she would have to mix it with ice cream to take it. You know, I was the same. I can take a pill now, but I couldn't before, and that's why I remember the pills that could come apart, and my mom would put it on a spoonful of jelly. And I would swallow it and it would go straight down. And my dad didn't know. And so my mom had said, if Allison needs to take this, just break it apart and put it on jelly. He made a sandwich with it. Do you know how disgusting those are? Did you bite into them? It's so gross. And you're so sweet, you ate it. Oh, I did.
00:45:54
Speaker
Well, just listen, i'll never just I'll never take a pill again after hearing this case, so we're fine anyway.
00:46:04
Speaker
Despite the extensive investigation and public outcry, the Tylenol murders remain unsolved. The perpetrator's identity and motive continue to elude authorities casting a long shadow over the victims' families and the city of Chicago. The case serves as a reminder of the vulnerability of air consumer products and the devastating consequences of random acts of violence. It's a chilling story that continues to resonate with true crime enthusiasts and serves as a cautionary tale for law enforcement in the pharmaceutical industry. The Tylenol murders not only changed the way we view medications, but also forced us to confront the potential of evil lurking within seemingly ordinary products.
Engaging the Audience
00:46:41
Speaker
While the question of who may never be definitively answered, the Tylenol murders remain a chilling testament to the enduring impact of unsolved crimes and the fragility of life. Again, please like and join our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast to continue the conversation and see images related to this episode. As always, follow us on Twitter, at casescoffee, on Instagram, at coffee cases podcast, or you can always email us suggestions to coffeeandcasespodcastatgmail.com. Please tell your friends about our podcast so more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to rate our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon.
00:47:21
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.