Chicago Tylenol murders

The Chicago Tylenol murders were a series of poisoning deaths resulting from drug tampering in the Chicago metropolitan area in 1982. The victims had all taken Tylenol-branded acetaminophen capsules that had been laced with potassium cyanide.^[1] Seven people were killed in the original poisonings, with several more killed in subsequent copycat crimes.

On September 28, 1982, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman was hospitalized after having a capsule of Extra-Strength Tylenol; she died the next day.^[2][3] On September 29, six other people took the contaminated Tylenol, including Adam Janus (27), Stanley Janus (25), and Theresa Janus (19), who each took Tylenol from a single bottle.^[4] All six—the Januses, Mary McFarland (31), Paula Prince (35), and Mary Reiner (27)—would die from having the pills.^[2][5][6]

A multi-agency investigation found the tampered pills to have been sold or on the shelves at many stores in the Chicago area.^[7] One bottle had been bought by Linda Morgan, wife of Judge Lewis V. Morgan, but she did not take the pills because it had a weird smell.^[8][9]

During the murders, Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of Tylenol, became warning the public, hospitals and distributors and stopped Tylenol production and advertising. A nationwide recall of Tylenol products was issued on October 5, 1982; an estimated 31 million bottles were in circulation, with a retail value of over US$100 million.^[10] The company also advertised in the national media for individuals not to take any of its products that had acetaminophen after it was determined that only these capsules had been poisoned. Johnson & Johnson also offered to exchange all Tylenol capsules already purchased by the public for solid tablets.^[11]

Customs at airports outside the U.S. asked visitors if they brought Tylenol medicine with them.^[12]

These incidents led to pharmaceutical, food, and consumer product companies to create a tamper-resistant packaging, such as induction seals for their bottled products and improved quality control methods.^[13] In 1983, the U.S. Congress passed what was called “the Tylenol bill,” making it a federal crime to tamper with consumer products.^[14][13] The actions of Johnson & Johnson to reduce deaths and warn the public of poisoning risks have been widely praised as an exemplary public relations response to such a crisis.^[15]

No suspect was ever charged or convicted of the poisonings.

During the first investigations, a man named James William Lewis was accused of sending a letter to Johnson & Johnson asking for $1 million to stop the cyanide murders. Upon his arrest, Lewis told authorities how the person behind the attacks may have carried out the killings—by buying Tylenol, adding cyanide to the bottles, and returning them to the store shelves.^[16] Lewis was also found to have owned a poisoning book. Lewis said he was not responsible for the killings.^[17] Lewis was convicted of extortion and sentenced to 10 years in prison.^[18][19][20]

On May 19, 2011, the FBI requested DNA samples from "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski in connection to the Tylenol murders. Kaczynski denied having ever possessed potassium cyanide.^[21] The first four Unabomber crimes happened in Chicago and its suburbs from 1978 to 1980, and Kaczynski's parents had a suburban Chicago home in Lombard, Illinois, in 1982, where he stayed occasionally.^[22]