See where the eight tainted Tylenol bottles were purchased or discovered. "While this tragic incident remains unsolved, this event resulted in important industry improvements to patient safety measures including the creation of tamper-resistant packaging.". Ford and Gildea arrived at the campus with hopes of a break in the case, only to find out the so-called professor was a high school boy pretending to work at UIC so he could pick up college girls. The Tylenol murders: How we reported this story. As a state crime, murder fell under the purview of local law enforcement. The 18-page investigative summary also provides key evidence, including the names of the three main suspects, during the first seven months of the case. Many people who handled potential evidence in 1982 didnt wear gloves because it wasnt protocol at the time. The Tylenol Murders Pt. Its a one-way street for information back and forth. The FBIs involvement puzzled some because, as far as anyone knew, the federal agency didnt have jurisdiction in the case. 40 years later, Kasia Janus is sharing. She also told CNN she had invited many people to a memorial service and celebration of life luncheon honoring her father in hopes that shed learn things she never got the chance to because of the murder. The task force investigating the Tylenol killings doubted that James Lewis would be reckless enough to stay in Manhattan after mailing an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million . Christy Gutowski focuses her work on stories about criminal justice, public corruption and issues that impact the everyday man. He regaled reporters with all kinds of stories during that final interview, but none seemed to amuse him more than the unhappy Hormel ham man. Was Charles Dickens the first celebrity medical spokesman? Whats going on? Extra-Strength Tylenol bottles, for example, came in a paper box with an unglued lid. In one instance, someone reported that a chemistry professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago had been bragging about access to labs with cyanide. Who would be next? John Fellmann, whose last name was misspelled on his ID from 1980, was a young Arlington Heights police detective when he was assigned to the Tylenol murders. However, investigators believe circumstantial evidence is enough to make this a "chargeable" case, but that decision would have to come from prosecutors, according to documents reviewed by the Chicago Tribune. Photo by Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images. What was my dads favorite color? Siekmann, who had been working since 8 a.m., believed some capsules were tainted from the first time he laid eyes on them. Former DuPage County Coroner Pete Siekmann, who in 1982 was a deputy coroner, handled the Tylenol bottles from Mary "Lynn" Reiner and Mary McFarland. Here, he offers a Spanish-language flyer to Luisa Acevada. In the years that followed, Fellmann would rise through the ranks of the Arlington Heights Police Department and eventually become police chief of far north suburban Island Lake. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). His wife whom he had just married fell limp in the living room a short while after that. But for something like this, for looking at a pill, it never would even cross our mind., Former DuPage County Coroner Pete Siekmann, who in 1982 was a deputy coroner, handled the Tylenol bottles from Mary "Lynn" Reiner and Mary McFarland. These other men were all worried about his chances. You know, boost exposure and stuff like that.. We still receive tips that are being evaluated and investigated. While acetaminophen the active ingredient in the top-selling pain reliever was a fine white powder, these were filled with a grainy, translucent substance. The substance was grainier than the untainted Tylenol on the left. From the start, Detectives Ford and Gildea didnt understand the purpose of driving out to Des Plaines each day in rush hour traffic when they had a murder to solve back in the city. Mary was dead by 7 a.m. What are the Tylenol murders? Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles as panic spread nationwide following the deaths. The Chicago Tylenol Murders: With Laurence Fishburne. His brother and sister-in-law, Stanley, 25, and Theresa, 19, of Lisle, Illinois, rushed to his home to console their loved ones. Members of the Illinois State Police join, as well. Former Chicago police Detective Jimmy Gildea, shown at his Chicago home in July, investigated the death of Tylenol victim Paula Prince. The Tylenol murders launched a massive criminal investigation. Whoa, whoa, he recalled. Police Officer Michael Miljan leaves an Arlington Heights pharmacy after making sure bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were being removed from shelves. Others found Fahner the obvious choice. I do think it created a lot of problems because youre always thinking theres somebody doing something behind your back.. Arlington Heights police Chief Rodney Kath, second from left, works with other members of the Tylenol task force in an old state police bunker in Des Plaines. The operation was primarily staffed by female agents who answered phone calls and assessed information while their male counterparts worked in the field. FBI agent Shari Kouba, one of the few women on the task force, ran the tips desk. Tylenols parent company, Johnson & Johnson, also saw its stock price drop after the news about the tainted capsules broke. Forty years after the infamous Tylenol murders killed her father and two other close relatives, a Wisconsin woman refuses to take the popular pain pills. Stores were pulling the product off shelves. A photograph of a television screen shows the specific lot number for a batch of Extra-Strength Tylenol that was the first to be recalled. The man hurriedly told the Hormel operator that he had to go and he would call her back later. Here, you go, Pete, the police chief said, passing the bottle to him without the type of evidence bag that would now be standard in any investigation. Other copy-cat poisonings, involving Tylenol and other over-the-counter medications, cropped up again in the 1980s and early 1990s but these events were never as dramatic or as deadly as the 1982 Chicago-area deaths. A decadeslong investigation has centered around Massachusetts man James Lewis, 76, who was 36 at the time of the murders. Arlington Heights police Chief Rodney Kath, second from left, works with other members of the Tylenol task force at its Des Plaines headquarters in 1982. September 22, 2022. What happens in most cases, and certainly what happened here beyond any question, was a 100% selfless, unified devotion to a very important mission.. He believed Thompson was behind the move, though Fahner denied it. Arlington Heights police Chief Rodney Kath, second from left, works with other members of the Tylenol task force at its Des Plaines headquarters in 1982. Seven people died in 1982 after taking painkillers from bottle someone - police do not know who - had slipped cyanide pills into Ramon Antonio Vargas Sun 2 Oct 2022 02.00 EDT Forty years after the. I said, Excuse me. With fears mounting, Johnson & Johnson recalled all over-the-counter Tylenol capsule products on Oct. 5, nearly a week after Mary Kellermans death. Each person underwent a rigorous background check. Given the totality of the circumstances, some thought it unusual for the Illinois attorney general to lead the investigation. Authorities wont discuss the potential theories or suspects they have amid an investigation that they insist remains open and unforgotten. Three months earlier, 10 Chicago officers from the citys West Side were convicted of taking bribes to protect heroin rings. The substance was grainier than the untainted Tylenol on the left. So, the theory was the tampering took place at the store, said FBI agent Lane. Retired FBI agent Roy Lane Jr., shown in August, is the only member of law enforcement who has been part of the Tylenol investigation in its entirety. Even after he retired from the FBI in 1996, he didnt let it go. Halfway through the speeches, an aide tapped him on the shoulder and told him he needed to take an important call. Stacy St. Clair joined the Chicago Tribune in 2007. Stanley Janus soon collapsed on his late brothers kitchen floor. She has received numerous national honors for her work. Now she's sharing her story for the first. Seven people between the ages of 12 and 35 years old died in 1982 after ingesting extra-strength Tylenol capsules that were found to have been laced with cyanide, a deadly chemical. That box had been turned in, along with an unused bottle, a couple weeks after the murders by the wife of a DuPage County judge. And when the sitting attorney general was indicted on tax fraud charges, Thompson appointed Fahner to fill the post. Fahner thought state officials needed to be even more aggressive, despite the consequences for the investigation. Most came from a banking service that snapped a photograph of anyone writing a check. Fahner left the dinner immediately and made calls throughout the drive home, taking advantage of his position as a statewide official with access to a car phone, then a relatively rare piece of technology. The 50-count bottle, which the woman told police she purchased at Franks Finer Foods in Wheaton, contained seven capsules filled with potassium cyanide, records show. The panic stemming from the Tylenol murders resulted in a permanent change in the packaging of medicine. And, in the decades since, scientific advances have allowed investigators to detect DNA profiles on at least three of the tainted bottles and the capsules inside. Prince was officially declared dead by the Medical Examiner's office at 6:45 p.m. Investigators discovered a bottle of Extra-Strength Tylenol in her bathroom with one capsule missing and a. Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. Investigators took pictures of people who attended the victims funerals to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. Wherever they stand, everyone wishes they had achieved a different result. Indeed, the Johnson & Johnson recall became a classic case study in business schools across the nation. Kasia said she long blamed herself for her fathers death, even though she was just in preschool when it happened. Here's what to know about the history of the case and the latest developments. The Tylenol task force may be no exception, he said, but the tensions didnt affect the overall effort. DNA evidence wasnt part of police work at the time, but it would become a factor in the case a quarter-century later. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune). They looked at accused shoplifters, including a man charged with attempting to steal 28 Tylenol bottles from a Wheaton pharmacy in August. The investigation would fork, taking the FBI and Chicago police down vastly different paths. And you know, some agents are better than other agents and can really do a good job. Records show law enforcement has spent the past several years dealing almost entirely with forensic evidence. Authorities believed they offered clues about who could and who could not have poisoned the capsules. Dr. Howard Markel McNeil Consumer Products, a subsidiary of the health care giant, Johnson & Johnson, manufactured Tylenol. (Don Casper / Chicago Tribune), Obviously, Johnson & Johnson didnt put cyanide in their own product. Helena Tarasewicz, mother of Tylenol victim Theresa "Terri" Janus, weeps over the casket containing her daughter's body during graveside services at Maryhill Cemetery in Niles in 1982. I dont think that bore fruit at all.. He bought a rancid ham at Jewel and when he opened it, it was spoiled. Two main suspects in this unsolved case are James Lewis and Roger Arnold, who had both been linked to this occurrence in some way. But no one has ever been arrested in connection with the spate of poisonings that shattered the families of Janus and the others. Siekmann drove to a state laboratory in the city with the bottle on the seat next to him. Within a week, her death would panic the entire nation. And only months later, it changed the way we purchase and consume over-the-counter medications. Roger Arnold worked at a jewel warehouse with the father of one of the victims named Mary Reiner. So he thought hed maybe get a lifetime supply of ham. The Illinois State Police told NBC News the investigation remains ongoing. I dont want to get off here, he quietly said. We had gloves in our car and basically used them on decomposed bodies. It all goes to them, and you get nothing in return., Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek talks about the Tylenol investigation on Oct. 7, 1982, about a week after the seven deaths. The tainted bottle from the Schaumburg pharmacy contained three partial prints on the capsules, but (they) were not suitable for comparison, the memo states. The Tylenol murders have never been solved, though at one point, the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, was a suspect. The Tylenol case, however, would loom largest over his professional life. You werent there. Tribune reporter Stacy St. Clair told NBC News correspondent Kathy Park on TODAY Friday that a number of law enforcement sources close to the investigation have told her that Lewis is the only person currently described as a target of the investigation. I have no idea who gave that one, but it was perfect.. (Charles Knoblock / AP). The gelatin-based capsules were especially popular because they were slick and easy to swallow. But something more sinister was afoot when Kasias paternal uncle Stanley Janus and his wife, Theresa Tarasewicz Janus, each took pills from the same Tylenol bottle that Adam had bought in an attempt to fight headaches. If you are curious, come to a small house on a quiet, winding street in Elk Grove Village. A lot of people who didnt like me or didnt like Thompson or my association were taking shots, Fahner said. (Chicago Tribune), If you are the Tylenol killer, though, you may be harboring just the vaguest curiosity about the people on the other end of your plan: The people who were unfortunate enough to purchase the bottle you had touched, Greene wrote. The White House, however, had ordered the FBI to find a way into the case amid growing public panic. Fahners critics accused him of milking the Tylenol tragedy for his own benefit, and his opponents camp worried that he knew who the killer was and would make an arrest right before the November election. Authorities already considered the womens deaths to be cyanide related by the time they contacted Fahner during his campaign event. (Chicago Tribune), Look, like any other series of government bureaucracies, theres always tension between agencies, he said. The FBI and Chicago police performed separate, but largely parallel, investigations until Oct. 6. The Tylenol Murders" and asked him if he has any theories on who the Tylenol Killer might be. (James Mayo / Chicago Tribune). They knew the locations. And it took over my life.. Fahner, as head of the task force, quickly became the public face of the investigation. (Ovie Carter / Chicago Tribune). The task force knew the mechanism behind the murders, Fellmann said. One man, James Lewis, claiming to be the Tylenol killer wrote a ransom letter to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million in exchange for stopping the poisonings. (Charles Osgood / Chicago Tribune). Michael Petros, DrPH Wednesday, September 29, 1982 at 6:30am CDT, the nightmare that was to be known as the "Tylenol Murders" began 1. But the police chief of the Chicago suburb where Adam Janus lived, Joe Murphy, told CNN he hopes forensic technology used to analyze DNA could eventually produce the break they need to conclusively identify whoever was responsible for the Tylenol killings. He told her no, then carried the memory of the Kellermans anguish with him for the rest of his time on the task force. And he grabs the pills, picks them up in his hand, dumps a whole bunch of them in his hand and starts sniffing, Ford recalled. There was little evidence to go on, no inkling of a motive and five people dead. Unfortunately, each victim swallowed a Tylenol capsule laced with A lethal dose of cyanide. It marked the first mass recall in U.S. history, involving more than 31 million bottles. Some of those interviews may have gone to an agent who didnt do a good job., Shari Kouba, shown in July at an FBI office in Mount Prospect where she used to work, ran a tips desk as part of the Tylenol task force. The red cap was easily flipped open, with nothing but a little piece of cotton left to cover the capsules. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics When the family returned home, both Adam's brother Stanley and Stanely's wife Theresa took a Tylenol, resulting in both of their deaths. Retired FBI agent Roy Lane Jr., shown in August, is the only member of law enforcement who has been part of the Tylenol investigation in its entirety. he answered. And they would remain apart for the next four decades. Johnson & Johnson initially recalled only those products with the same batch number as the Janus and Kellerman bottles. A new book by a former Johnson & Johnson employee suggests the Tylenol poisonings, which killed seven people in the Chicago area in 1982, took place in the company's production or distribution. And they talked to veterinarians about any unusual animal poisonings, thinking the murderer may have tested the chemical on pets first. And 35 years later, this murder mystery is still . And so the Department of Justice just looked up a law and by a little bit of a hook and a crook said the FBI has jurisdiction because of an FDA law (about) truth in labeling.. Within 48 hours of the murders, the task force used this information to conclude publicly that the pills could not have been poisoned during production. Extra-Strength Tylenol, shown in a Tribune studio photograph, once was packaged in a paper box with an unglued lid. Most working detectives really dont trust the FBI, and the FBI doesnt trust us, Ford said. Employees of the Chicago City Health Department continue to test Tylenol medication for the presence of deadly cyanide at the Department's lab on Oct. 7, 1982. In the first year alone, the task force used it to track more than 35,000 individuals and 15,000 companies contacted as part of the investigation. Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner talks about the Tylenol deaths on Oct. 1, 1982. The more she . Six suburbanites had already died from cyanide poisoning by that time, but this was Chicagos first and, in the end, only victim. Neither did the chemist who performed the cyanide test. On that day, two unrelated things happened: A pub owner made a phone call to police, and an extortion letter arrived at a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. Scott Stump is a staff reporter and the writer of the daily newsletter This is TODAY. They had a lot of questions and I didnt have any answers at all., Mike Severns, a former Elk Grove Village police detective assigned to Mary Kellerman's murder, says it still bothers him that officials neglected to update her grieving parents in the early days of the investigation. After a lengthy cat and mouse game, police and federal investigators determined that Lewis lived in New York and had no demonstrable links to the Chicago events. Among those questioned was a clerical worker who was fired for repeatedly missing work. Margolis, who later became director of the Illinois State Police, says multiagency efforts always endure allegations of infighting and spotlight stealing. He didnt get in our way. Pero quin fue el asesino? He was released in 1995 after serving only 13 years. Forty years later, it still bothers him. But I didnt have the gray hair yet.. Stores were pulling the product off shelves. The first few days were spent talking to people closest to Prince and sifting through the many tips they received. After just one or two task force meetings, Ford and Gildea told their boss they werent going back. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/tylenol-murders-1982, Why Eleanor Roosevelts civics book for kids is making a comeback. John Fellmann at his home in Huntley in September. The latest Tribune poll showed he was down by about 20 points in the upcoming election. Elmhurst police Detective Herb Hogberg interviewed a chemist who had been laid off from the company in recent months. Testing found cyanide in the Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule on the right. The Tylenol murders: The story of a 40-year-old unsolved case begins with a terrifying medical mystery. Investigators took the funeral guest books and jotted down license plates, then entered names into a newly developed computer program that allowed them to cross-check for anyone attending multiple memorials, according to the state police report. Pursuing the mission, however, eventually sent the FBI and the Chicago Police Department in two different directions. Nearly three weeks after the murders, for example, the FBI asked Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene to write a column about Mary Kellerman and include specific details such as the familys home address and the location of the little girls grave, with her parents permission. Joe Murphy told NBC Chicago last year. The original theory behind the crimes was a culprit who took the Tylenol bottles from drug and grocery stores in the Chicago area over a period of weeks, opened the capsules and added potassium cyanide, after which the culprit would return the bottles to the stores to be purchased. In work that would later be heralded in scientific journals, the scientists also tested the cyanide kept at the Tylenol plant to see if it somehow got into the production process. The task force met each morning at the Des Plaines headquarters to discuss leads and get their assignments. Chicago police Officer Sam Barsevich, left, takes inventory of Tylenol bottles that residents turned in at his station on Oct. 2, 1982. Tylenol murders victims Among the victims there were three from the same family, as Adam Janus, aged 27 collapsed after ingesting extra-strength Tylenol and was rushed to the hospital where he died. Medicare Pharmacy employee Mary Butler, right, shows a box of Extra-Strength Tylenol to Officer Michael Miljan in Arlington Heights. Investigators quickly dismissed the possibility that the killer was targeting a single victim and the other bottles were contaminated to make it harder to solve that murder. We also are still were looking at emerging forensic technology, Sgt. 1: Poisoning the Well: Directed by Travis Clark. And everyone in the meeting is aware of one undeniable truth: There is no physical evidence linking a suspect to the poisonings. Medicare Pharmacy employee Mary Butler, right, shows a box of Extra-Strength Tylenol to Officer Michael Miljan in Arlington Heights. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). In all, the task force had only eight bottles to offer clues to where and when the tampering could have taken place. And I would wake them up just to say good night, you know?. There wasnt that much tension, Fahner said. I tell you, this wasnt a CSI show, he said. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune), If you stopped a thousand people on the street, youd be lucky if one of them could tell you who Ty Fahner was. Adam Janus, a 27-year-old postal worker, wasnt feeling well and without having any way to know the mortal peril that the bottle posed for him, he took a pill from it before going to sleep that day. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). In those early days, there were so many agencies involved, so many people desperate to solve the case. The investigators would then return around 5 p.m. to update everyone on the days developments. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). Tylenol Ty, Ford said. Forty years later, these earliest days remain a point of pride for some and a source of frustration for others. Still, in his opinion, Fahner was exactly what the task force needed. To its credit, the company took an active role with the media in issuing mass warning communications and immediately called for a massive recall of the more than 31 million bottles of Tylenol in circulation. The Tylenol Murders Victims Mary Kellerman On September 29, 1982, 12 year old Mary Kellerman woke up feeling ill. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. Thats just human nature. Thats being made out of whole cloth all these years later. Several victims families told the Tribune they didnt hear much from investigators after those initial interviews. Reports would be written in triplicate so each member would get a copy. Arlington Heights police Chief Rodney Kath, second from left, works with other members of the Tylenol task force in an old state police bunker in Des Plaines. newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. Care giant, Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles, for example, in! 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