tylenol murders theories

But thats not a problem, the investigators say. And only months later, it changed the way we purchase and consume over-the-counter medications. (Carl Wagner / Chicago Tribune). In fact, so many big dogs were present, Fellmann said he couldnt find a free chair inside his own 60-seat roll call room. Oct. 2, 1982: CBS 2's Phil Walters reports on the investigation into the Tylenol poisonings. Many people who handled potential evidence in 1982 didnt wear gloves because it wasnt protocol at the time. Roger Arnold worked at a jewel warehouse with the father of one of the victims named Mary Reiner. I had people dropping dead all over the place.. But before Sept. 29, 1982, consumer products had few defenses against a person bent on sabotage. This Oct. 18, 1982, column by Tribune columnist Bob Greene included specific details at the request of the FBI, such as the home address of Tylenol victim Mary Kellerman. But on this unseasonably warm October morning, during a separate meeting between the FBI and state police, Lane was one of several investigators who gathered to brainstorm possible motives behind the crime. The likelihood that the same person could have put cyanide into different batches manufactured at different times in different places was logistically zero.. Agents interviewed the victims families, neighbors, co-workers and friends about any known enemies. Pursuing the mission, however, eventually sent the FBI and the Chicago Police Department in two different directions. Their opinion soured even further at their first meeting, when one of the lead investigators asked for a briefing on the Prince murder. He already had a new job. Forty years later, Ford shook his head at the memory. Stacy St. Clair joined the Chicago Tribune in 2007. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). Many people who handled the evidence in 1982 told the Tribune they didnt wear gloves because it wasnt part of their agencys protocol at the time. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). And you had a lot of very experienced, very intelligent, very resourceful people thinking about this all the time, thinking about angles, thinking about ideas, testing them and implementing them wherever we possibly could. Records show law enforcement has spent the past several years dealing almost entirely with forensic evidence. We also are still were looking at emerging forensic technology, Sgt. Extra-Strength Tylenol, shown in a Tribune studio photograph, once was packaged in a paper box with an unglued lid. 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 prints, however, dont match the prime suspect. IE 11 is not supported. And lives were at risk. Paramedics came and took Adam Janus to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead from what they suspected may have been a heart attack. We didnt get anything, but we were kicking around ideas like that.. All Rights Reserved. On Friday afternoon, doctors removed Stanley Janus wife, Terri, from life support. 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. Reports would be written in triplicate so each member would get a copy. FBI agent Shari Kouba, one of the few women on the task force, ran the tips desk. The agents didnt bother to pretend that labeling rules were their true motivation for getting involved. What happens in most cases, and certainly what happened here beyond any question, was a 100% selfless, unified devotion to a very important mission.. The tips were written up on 3x5 index cards. "Ladies, you ever been harassed for something for 40 years that you had nothing to do with?" And the last point that they wanted to strike home was that the person who committed this is enjoying the attention right now and the fact that he or she had outsmarted the law enforcement, Lane said. Within hours of finding cyanide in the capsules that killed three people in the northwest suburbs, the Cook County medical examiners office held a news conference on the morning of Sept. 30, 1982, to warn people about the potential poison in their medicine cabinets. Flight attendant Paula Prince bought a tainted bottle of Tylenol at the Walgreens at Wells Street and North Avenue in Chicago. Jose Rosa, right, was one of hundreds of Chicago city employees and volunteers to distribute warnings about cyanide-laced Tylenol in fall 1982. The FBIs involvement puzzled some because, as far as anyone knew, the federal agency didnt have jurisdiction in the case. John Fellmann at his home in Huntley in September. In 2010, DuPage County prosecutors filed a sealed affidavit stating investigators had found DNA on three bottles and the capsules inside, according to documents obtained by the Tribune. Testing found cyanide in the Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule on the right. In 2000, Joy Bergmann revisited the story in "A Bitter Pill" . And my next thought was that there are too many cooks in the kitchen.. Fahner looked at all the power brokers on the platform U.S. Sen. Charles Percy, Gov. 1: Poisoning the Well: Directed by Travis Clark. The evening marked an important shift in the tragedy, moving from a swiftly solved medical mystery into a massive criminal investigation. Our highest responsibility has always been the health and safety of our consumers," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement to NBC News. Critics who had prematurely announced the death of the brand Tylenol were now praising the companys handling of the matter. Three of the deaths occurred in Arlington Heights, where police told NBC Chicago last year that they still have the pills, bottles and boxes as evidence. These other men were all worried about his chances. Investigators took pictures of people who attended the victims funerals to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. Whoa, whoa, he recalled. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). His brother and sister-in-law, Stanley, 25, and Theresa, 19, of Lisle, Illinois, rushed to his home to console their loved ones. The publication reported this week that it has obtained video and thousands of documents outlining law enforcement's current case and a possible motive for the killings. Chicago police Officer Sam Barsevich, left, takes inventory of Tylenol bottles that residents turned in at his station on Oct. 2, 1982. What are the Tylenol murders? Nothing has come of that January 2022 meeting. He needed to be there, no matter how much he hated campaigning. The best suspect for the Tylenol murders has always been James William Lewis, who sent an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million to stop the murders. The guy was a little wimpy, but his ham did stink.. Former Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek told the Tribune he believed Fahners selection was purely political, done specifically because of the November election. Tylenol Ty, Ford said. Medicare Pharmacy employee Mary Butler, right, shows a box of Extra-Strength Tylenol to Officer Michael Miljan in Arlington Heights. I knew how to organize things.. Only really frivolous things went in that other pile, she said. And we were able to analyze the cyanide and show that it was not the same (cyanide at the plant) as cyanide in the capsules., Lab technicians Nlada Marzette, left, and Lynn Pilaggi inspect the contents of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules for cyanide contamination at the Illinois Department of Public Health in 1982. Joe McQuaid, a task force investigator with the state police who had worked for Fahner when he was director, acknowledged it was an unorthodox setup. The task force met each morning at the Des Plaines headquarters to discuss leads and get their assignments. Chicagos doing what they want, so lets just give them something minor to do.. Conspiracy theories about motives and suspects for all these heinous acts continue to be bandied about on the Internet to this day. "As you can see, it is easy to place cyanideinto capsules sitting on store shelves," he wrote in the letter. Their departments relationship with the FBI had been rocky for decades, but it was at a particularly low point in September 1982. "While this tragic incident remains unsolved, this event resulted in important industry improvements to patient safety measures including the creation of tamper-resistant packaging.". (Phil Greer / Chicago Tribune). So whatever fits or doesnt fit the storyline, that didnt happen. Others found Fahner the obvious choice. Everyone who had access to the box including the judge and his wife provided fingerprints for comparison. Given the totality of the circumstances, some thought it unusual for the Illinois attorney general to lead the investigation. Fahner, as head of the task force, quickly became the public face of the investigation. Why was this happening? Beginning on Sept. 29, 1982, and over the next week, seven people were murdered in the Chicago area after unknowingly taking Tylenol pills that were spiked by a killer. Another theory was that whoever poisoned the medication did it at home or in a car, then placed the bottles back on the shelves. But ultimately, three more people Mary Reiner, Mary McFarland and Paula Prince died within days after taking what they thought was an Extra-Strength Tylenol. Studies have found women who kill use poison more often than men do, but they typically target people they know. 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. Our property guy, he couldnt keep up with it., Chicago police Officer Sam Barsevich, left, takes inventory of Tylenol bottles that residents turned in at his station on Oct. 2, 1982. It was so Dick Tracy to me, Steed said. Thompson put him in charge of the investigation to get TV time. Members of the Illinois State Police join, as well. 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. The operation was primarily staffed by female agents who answered phone calls and assessed information while their male counterparts worked in the field. 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. She told investigators that, in retrospect, she deserved her termination and swore she would do better at her next job. They looked at accused shoplifters, including a man charged with attempting to steal 28 Tylenol bottles from a Wheaton pharmacy in August. A lot of people who didnt like me or didnt like Thompson or my association were taking shots, Fahner said. [Para leer en espaol] Los asesinatos de Tylenol, parte 2: Tylenol mezclado con cianuro fue el arma homicida. And they would remain apart for the next four decades. The Tylenol Murders Pt. And when the sitting attorney general was indicted on tax fraud charges, Thompson appointed Fahner to fill the post. Ford said Stein encouraged him to smell the pills, but the detective refused and pushed away the pathologists hand. And soon, many medications and foods sold over store counters began being sold in tamper-proof, sealed packaging. The task force didnt know who or why.. Some investigators on the case, including a few still involved with it, considered the rendered profile too vague to be of any real use. And then there are agents who dont. (Michael Budrys / Chicago Tribune). And they talked to veterinarians about any unusual animal poisonings, thinking the murderer may have tested the chemical on pets first. ]. Now she's sharing her story for the first. Ford said he quickly interrupted. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). Early on the morning of Sept. 29, 1982, a tragic, medical mystery began with a sore throat and a runny nose. They gave her one extra-strength Tylenol capsule that, unbeknownst to them, was laced with the highly poisonous potassium cyanide. The Tylenol murders would soon spur the development of plastic seals and tamper-evident packaging. Investigators assumed the culprit was a man, though records indicate they didnt automatically rule out anyone based on gender. The Tylenol case, however, would loom largest over his professional life. 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. The lot numbers for the McFarland, Reiner and Prince bottles indicated they were manufactured in Round Rock, Texas, and went to different warehouses in the Chicago area before ending up on store shelves. The Illinois Department of Law Enforcement, now called the Illinois State Police, wanted him to help. The Illinois State Police told NBC News the investigation remains ongoing. Several months have passed since the suburban detective made his pitch to the Cook County states attorneys office. It was standing room only inside the Arlington Heights Police Department for the first meeting of what would become the Tylenol task force. The CPD set up its own tip line and organized 35 detectives to work out of what was then Area 6 Headquarters at Belmont and Western. Investigators pulled library records to see who had checked out books on cyanide. I tell you, this wasnt a CSI show, he said. According to the state police memo obtained by the Tribune, the FDAs work traced the cyanide from the tainted capsules to Fisher Scientific, a Massachusetts-based lab supply company, which distributed that particular batch in 1978. Perhaps he traded homemade bombs for poisoned pills. An FBI agent stood up and started to give a rundown of Chicagos case. We were looking for somebody that really looked like they didnt belong. Early on, the task force decided to instruct the public to get rid of their Tylenol by either turning it in to police departments or throwing it away. Tylenol murders: A nationwide panic, a family tragedy Transformed by tragedy Her dad, aunt and uncle died 40 years ago after taking poisoned Tylenol. They told stories of information hoarding, turf wars and glory seeking even when there was none to be had. Another tip involved a man who was threatening to poison Hormel food products. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. She also laments that her dad never got to meet her and her husband, her son, her stepson and her step-grandson. Both experienced throbbing headaches, a not uncommon response to a death in the family and each took a Tylenol extra-strength capsule or two from the same bottle Adam had used earlier in the day. (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. And it took over my life.. Tamper-resistant pill containers were introduced with packaging that allows consumers to notice if a bottle of pills or medication has been opened or altered. The investigators would then return around 5 p.m. to update everyone on the days developments. Extra-Strength Tylenol bottles, for example, came in a paper box with an unglued lid. Im absolutely sure about that. Former Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner stands on the former site of the Tylenol task force headquarters in Des Plaines, now an empty parking lot. Kasia Janus also always verifies products are properly sealed before she buys anything at stores, she said in a recently published series of interviews with CNN that described the gut-wrenching legacy left behind for her by the unsolved Tylenol killings, which made tampering with medications as well as other consumer goods a federal crime but remain unsolved. Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles as panic spread nationwide following the deaths. The Tylenol murders of 1982,was a pointless killing spree that resulted in the death of seven Chicago area people from Tylenol tablets .The Tylenol poisoning killings was from tampering with over-the-counter Tylenol branded acetaminophen pills laced with potassium cyanide. Michael Petros, DrPH Wednesday, September 29, 1982 at 6:30am CDT, the nightmare that was to be known as the "Tylenol Murders" began 1. They understood the tension between the FBI and local law enforcement some of them shared those same resentments but they thought Chicago didnt even try to be team players. Stanley Janus soon collapsed on his late brothers kitchen floor. When the family returned home, both Adam's brother Stanley and Stanely's wife Theresa took a Tylenol, resulting in both of their deaths. The attorney general largely stopped campaigning after joining the task force, but his face was on TV every night. They came up with nothing. I think after a day or two, the state police realized theyre on their own. For example, Johnson & Johnson quickly established that the cyanide lacing occurred after cases of Tylenol left the factory. Among them was Lane, a well-respected federal agent who would help put away all kinds of criminals during his nearly 30-year career, including mob boss Sam Carlisi, former Illinois Gov. So I stopped by the house on the way home, introduced myself and tried to answer any questions they had, he said. He has been a regular contributor for TODAY.com since 2011, producing news stories and features across the trending, pop culture, sports, parents, pets, health, style, food and TMRW verticals. (Michael Budrys / Chicago Tribune). Police departments were working the murders in relative isolation, and each county had its own states attorney to oversee the case. . Details about the seven victims, how they obtained the tainted bottles and their final moments were outlined in a confidential police memo obtained by the Tribune. The FBIs counterintelligence unit even reached out to their Soviet counterparts to see if they had any spy satellite images that could help, according to former FBI agent Grey Steed. Im not saying that the task force didnt work or thats why the case was never solved, Severns said. History's Greatest Mysteries looks into the theories regarding the Tylenol Murders in Chicago 1982. (Josh Reynolds/AP) The investigation into the 1982 Tylenol murders was pretty dormant when an FBI . Reporters from the Chicago Tribune tracked down Lewis last month as part of the investigative podcast "Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders" and asked him if he has any theories on who the Tylenol Killer might be. We had gloves in our car and basically used them on decomposed bodies. 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