what is Tylenol?
Tylenol is a brand name for a pain reliever and fever-reducer medication. The active ingredient in Tylenol is acetaminophen, which is a widely used over-the-counter medication that is available in various forms, including tablets, capsules, and liquid suspensions. Tylenol is commonly used to relieve mild to moderate pain associated with headaches, menstrual cramps, toothaches, arthritis, and other conditions.
The Chicago Tylenol murders were a series of poisoning deaths that occurred in the Chicago area in 1982. The victims, all of whom had taken Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide, included seven people ranging in age from 12 to 35.
The Murders
On September 29, 1982, a 12-year-old girl named Mary Kellerman died suddenly in her home in Elk Grove Village, a suburb of Chicago. The cause of death was later determined to be cyanide poisoning, and an investigation revealed that she had taken Tylenol capsules that had been laced with the deadly poison.
Over the next few days, six more deaths were reported in the Chicago area, all of which were linked to tainted Tylenol capsules. The deaths sparked a nationwide panic, and Tylenol sales plummeted as consumers became fearful of the product.
Tylenol capsules
To calm the public’s concerns, Johnson & Johnson, the company that produces Tylenol, took several measures, such as issuing warnings to hospitals and distributors and ceasing the production and promotion of Tylenol. Following additional incidents, including the contamination of Tylenol bottles with strychnine in California, a recall of Tylenol products was announced nationwide on October 5, 1982, with approximately 31 million bottles believed to be in circulation.
Additionally, Johnson & Johnson provided an option for the public to exchange any Tylenol capsules they had already purchased for solid tablets. They also issued a nationwide recall of all Tylenol products in circulation costing them about $313 million in today’s currency.
Investigation and Suspects
The investigation into the murders was one of the largest and most complex in U.S. history. The FBI and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) joined forces to investigate the case, and they eventually concluded that the capsules had been tampered with after they had been manufactured and distributed.
James William Lewis
In the early stages of the investigation, James William Lewis was identified as the person who allegedly sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson, demanding a payment of $1 million in exchange for ending the cyanide-induced murders.
After being found guilty of extortion, Lewis received a 10-year prison sentence.
In 2007, it was discovered that the letter had a postmark of October 1, 1982, which meant that if Lewis’s claim of working on the letter for three days was valid, he would have started working on it before the media reported on the poisonings. When presented with this information, Lewis changed his story. In early 2009, court documents revealed that investigators from the Department of Justice believed Lewis was responsible for the poisonings, despite the lack of sufficient evidence to charge him.
The second suspect was Roger Arnold
Arnold
Marty Sinclair, the owner of the bar that Arnold was known to frequent, alerted the police about Roger Arnold’s behavior. Sinclair reported that Arnold had talked about killing people with a white powder and had been displaying increasingly erratic behavior since his divorce.
Despite being detained by the police on multiple occasions, Arnold was never formally charged with a crime. Tragically, in the summer of 1983, Arnold fatally shot John Stanisha, a computer consultant and father of three who was leaving a bar with several friends. Arnold had mistaken Stanisha for Sinclair, the bar owner who had reported Arnold to the police.
Victims of the poisoning
Arnold was found guilty of the murder in January 1984 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder. He served 15 years of his sentence before being released.
Arnold passed away in June 2008. In 2010, his body was exhumed and his femur bone was removed for DNA testing. However, the DNA analysis did not match the samples discovered on the Tylenol bottles, and Arnold was not linked to the poisonings. His remains were subsequently reburied.
The case remains unsolved to this day, but it had a profound impact on the way that society thinks about consumer safety and product packaging.