Siekmann drove to a state laboratory in the city with the bottle on the seat next to him. She also laments that her dad never got to meet her and her husband, her son, her stepson and her step-grandson. For example, Johnson & Johnson quickly established that the cyanide lacing occurred after cases of Tylenol left the factory. 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. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). Now Fahner had to win the job for himself, and he faced a formidable opponent in Democrat Neil Hartigan, a vote magnet from Chicagos North Side. The effort was Herculean, said Jeremy Margolis, a former U.S. attorney who was assigned to the task force. He had never been better known in Illinois and was inching up in the polls too. Security cameras were scarce in 1982, but investigators checked the images that existed, including this photograph from a drugstore camera showing Paula Prince, center, buying a bottle of tainted Tylenol. 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. Advances in technology have allowed investigators to determine the postmark date on the extortion letter written by Lewis that demands $1 million be wired to a bank account "if you want to stop the killing," according to the Chicago Tribune's review of the documents. But on Oct. 1, 1982, he had been a detective for only a year. The evening marked an important shift in the tragedy, moving from a swiftly solved medical mystery into a massive criminal investigation. With no apparent motive and little evidence to go on, it was a tough task. He would gravitate toward someone with a blue suit and red tie, the quintessential 1980s-style power suit. All of them, it turned out, took Tylenol shortly before they died. Stacy St. Clair joined the Chicago Tribune in 2007. Chicago police Officer Sam Barsevich, left, takes inventory of Tylenol bottles that residents turned in at his station on Oct. 2, 1982. Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner talks about the Tylenol deaths on Oct. 1, 1982. There, research chemist Karen Wolnik and her colleagues established a trace element pattern a sort of chemical fingerprint for each sample to determine whether it was identical to the poison used in the Tylenol killings. They apologized, he said, but the trust had been broken. We were looking for somebody that really looked like they didnt belong. Complaining of a sore throat and a stuffy nose, her parents gave Mary one Extra Strength Tylenol capsule and let her stay home from school. 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. The Illinois State Police told NBC News the investigation remains ongoing. 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. The decision cost the company more than $100 million, an enormous amount in 1982. J.J. Bittenbinder a tough-talking, mustachioed detective who would later gain fame as a TV safety expert served as a liaison to Fahners task force in Des Plaines. 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. Dr. Howard Markel 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. His wife whom he had just married fell limp in the living room a short while after that. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). 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. 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. Severns, who had two young children, heard the undeserved guilt in her voice. The White House, however, had ordered the FBI to find a way into the case amid growing public panic. 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 profilers predicted the culprits past likely included treatment for mental health issues and an attack on his parents. As weeks went by without an arrest, detectives started using different doors to avoid the cameras. If Fahner had any chance of keeping his office in November, he had to build enthusiasm among conservative voters in the suburbs. 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. Bottles that werent tossed out were sent to J&J, the FDA and various government laboratories for testing. Many people who handled potential evidence in 1982 didnt wear gloves because it wasnt protocol at the time. In the end, it was decided that the state police would take the lead among the agencies and that investigators would be divided into nearly four dozen teams. 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. The Tylenol task force may be no exception, he said, but the tensions didnt affect the overall effort. So I stopped by the house on the way home, introduced myself and tried to answer any questions they had, he said. Thank you. He bought a rancid ham at Jewel and when he opened it, it was spoiled. The Tylenol case marked one of the earliest uses of the approach. We used every single technique available to us. So, the theory was the tampering took place at the store, said FBI agent Lane. Hearing that threat, the detectives said, they banged on the door and announced themselves as police. He received the assignment by default, and then it became part of a national news story. Fahner ordered his staff to work through the night, calling local police, sheriffs, coroners, the FBI, the FDA, prosecutors and public health officials. Later that morning, Siekmann drove to the northwest suburbs to share what he had learned with a group of law enforcement officials assembled by Fahners team. For example, Johnson & Johnson developed new product protection methods and ironclad pledges to do better in protecting their consumers in the future. READ: The awful work of the real doctors who inspired M*A*S*H. The case continued to be confusing to the police, the drug maker and the public at large. wide worlds of science, health andtechnology. Tensions flared, even among law enforcement personnel sincerely dedicated to the job. The attorney general had no authority to intervene, but Fahner had been an outstanding federal prosecutor, a well-liked director of the state police and an effective leader of major criminal investigations. They knew the weapon. Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide that were sold in the Chicago suburbs were linked to the deaths of seven people, leading to a nationwide panic that had the Food and Drug Administration advising consumers across the country to stop taking Tylenol products. Another tip involved a man who was threatening to poison Hormel food products. Police Officer Michael Miljan leaves an Arlington Heights pharmacy after making sure bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were being removed from shelves. 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. 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. Christy Gutowski focuses her work on stories about criminal justice, public corruption and issues that impact the everyday man. But I didnt have the gray hair yet.. The prints, however, dont match the prime suspect. Given the totality of the circumstances, some thought it unusual for the Illinois attorney general to lead the investigation. The 20-year-old would be buried alongside her husband and her brother-in-law Adam in a triple funeral made even more heartbreaking when relatives had to pull Terris mother off her daughters casket before it was lowered into the ground. There wasnt that much tension, Fahner said. newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. She has received numerous national honors for her work. A long-planned meeting with DuPage prosecutors also was pushed back in the spring. The gelatin-based capsules were especially popular because they were slick and easy to swallow. A drugstore clerk removes Tylenol capsules from the shelves of a pharmacy Sept. 30, 1982, in New York City after reports of tampering. Halfway through the speeches, an aide tapped him on the shoulder and told him he needed to take an important call. Pero quin fue el asesino? Many people who handled potential evidence in 1982 didnt wear gloves because it wasnt protocol at the time. (Fred Jewell/AP). Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics 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. Michael Petros, DrPH Wednesday, September 29, 1982 at 6:30am CDT, the nightmare that was to be known as the "Tylenol Murders" began 1. Investigators, however, are prepared should that question arise. Security cameras were scarce in suburban Chicago in 1982, but investigators checked the images that existed. And Fahner wasnt the only source of tensions. 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. Investigators took pictures of people who attended the victims funerals to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. The task ahead was difficult. They also started grumbling about politics overshadowing their work. Tylenol murders investigators pursue new charges in 40-year case. When Thompson, a Republican, became governor in 1977, Fahner followed him to Springfield to lead the Illinois state police. he answered. Here, he offers a Spanish-language flyer to Luisa Acevada. Her parents gave permission. (Michael Budrys / Chicago Tribune). The pills were sold at stores in suburban Chicago, and bottles of Tylenol were immediately pulled from shelves to be tested by health departments for the presence of cyanide. He is the director of the Center for the History of Medicine and the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan and the author ofThe Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick and the Discovery of DNAs Double Helix (W.W. Norton, September 21). Whoa, whoa, he recalled. These packaging protections soon became the industry standard for all over-the-counter medications. September 22, 2022. I mean, theres 10,000 reasons why people compete with each other. 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. Tylenols parent company, Johnson & Johnson, also saw its stock price drop after the news about the tainted capsules broke. I mean, it just got to me, Severns said. Seven people in the Chicago area were killed that year by Tylenol that had been poisoned with potassium cyanide. (Charles Osgood / Chicago Tribune). 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. Because all the other possibilities had been eliminated.. President Reagan wanted the FBI in the investigation, retired FBI Special Agent Roy Lane Jr. told the Tribune. 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. I thought, well, this is rather impressive, Siekmann said. Investigators took pictures of people who attended the victims funerals to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. A casket is carried out of St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church after the funeral Mass for three members of the Janus family in 1982. But before Sept. 29, 1982, consumer products had few defenses against a person bent on sabotage. John Fellmann at his home in Huntley in September. Dr. Howard Markel writes a monthly column for the PBS NewsHour, highlighting momentous historical events that continue to shape modern medicine. 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. And neither does the DNA. Left: See where the eight tainted Tylenol bottles were purchased or discovered. While acetaminophen the active ingredient in the top-selling pain reliever was a fine white powder, these were filled with a grainy, translucent substance. They can do it, in part, by revisiting the earliest days of the Tylenol investigation, a time when evidence was not always handled according to todays careful standards. Security cameras were scarce in 1982, but investigators checked the images that existed, including this photograph from a drugstore camera showing Paula Prince, center, buying a bottle of tainted Tylenol. Police reports mention several former Johnson & Johnson employees, though none was ever considered a serious suspect. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). 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 program went far beyond any database previously used by law enforcement in Illinois. I dont want to get off here, he quietly said. 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. Former Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek, shown in September, says he felt Ty Fahner was chosen to head the task force for political reasons. The batch contained more than 1,800 pounds of cyanide, divided into packages of various sizes. Photo by Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images. Her parents gave permission. As the de facto leader of the task force, he would come to be known in the media as "Tylenol Ty." 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. But others, including Lane, found it immensely helpful and from his perspective ultimately accurate. In an attempt to paint a more detailed portrait of the killer, the FBI turned to a relatively new technique at the time called criminal profiling, in which agents try to identify the personality and behavioral characteristics of an offender based on an analysis of the crime. When Ford and Gildea arrived at the North Side flophouse where the man lived, he was still on the phone with a company operator and was promising to punish Hormel just like he had in the Tylenol case. Siekmann didnt wear gloves. Simply put, the feds entry into the investigation hinged on the admittedly preposterous notion that the manufacturer intentionally put poison in the pain reliever and then committed a misdemeanor crime by not including it on the label. The task force knew the mechanism behind the murders, Fellmann said. He brought personal knowledge (as the former state police director) and experience regarding a criminal investigation. (Charles Knoblock / AP). His brother and sister-in-law, Stanley, 25, and Theresa, 19, of Lisle, Illinois, rushed to his home to console their loved ones. Dr. Howard Markel. Jose Rosa, right, was one of hundreds of Chicago city employees and volunteers to distribute warnings about cyanide-laced Tylenol in fall 1982. 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. Subscribe to our Science Newsletter to explore the Over the next few days, three more strange deaths occurred: 35-year-old Mary McFarland of Elmhurst, Illinois, 35-year-old Paula Prince of Chicago, and 27-year-old Mary Weiner of Winfield, Illinois.. He already had a new job. After just one or two task force meetings, Ford and Gildea told their boss they werent going back. 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. Photo by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images. There was little evidence to go on, no inkling of a motive and five people dead. Thats just human nature. Everyone who had access to the box including the judge and his wife provided fingerprints for comparison. Other task force members, it should be noted, werent particularly fond of Chicagos efforts either. Now she's sharing her story for the first. What was he like in school? In late September of 1982 seven people were killed after an unknown suspect placed cyanide laced Tylenol pills in store bottles. In 1983, the U.S. Congress passed what was called the Tylenol bill, making it a federal offense to tamper with consumer products. The man hurriedly told the Hormel operator that he had to go and he would call her back later. As for the ongoing case, sources familiar with the investigation told the Chicago Tribune that charges are not imminent and may not come at all because the case lacks physical proof. Most working detectives really dont trust the FBI, and the FBI doesnt trust us, Ford said. I always wear the blue suit and the red tie, Lane said. Some worked at the medical examiners office, which played a key role in figuring out the cyanide connection. Investigators soon confirmed there was lethally poisonous cyanide inside the Tylenol capsules in question. And by days end, flight attendant Paula Princes body would be discovered and tests would show that a Tylenol bottle inside her home contained four cyanide-laced capsules. The Chicago Tylenol murders were a series of poisoning deaths resulting from drug tampering in the Chicago metropolitan area in 1982. Here's what to know about the history of the case and the latest developments. I think its pretty important, the aide replied. His boss assigned him to the Janus murders two days earlier because the departments more seasoned detectives were working the fatal beating of a homeless man in a local park. 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 Tribune has spoken with several people who have been asked to provide DNA samples within the last decade all men who had access to poisoned bottles found in Cook County. Authorities already considered the womens deaths to be cyanide related by the time they contacted Fahner during his campaign event. Investigators say new evidence may help finally solve the case of seven people who died after ingesting Tylenol laced with cyanide in the Chicago area in 1982. Before that she reported for the Daily Herald, the Dayton Daily News and The Topeka Capital-Journal. 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 Tribune interviewed nearly two dozen members of the task force, many of whom confirmed the reports veracity and added their own perspective. What was he liked as a boss?, She added: Good and bad, I want to hear those stories, because its a reflection of who I am., Hurricane Ian: South Carolina and Florida comb wreckage to assess deadly toll, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. And as soon as we got the word out that Tylenol had been laced, people said, What do we do? I said, Well, if youve got any in your medicine cabinet either put it in a plastic bag and keep it or throw it away. 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. Finally, in late July, officials from both Cook and DuPage gather for a video conference. . Following the same theory, investigators took pictures of everyone who attended the victims funerals and set up time-lapse cameras at grave sites to see if they could capture anyone acting unusual. None matched. Only really frivolous things went in that other pile, she said. 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. Former DuPage County Coroner Pete Siekmann, who in 1982 was a deputy coroner, handled the Tylenol bottles from Mary "Lynn" Reiner and Mary McFarland. The 40-year-old Tylenol murder investigation remains at a standstill. He didnt fit that profile, Hogberg said. And I want people to know that, yeah, this was my family, and it has changed all of us.. Six suburbanites had already died from cyanide poisoning by that time, but this was Chicagos first and, in the end, only victim. Authorities believed they offered clues about who could and who could not have poisoned the capsules. Testing found cyanide in the Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule on the right. 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. I was the detective at the scene. Fahner had worked for James Thompson in the U.S. attorneys office, handling some of the citys biggest federal corruption cases. He investigated the Tylenol poisonings in the Janus family and later served as police chief in Island Lake. 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. In 1989, the FDA established federal guidelines for manufacturers to make all such products tamper-proof. And it took over my life.. Though the company expanded the recall the same day to cover the batch involved in McFarlands death, the piecemeal approach troubled Fahner. 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. To get off here, he would come to be recalled employees, though none was ever considered a suspect! 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