Some investigators on the case, including a few still involved with it, considered the rendered profile too vague to be of any real use. I had people dropping dead all over the place.. The Soviets were willing to assist, but their satellites werent trained on the Chicago suburbs at the time. Investigators pulled library records to see who had checked out books on cyanide. Several months have passed since the suburban detective made his pitch to the Cook County states attorneys office. Forty years later, it still bothers him. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. (Michael Budrys / Chicago Tribune). In theory, the plan would prevent anyone from griping about being kept out of the loop. You know, its a hackneyed phrase, but we left no stone unturned., Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Margolis, shown in his Chicago office in July, was part of the original Tylenol task force in 1982. Several victims families told the Tribune they didnt hear much from investigators after those initial interviews. 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. 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. Stacy has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, with minors in American politics and Spanish. I think hes nothing but a class act, said McQuaid, a retired state police captain. And you know, some agents are better than other agents and can really do a good job. But others, including Lane, found it immensely helpful and from his perspective ultimately accurate. The victims had all taken Tylenol-branded acetaminophen capsules that had been laced with potassium cyanide. 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. It was the first of two such trips he made that day, initially with the Reiner bottle and later with the one that killed McFarland. Forty years later, these earliest days remain a point of pride for some and a source of frustration for others. What are the Tylenol murders? Still, in his opinion, Fahner was exactly what the task force needed. Im just being honest, Siekmann said. What are the Tylenol murders? Thats being made out of whole cloth all these years later. 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. Whats going on? The bottle's cap was easily opened. And 35 years later, this murder mystery is still . 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. He held news conferences, sometimes twice a day, to meet the insatiable media demands. After just one or two task force meetings, Ford and Gildea told their boss they werent going back. Police departments and fire stations began collecting bottles, as well. 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. 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. The killer may have salted the bottles with cyanide-laced capsules while standing in the store aisle, investigators thought. In reality, some task force members still accuse their colleagues of secretive behavior 40 years later. Their opinion soured even further at their first meeting, when one of the lead investigators asked for a briefing on the Prince murder. The profilers predicted the culprits past likely included treatment for mental health issues and an attack on his parents. Indeed, the Johnson & Johnson recall became a classic case study in business schools across the nation. (Ovie Carter / Chicago Tribune). Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles as panic spread nationwide. As weeks went by without an arrest, detectives started using different doors to avoid the cameras. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune). I always wear the blue suit and the red tie, Lane said. And then there are agents who dont. Investigators express frustration, anger even. She also laments that her dad never got to meet her and her husband, her son, her stepson and her step-grandson. 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. If you are curious, come to a small house on a quiet, winding street in Elk Grove Village. Investigators, however, are prepared should that question arise. Even after he retired from the FBI in 1996, he didnt let it go. Three months earlier, 10 Chicago officers from the citys West Side were convicted of taking bribes to protect heroin rings. We felt kind of creepy doing it, retired FBI agent Bob Gibson said of his graveyard duty. Eight of them would be three-member squads composed of a federal agent, a state investigator and a suburban detective from one of the towns where the victims lived or tainted bottles were discovered. Following the same theory, investigators took pictures . the fact remains, the Tylenol murders of 1982 . Testing found cyanide in the Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule on the right. Some expressed surprise at how casually other people treated the poisoned bottles. 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. 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. And they talked to veterinarians about any unusual animal poisonings, thinking the murderer may have tested the chemical on pets first. Within a week, her death would panic the entire nation. 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. And lives were at risk. I stepped off that dais, Fahner told the Tribune this year. Left: The Tylenol murders: The story of a 40-year-old unsolved case begins with a terrifying medical mystery. Thank you. A casket is carried out of St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church after the funeral Mass for three members of the Janus family in 1982. Stanley Janus soon collapsed on his late brothers kitchen floor. 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. Studies have found women who kill use poison more often than men do, but they typically target people they know. 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. And my next thought was that there are too many cooks in the kitchen.. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). A native of the south suburbs, Gutowski received a master's degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield and is a graduate of Southern Illinois University. I think we ended up charging that guy with a misdemeanor, some disorderly conduct or some nonsense, he said. 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. McNeill and Johnson & Johnson offered replacement capsules to those who turned in pills already purchased and a reward for anyone with information leading to the apprehension of the individual or people involved in these random murders. You know, because Ty was just a classy lawyer, and he never was a politician, he said. I thought, well, this is rather impressive, Siekmann said. 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. 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. 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. As Fahners team made calls, a DuPage County deputy coroner named Pete Siekmann sat in an office at the Illinois Department of Public Healths toxicology lab in Chicago and waited to see if the Tylenol capsules taken by Mary Lynn Reiner and Mary Sue McFarland were poisoned. For example, Johnson & Johnson quickly established that the cyanide lacing occurred after cases of Tylenol left the factory. . Former Chicago police Detective Jimmy Gildea, shown at his Chicago home in July, investigated the death of Tylenol victim Paula Prince. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). Former Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek, shown in September, says he felt Ty Fahner was chosen to head the task force for political reasons. 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.. 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. It was 1982. And Fahner wasnt the only source of tensions. Here, he offers a Spanish-language flyer to Luisa Acevada. Pursuing the mission, however, eventually sent the FBI and the Chicago Police Department in two different directions. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). 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. . 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 . Seven people between 12 and 35 died after ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol pills in the Chicago area in 1982. 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. 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. Medicare Pharmacy employee Mary Butler, right, shows a box of Extra-Strength Tylenol to Officer Michael Miljan in Arlington Heights. The decision cost the company more than $100 million, an enormous amount in 1982. It was standing room only inside the Arlington Heights Police Department for the first meeting of what would become the Tylenol task force. The most promising leads involved people doing curious things with chemicals. Michael Petros, DrPH Wednesday, September 29, 1982 at 6:30am CDT, the nightmare that was to be known as the "Tylenol Murders" began 1. In those early days, there were so many agencies involved, so many people desperate to solve the case. He investigated the Tylenol poisonings in the Janus family and later served as police chief in Island Lake. The FBI put about three dozen agents on the case, under the premise that the agency needed to determine whether Johnson & Johnson had violated federal law by failing to list potassium cyanide among the active ingredients in Tylenol. Stanley died that very day and Theresa died two days later. The program went far beyond any database previously used by law enforcement in Illinois. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). It sounds like an urban legend, but it was chillingly real in 1982. Former Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek told the Tribune he believed Fahners selection was purely political, done specifically because of the November election. I thought he was perfect.. Members of the Illinois State Police join, as well. 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. Its a one-way street for information back and forth. 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. I tell you, this wasnt a CSI show, he said. Tylenol Ty, Ford said. Another tip involved a man who was threatening to poison Hormel food products. They came up with nothing. The couple were later pronounced dead, too. He needed to be there, no matter how much he hated campaigning. And soon, many medications and foods sold over store counters began being sold in tamper-proof, sealed packaging. His task force partners the FBI and state police had blindsided the Elk Grove Village detective, and he was angry. It was at this point, early October of 1982, that investigators made the connection between the poisoning deaths and Tylenol, the best-selling, non-prescription pain reliever sold in the United States at that time. That same day, a 27-year-old postal worker named Adam Janus of Arlington Heights, Illinois, died of what was initially thought to be a massive heart attack but turned out to be cyanide poisoning as well. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). The White House, however, had ordered the FBI to find a way into the case amid growing public panic. Not just the hours, but the frustration. The discovery, so far, has been more of a curse than a blessing for present-day investigators, who have spent years obtaining DNA samples from investigators, public health officials, scientists and medical professionals who came in contact with the poisoned Tylenol. He bought a rancid ham at Jewel and when he opened it, it was spoiled. They looked at accused shoplifters, including a man charged with attempting to steal 28 Tylenol bottles from a Wheaton pharmacy in August. Several people had died within the last day in the Chicago suburbs after ingesting Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide and the situation needed attention. You werent there. 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. Im not saying that the task force didnt work or thats why the case was never solved, Severns said. The 40-year-old Tylenol murder investigation remains at a standstill. 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. Im absolutely sure about that. Some of the investigators started using it privately, too. None matched. And I want people to know that, yeah, this was my family, and it has changed all of us.. The profilers believed the killer was likely to visit one of those named places to see the heartbreak he had caused. 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. Within a year, and after an investment of more than $100 million, Tylenols sales rebounded to its healthy past and it became, once again, the nations favorite over-the-counter pain reliever. Former Chicago police Detective Jimmy Gildea, shown at his Chicago home in July, investigated the death of Tylenol victim Paula Prince. Her parents gave permission. Only really frivolous things went in that other pile, she said. Johnson & Johnson initially recalled only those products with the same batch number as the Janus and Kellerman bottles. Thats just human nature. 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. He believed Thompson was behind the move, though Fahner denied it. They would work the case in Chicago and send someone else to Des Plaines to play nice with the others. 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. As a state crime, murder fell under the purview of local law enforcement. 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. Product tampering would become a crime in 1983 as a result of these murders, but in 1982 there was no federal law against it. Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek talks about the Tylenol investigation on Oct. 7, 1982, about a week after the seven deaths. Dr. Howard Markel. Ford said Stein encouraged him to smell the pills, but the detective refused and pushed away the pathologists hand. 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. The substance was grainier than the untainted Tylenol on the left. While acetaminophen the active ingredient in the top-selling pain reliever was a fine white powder, these were filled with a grainy, translucent substance. It started in 1982, not long after the murders. 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. Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles as panic spread nationwide following the deaths. You know, boost exposure and stuff like that.. Before the 1982 crisis, Tylenol controlled more than 35 percent of the over-the-counter pain reliever market; only a few weeks after the murders, that number plummeted to less than 8 percent. 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. Extra-Strength Tylenol bottles, for example, came in a paper box with an unglued lid. So I stopped by the house on the way home, introduced myself and tried to answer any questions they had, he said. With no apparent motive and little evidence to go on, it was a tough task. Conspiracy theories about motives and suspects for all these heinous acts continue to be bandied about on the Internet to this day. By the time he reached his house in Evanston, he was the de facto leader of what had quickly become the countrys highest-profile murder case. Agents interviewed the victims families, neighbors, co-workers and friends about any known enemies. The arrests came as the result of an undercover FBI operation, and The Marquette 10 as the disgraced officers came to be known remain an enduring symbol of police corruption in Chicago. The red cap was easily flipped open, with nothing but a little piece of cotton left to cover the capsules. IE 11 is not supported. They were particularly concerned that something happened during the manufacturing or the shipping or storage, Wolnik said. Why was this happening? Halfway through the speeches, an aide tapped him on the shoulder and told him he needed to take an important call. The task force knew the mechanism behind the murders, Fellmann said. But on Oct. 1, 1982, he had been a detective for only a year. . Pero quin fue el asesino? Kasia said she long blamed herself for her fathers death, even though she was just in preschool when it happened. 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. The city's most notorious unsolved murdersthe killing of seven people with cyanide-laced Tylenols in 1982is back in the news, as the seating of a grand jury is 1 2 Each participant has a packet of information that authorities use to explain their findings. Flight attendant Paula Prince bought a tainted bottle of Tylenol at the Walgreens at Wells Street and North Avenue in Chicago. He brought personal knowledge (as the former state police director) and experience regarding a criminal investigation. Unfortunately, each victim swallowed a Tylenol capsule laced with A lethal dose of cyanide. What was he like in school? All Rights Reserved. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Margolis, shown in his Chicago office in July, was part of the original Tylenol task force in 1982. She would be the seventh and final person to die from taking the poisoned medication. Written by a high-ranking Illinois state police supervisor in April 1983, the document describes the wide net authorities cast in the hopes of solving the mystery. Or, at the very least, get them to remember his name. He couldnt leave. At the time just four, Janus recalls being with her father, Adam, in their Chicago suburb when he bought an Extra-Strength Tylenol bottle that someone had slipped cyanide pills into. That evening, Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner sat on a dais listening to stump speeches at the Kane County Republican Organizations annual dinner. We had gloves in our car and basically used them on decomposed bodies. Ford said he told the renowned pathologist the bottle was on the vanity, and Stein, who wasnt wearing gloves, went to grab it. With fears mounting, Johnson & Johnson recalled all over-the-counter Tylenol capsule products on Oct. 5, nearly a week after Mary Kellermans death. The Illinois Department of Law Enforcement, now called the Illinois State Police, wanted him to help. Dr. Howard Markel writes a monthly column for the PBS NewsHour, highlighting momentous historical events that continue to shape modern medicine. The prints, however, dont match the prime suspect. 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. Finally, in late July, officials from both Cook and DuPage gather for a video conference. 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. Stores were pulling the product off shelves. If Fahner had any chance of keeping his office in November, he had to build enthusiasm among conservative voters in the suburbs. Dr. Howard Markel I mean, it just got to me, Severns said. Christy Gutowski focuses her work on stories about criminal justice, public corruption and issues that impact the everyday man. 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. I said, Excuse me. Some worked at the medical examiners office, which played a key role in figuring out the cyanide connection. It didnt take long for Fellmann to recognize the pressures and expectations under which the newly formed task force would operate. What was my dads favorite color? History's Greatest Mysteries looks into the theories regarding the Tylenol Murders in Chicago 1982. A decadeslong investigation has centered around Massachusetts man James Lewis, 76, who was 36 at the time of the murders. In keeping with that theory, the task force contacted hospitals to ask about anyone treated for poison burns or symptoms, in case the killer became ill or injured during the spree. Each person underwent a rigorous background check. Police grasped for suspects who might be the so-called "Mad Poisoner." Chicagos doing what they want, so lets just give them something minor to do.. The substance was grainier than the untainted Tylenol on the left. All of them, it turned out, took Tylenol shortly before they died. The first tainted Tylenol victim - Mary Kellerman, 12, of Elk Grove Village - collapsed and died on . It was then that Mary Kellerman, a 12-year-old girl from Elk Grove Village, a suburb of Chicago, told her mother and father about her symptoms. It was so Dick Tracy to me, Steed said. The effort was Herculean, said Jeremy Margolis, a former U.S. attorney who was assigned to the task force. Authorities believed they offered clues about who could and who could not have poisoned the capsules. (Chicago Tribune archive). The coppers and the FBI guys that I knew all worked together. In late September of 1982 seven people were killed after an unknown suspect placed cyanide laced Tylenol pills in store bottles. 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. 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. 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. The Tylenol murders fundamentally changed the way we consume medication - among other things, leading to tamper-proof pill and bottle designs. I think its pretty important, the aide replied. The Tribune interviewed nearly two dozen members of the task force, many of whom confirmed the reports veracity and added their own perspective. Medicare Pharmacy employee Mary Butler, right, shows a box of Extra-Strength Tylenol to Officer Michael Miljan in Arlington Heights. He investigated the Tylenol poisonings in the Janus family and later served as police chief in Island Lake. Police Officer Michael Miljan leaves an Arlington Heights pharmacy after making sure bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were being removed from shelves. Fahner stepped off the stage and ducked behind a blue velvet curtain, where a state police officer briefed him. And they would remain apart for the next four decades. They told stories of information hoarding, turf wars and glory seeking even when there was none to be had. Ducked behind a blue velvet curtain, where a state police, him... Jewel and when he opened it, it just got to me, Severns said 100,! 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