But no one has ever been arrested in connection with the spate of poisonings that shattered the families of Janus and the others. Johnson & Johnson initially recalled only those products with the same batch number as the Janus and Kellerman bottles. wide worlds of science, health andtechnology. (Phil Greer / Chicago Tribune). The Tribune interviewed nearly two dozen members of the task force, many of whom confirmed the reports veracity and added their own perspective. 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. Agents interviewed the victims families, neighbors, co-workers and friends about any known enemies. I stepped off that dais, Fahner told the Tribune this year. It was standing room only inside the Arlington Heights Police Department for the first meeting of what would become the Tylenol task force. Seven people between 12 and 35 died after ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol pills in the Chicago area in 1982. CBS put a human face on the story which contained the following: "When 12 year-old Mary Kellerman of Elk Grove Village, Ill., awoke at dawn with cold symptoms; her parents gave her one Extra-Strength Tylenol and sent her back to bed. 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. Four decades later, task force leaders downplay accusations of tensions among the agencies, suggesting history has been revised in an effort to explain why no one has been charged with the murders. 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. The tainted bottle from the Schaumburg pharmacy contained three partial prints on the capsules, but (they) were not suitable for comparison, the memo states. September 22, 2022. Authorities were convinced the killer didnt know any of the victims. 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. 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. Former Chicago police Detective Jimmy Gildea, shown at his Chicago home in July, investigated the death of Tylenol victim Paula Prince. To this day, however, the perpetrators of these murders have never been found. (Fred Jewell/AP). And they talked to veterinarians about any unusual animal poisonings, thinking the murderer may have tested the chemical on pets first. The task ahead was difficult. Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. And then there are agents who dont. Investigators soon confirmed there was lethally poisonous cyanide inside the Tylenol capsules in question. And only months later, it changed the way we purchase and consume over-the-counter medications. With Molly Jean Brandenburg, Carter Roy. As a result of the crime, makers of Tylenol developed new product protection methods. He needed to be there, no matter how much he hated campaigning. The effort was Herculean, said Jeremy Margolis, a former U.S. attorney who was assigned to the task force. Every agency imaginable attended, many of them represented by their top leaders. Kasia said she long blamed herself for her fathers death, even though she was just in preschool when it happened. 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. Severns, who had two young children, heard the undeserved guilt in her voice. But others, including Lane, found it immensely helpful and from his perspective ultimately accurate. 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. His wife whom he had just married fell limp in the living room a short while after that. Stacy St. Clair joined the Chicago Tribune in 2007. The task force questioned stock boys, managers, disgruntled former employees and problematic customers at the hot locations, the teams name for the stores that sold the tainted Tylenol. The dire situation, both in terms of human life and business, made it imperative that the Johnson & Johnson executives respond swiftly and authoritatively. Ford said he told the renowned pathologist the bottle was on the vanity, and Stein, who wasnt wearing gloves, went to grab it. That said, he was charged with extortion and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The coppers and the FBI guys that I knew all worked together. 6 Amazon travel essentials for your next getaway, starting at $12. At first, the story focused in the Chicago/Cook County . Indeed, the Johnson & Johnson recall became a classic case study in business schools across the nation. 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. The Tylenol murders have never been solved, though at one point, the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, was a suspect. Male murderers are more likely, in general, to kill randomly and on a large scale. Still, in his opinion, Fahner was exactly what the task force needed. The Illinois State Police told NBC News the investigation remains ongoing. 40 years later, Kasia Janus is sharing. 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. A drugstore clerk removes Tylenol capsules from the shelves of a pharmacy Sept. 30, 1982, in New York City after reports of tampering. 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. Im absolutely sure about that. I dont think that bore fruit at all.. (Ovie Carter / Chicago Tribune). Every night, I would come home after my kids were in bed, he said. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics All Rights Reserved. Thats being made out of whole cloth all these years later. The Kellerman and Janus bottles contained Tylenol from lot MC2880, manufactured in Pennsylvania on April 26, 1982. And wherever they fell on the issue, that position hasnt changed much over the past four decades. Thank you. Here, he offers a Spanish-language flyer to Luisa Acevada. 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. Police departments were working the murders in relative isolation, and each county had its own states attorney to oversee the case. Subscribe to our Science Newsletter to explore the See where the eight tainted Tylenol bottles were purchased or discovered. The decision cost the company more than $100 million, an enormous amount in 1982. He didnt get in our way. It sounds like an urban legend, but it was chillingly real in 1982. I think after a day or two, the state police realized theyre on their own. I mean, theres 10,000 reasons why people compete with each other. 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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Margolis, shown in his Chicago office in July, was part of the original Tylenol task force in 1982. Not just the hours, but the frustration. (Don Casper / Chicago Tribune), Obviously, Johnson & Johnson didnt put cyanide in their own product. 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. You know, because Ty was just a classy lawyer, and he never was a politician, he said. Two main suspects in this unsolved case are James Lewis and Roger Arnold, who had both been linked to this occurrence in some way. It wasnt a grab for authority. 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. 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. All of them, it turned out, took Tylenol shortly before they died. What was he like in school? 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. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune). And everyone in the meeting is aware of one undeniable truth: There is no physical evidence linking a suspect to the poisonings. (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. Severns worked on the case for three days before he realized no one had offered an update to young Mary Kellermans grieving parents. Im not saying that the task force didnt work or thats why the case was never solved, Severns said. The evening marked an important shift in the tragedy, moving from a swiftly solved medical mystery into a massive criminal investigation. Pero quin fue el asesino? I was the detective at the scene. NBC News has not reviewed those documents. The profilers predicted the culprits past likely included treatment for mental health issues and an attack on his parents. 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. Someone, police hypothesized, must have taken bottles off the shelves of local grocers and drug stores in the Chicago area, laced the capsules with poison, and then returned the restored packages to the shelves to be purchased by the unknowing victims. Ted Kaczynski had proven he was a revenge-seeking terrorist, and he had connections to Chicago. Six suburbanites had already died from cyanide poisoning by that time, but this was Chicagos first and, in the end, only victim. 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. The Tylenol murders launched a massive criminal investigation. Some of the investigators started using it privately, too. Whoa, whoa, he recalled. My theory is that Anna is a diabetic and had just come home from a . FBI agent Shari Kouba, one of the few women on the task force, ran the tips desk. The investigators would then return around 5 p.m. to update everyone on the days developments. The man hurriedly told the Hormel operator that he had to go and he would call her back later. Scott Stump is a staff reporter and the writer of the daily newsletter This is TODAY. Why was this happening? The Tylenol murders would soon spur the development of plastic seals and tamper-evident packaging. The more she . They can account for the differing DNA profiles. 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 program went far beyond any database previously used by law enforcement in Illinois. Neither did the chemist who performed the cyanide test. 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. There was little evidence to go on, no inkling of a motive and five people dead. What are the Tylenol murders? There wasnt that much tension, Fahner said. Former Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek told the Tribune he believed Fahners selection was purely political, done specifically because of the November election. Over the next several months, Fahners task force would do groundbreaking police work, generate 19,000 pages of investigative reports, be accused of playing politics and, ultimately, fail to hold anyone accountable for the murders. He hangs up, opens the door and we come in like gangbusters, Gildea said. DNA evidence wasnt part of police work at the time, but it would become a factor in the case a quarter-century later. So he thought hed maybe get a lifetime supply of ham. 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. If Fahner had any chance of keeping his office in November, he had to build enthusiasm among conservative voters in the suburbs. Working with FDA officials, they introduced a new tamper-proof packaging, which included foil seals and other features that made it obvious to a consumer if foul play had transpired. 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. By 2011, the FBI was ready to reexamine the evidence. I knew how to organize things.. Forty years later, these earliest days remain a point of pride for some and a source of frustration for others. Next week: Police investigate a poor mans James Bond, and an eighth person dies. Forty years later, investigators still cant say with certainty. Investigators express frustration, anger even. So whatever fits or doesnt fit the storyline, that didnt happen. Members of the Illinois State Police join, as well. Perhaps he traded homemade bombs for poisoned pills. ]. 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. Elmhurst police Detective Herb Hogberg interviewed a chemist who had been laid off from the company in recent months. And Fahner wasnt the only source of tensions. 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. Studies have found women who kill use poison more often than men do, but they typically target people they know. When that happened, the suspect would make contact with an investigator and offer to help solve the case. So I stopped by the house on the way home, introduced myself and tried to answer any questions they had, he said. 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. 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. Things were chaotic. (Carl Wagner / Chicago Tribune). The FBI and Chicago police performed separate, but largely parallel, investigations until Oct. 6. And I would wake them up just to say good night, you know?. On Friday afternoon, doctors removed Stanley Janus wife, Terri, from life support. We didnt get anything, but we were kicking around ideas like that.. 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 prints, however, dont match the prime suspect. A casket is carried out of St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church after the funeral Mass for three members of the Janus family in 1982. And you know, some agents are better than other agents and can really do a good job. 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. 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. Authorities wont discuss the potential theories or suspects they have amid an investigation that they insist remains open and unforgotten. 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. 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