Elk Grove Village Detective Michael Severns said investigators were so intent on chasing leads that they at times lost sight of the grieving families. The first tainted Tylenol victim - Mary Kellerman, 12, of Elk Grove Village - collapsed and died on . 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. (Stan Policht / Chicago Tribune). While I was not born yet and don't personally remember the Chicago Tylenol Murders of 1982, I do feel like I have experienced some of the anxiety that has never gone away. The killer may have salted the bottles with cyanide-laced capsules while standing in the store aisle, investigators thought. Police Officer Michael Miljan leaves an Arlington Heights pharmacy after making sure bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were being removed from shelves. Forty years later, Ford shook his head at the memory. By days end, however, tainted capsules would be blamed for two deaths in neighboring DuPage County, broadening both the scope of the investigation and the threat to the public. We had gloves in our car and basically used them on decomposed bodies. 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. Some worked at the medical examiners office, which played a key role in figuring out the cyanide connection. As the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Tylenol murders approaches, investigators are working with prosecutors on a now-or-maybe-never effort to hold a longtime suspect responsible for the. 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. But she said years of therapy and yoga have helped her overcome her anger and guilt, and shes hopeful there will be justice in the killings of her father as well as her aunt and uncle. He goes, It smells like burnt almonds. . Testing found cyanide in the Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule on the right. Relatives, including two who took polygraph tests, were quickly eliminated from suspicion. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? I tell you, this wasnt a CSI show, he said. In late September of 1982 seven people were killed after an unknown suspect placed cyanide laced Tylenol pills in store bottles. I thought he was perfect.. 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. 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. (Chicago Tribune), Look, like any other series of government bureaucracies, theres always tension between agencies, he said. 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. Every Tylenol bottle had a lot number that offered specific details about the batch those capsules came from. Or, at the very least, get them to remember his name. Despite the passage of time and, in a way, because of it the bottles still may offer clues as to who poisoned the capsules. Most working detectives really dont trust the FBI, and the FBI doesnt trust us, Ford said. Siekmann, who had been working since 8 a.m., believed some capsules were tainted from the first time he laid eyes on them. The effort was Herculean, said Jeremy Margolis, a former U.S. attorney who was assigned to the task force. The poisonings spanned multiple towns and two counties. Fahner stepped off the stage and ducked behind a blue velvet curtain, where a state police officer briefed him. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration then cautioned the public against taking the pain reliever in capsule form. Members of the media the same people who were constantly pestering him for information nicknamed Fahner Tylenol Ty. It stuck. The Tylenol murders fundamentally changed the way we consume medication - among other things, leading to tamper-proof pill and bottle designs. Ted Kaczynski had proven he was a revenge-seeking terrorist, and he had connections to Chicago. 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. 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. Before that she reported for the Daily Herald, the Dayton Daily News and The Topeka Capital-Journal. The evening marked an important shift in the tragedy, moving from a swiftly solved medical mystery into a massive criminal investigation. And soon, many medications and foods sold over store counters began being sold in tamper-proof, sealed packaging. And wherever they fell on the issue, that position hasnt changed much over the past four decades. 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. 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. The gelatin-based capsules were especially popular because they were slick and easy to swallow. We didnt get anything, but we were kicking around ideas like that.. It marked the first mass recall in U.S. history, involving more than 31 million bottles. Oct. 2, 1982: CBS 2's Phil Walters reports on the investigation into the Tylenol poisonings. Daniel Walker and several Chicago aldermen convicted in Operation Silver Shovel. He didnt get in our way. Im just being honest, Siekmann said. Halfway through the speeches, an aide tapped him on the shoulder and told him he needed to take an important call. If people threw out their Tylenol, authorities would never know the full extent of the tampering. Her parents gave permission. 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. 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. Meanwhile, a 12-year-old child named Mary Kellerman had also died suddenly in another Chicago suburb after taking an Extra-Strength 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. 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. 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. Police grasped for suspects who might be the so-called "Mad Poisoner." Manufacturer Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles as panic spread nationwide following the deaths. He also laid the foundation to get Extra-Strength Tylenol off store shelves statewide, going beyond the single batch the pain relievers manufacturer had recalled that day. 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. Subscribe to our Science Newsletter to explore the I dont think that bore fruit at all.. And they would remain apart for the next four decades. 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. The Kellerman and Janus bottles contained Tylenol from lot MC2880, manufactured in Pennsylvania on April 26, 1982. 1: Poisoning the Well: Directed by Travis Clark. An FBI agent stood up and started to give a rundown of Chicagos case. And there were a lot of bottles to come out of that lot.. (Don Casper / Chicago Tribune), Obviously, Johnson & Johnson didnt put cyanide in their own product. Next week: Police investigate a poor mans James Bond, and an eighth person dies. Whats going on? Lane would think of that line a year later when, without prompting, a suspect called him and offered to help solve the case. Tensions flared, even among law enforcement personnel sincerely dedicated to the job. Perhaps he traded homemade bombs for poisoned pills. With no apparent motive and little evidence to go on, it was a tough task. I mean, theres 10,000 reasons why people compete with each other. 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. Local police departments and states attorneys offices have been trying to crack the case for 40 years. Former Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek, shown in September, says he felt Ty Fahner was chosen to head the task force for political reasons. 6 Amazon travel essentials for your next getaway, starting at $12. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/tylenol-murders-1982, Why Eleanor Roosevelts civics book for kids is making a comeback. He also would have a history of animal cruelty, Lane told the Tribune. 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. When the family returned home, both Adam's brother Stanley and Stanely's wife Theresa took a Tylenol, resulting in both of their deaths. 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. Investigators express frustration, anger even. Later, Lewis was arrested,. 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. Members of the Illinois State Police join, as well. Severns worked on the case for three days before he realized no one had offered an update to young Mary Kellermans grieving parents. The task ahead was difficult. McNeil Consumer Products, a subsidiary of the health care giant, Johnson & Johnson, manufactured Tylenol. And 35 years later, this murder mystery is still . Thats being made out of whole cloth all these years later. And they talked to veterinarians about any unusual animal poisonings, thinking the murderer may have tested the chemical on pets first. And lives were at risk. Authorities believed they offered clues about who could and who could not have poisoned the capsules. 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. Every night, I would come home after my kids were in bed, he said. The attorney general largely stopped campaigning after joining the task force, but his face was on TV every night. Tylenol Ty, Ford said. Thats clear, Margolis told the Tribune. NBC News has not reviewed those documents. They gave her one extra-strength Tylenol capsule that, unbeknownst to them, was laced with the highly poisonous potassium cyanide. The task force didnt know who or why.. But if they kept the bottles in their medicine cabinets, more people could die. Fahner thought state officials needed to be even more aggressive, despite the consequences for the investigation. 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. Chicagos doing what they want, so lets just give them something minor to do.. The first few days were spent talking to people closest to Prince and sifting through the many tips they received. 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. Chicago police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek talks about the Tylenol investigation on Oct. 7, 1982, about a week after the seven deaths. They knew the weapon. Seven people in the Chicago area were killed that year by Tylenol that had been poisoned with potassium cyanide. In this op-ed, he reflects on his experiences leading the public health response to the Tylenol murders of 1982. 40 years later, Kasia Janus is sharing. There wasnt that much tension, Fahner said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune). And as soon as we got the word out that Tylenol had been laced, people said, What do we do? 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