1982 Chicago Tylenol murders

Seven fatal Tylenol poisonings, code-named TYMURS by the FBI, took place in the autumn of 1982 in the Chicago area in the United States. These poisonings involved Extra-Strength Tylenol medicine capsules which had been laced with potassium cyanide.cite book
last = Douglas
first = John
authorlink = John Douglas
title = The Anatomy of Motive
publisher = Scribner
year = 1999
isbn = 0-684-84598-9
page = 103-104] The perpetrator was never caught, but the incident has led to reforms in the packaging of over-the-counter substances and to federal anti-tampering laws.

The Tylenol crisis has been referenced in many films and books. It has also been used as a basis to spread urban legends about poison in kids' candy at Halloween and other poisoned foods or drinks purchased by consumers.

The incidents

In the early morning of Wednesday, September 29, 1982, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman of Elk Grove Village died after taking a capsule of Extra Strength Tylenol. Adam Janus of Arlington Heights died in the hospital shortly thereafter. His brother, Stanley (of Lisle), and his wife Theresa died after gathering to mourn, having taken pills from the same bottle. Soon afterward, Mary McFarland of Elmhurst, Paula Prince of Chicago and Mary Reiner of Winfield also died in similar incidents.Douglas, 106] cite web
url = http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/tylenol_murders/index.html
title = The Tylenol Terrorist
last = Bell
first = Rachael
work = Crime Library
publisher = truTV] Investigators soon discovered the Tylenol link. Urgent warnings were broadcast, and police drove through Chicago neighborhoods issuing warnings over loudspeakers.

As the tampered bottles came from different factories, and the seven deaths had all occurred in the Chicago area, the possibility of sabotage during production was ruled out. Instead, the culprit was believed to have entered various supermarkets and drug stores over a period of weeks, pilfered packages of Tylenol from the shelves, adulterated their contents with solid cyanide compound at another location, and then replaced the bottles. In addition to the five bottles which led to the victims' deaths, three other tampered bottles were discovered.

Johnson & Johnson, the parent company of McNeil, distributed warnings to hospitals and distributors and halted Tylenol production and advertising. On October 5, 1982, it issued a nationwide recall of Tylenol products; an estimated 31 million bottles were in circulation, with a retail value of over US$100 million. The company also advertised in the national media for individuals not to consume any products that contained Tylenol. When it was determined that only capsules were tampered with, they offered to exchange all Tylenol capsules already purchased by the public with solid tablets.

Investigation

The crime has never been solved, although opportunistic extortionist James W. Lewis claimed responsibility and made a money demand. Lewis was arrested and though ultimately found to have no connection to the deaths, ended up serving 13 years of a 20-year prison term for the extortion attempt.

A second man, Roger Arnold, was investigated and cleared of the killings. However, the media attention caused him to have a nervous breakdown and he blamed bar owner Marty Sinclair for the police's investigation of him. He shot and killed a man he believed to be Sinclair, but who was in fact an innocent man who did not know Arnold. Arnold served 15 years of a 30 year sentence for second degree murder. Arnold died in June 2008.

It has also been suggested that Laurie Dann, a native of Chicago's north suburbs who had a long history of mental illness and had later engaged in similar secretive poisoning attempts (as well as a grisly murder/suicide at a local grade school), may have been responsible.cite book|last= Egginton |first= Joyce |title= Day of Fury: The Story of the Tragic Shootings That Forever Changed the Village of Winnetka |publisher= William Morrow & Co |year= 1991 |isbn= 978-0688090852]

A $100,000 reward, posted by Johnson & Johnson for the capture and conviction of the "Tylenol Killer," has never been claimed.

Aftermath

Johnson & Johnson was praised by the media at the time for its handling of the incident. While at the time of the scare the market share of Tylenol collapsed from 35% to 8%, it rebounded in less than a year, a move credited to J&J's prompt and aggressive reaction. In November it reintroduced capsules, but in a new, triple-sealed package, coupled with heavy price promotions, and within several years Tylenol had become the most popular over-the-counter analgesic in the US.

A number of copycat attacks involving Tylenol and other products (see Stella Nickell for information on the 1986 Excedrin tampering murders) ensued during the following years. One of these incidents occurred in the Chicago area; unlike Tylenol, it actually forced the end of the product affected by the hoax, Encaprin, from Procter & Gamble. However, the incident did inspire the pharmaceutical, food, and consumer product industries to develop tamper-resistant packaging, such as induction seals, and improved quality control methods. Moreover, product tampering was made a federal crime.

Additionally, the tragedy prompted the pharmaceutical industry to move away from capsules, which were easy to contaminate as a foreign substance could be placed inside without obvious signs of tampering. Within the year, the Food and Drug Administration introduced more stringent regulations to avoid product tampering. This led to the eventual replacement of the capsule with the solid "caplet", a tablet made in the shape of a capsule, as a drug delivery form and to the addition of tamper-evident safety-seals to bottles of many sorts.

References

ee also

*Tamper resistance
*Tamper-evident
*Packaging

Further reading

* Wolnik KA, Fricke FL, Bonnin E, Gaston CM, Satzger RD. The Tylenol tampering incident--tracing the source. Anal Chem 1984;56:466A-8A, 470A, 474A. PMID 6711821

External links

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* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/terrorists/tylenol_murders/ Tylenol "Terrorist"] Crime Library