1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,360 Tonight, a series of unexplained deaths near Chicago in 1982 starts a nationwide panic. 2 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:17,780 The victims are connected by one frightening detail. 3 00:00:17,780 --> 00:00:23,100 It looks like all these people took Tylenol and died that day. 4 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:28,300 Every hospital in every home in America probably had Tylenol in their cabinet. 5 00:00:28,300 --> 00:00:35,960 Now we uncover the top theories surrounding an ongoing FBI investigation. 6 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,820 What if these people weren't killed at random? 7 00:00:38,820 --> 00:00:43,360 Whoever had done it had just been dormant for things to quiet down. 8 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,520 He looks very similar to Ted Kaczynski, the unipower. 9 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:52,580 Can the elusive killer finally be identified and brought to justice? 10 00:00:52,580 --> 00:00:59,900 It's really a race against time to try and figure out who's doing this and why. 11 00:00:59,900 --> 00:01:04,100 Who actually committed the Chicago Tylenol murders? 12 00:01:04,100 --> 00:01:21,940 September 29th, 1982. 13 00:01:21,940 --> 00:01:29,500 At 6.30 a.m. in the Chicago suburb of Schomburg, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman awakens with a 14 00:01:29,500 --> 00:01:31,340 sore throat. 15 00:01:31,340 --> 00:01:35,100 Mary Kellerman wakes up and tells her parents she's not feeling well. 16 00:01:35,100 --> 00:01:43,420 She has sniffles, she's coughing, and to alleviate her symptoms, she takes a Tylenol. 17 00:01:43,420 --> 00:01:49,420 Her dad is downstairs and he hears a thud, runs back upstairs, and Mary is sprawled 18 00:01:49,420 --> 00:01:51,140 on the bathroom floor. 19 00:01:51,140 --> 00:01:53,300 They rush Mary to the hospital. 20 00:01:53,300 --> 00:01:58,300 When she finally gets there, Mary was pronounced dead at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in 21 00:01:58,300 --> 00:01:59,300 Elk Grove Village. 22 00:01:59,300 --> 00:02:09,420 A few hours later in nearby Arlington Heights, 27-year-old postal worker Adam Janis collapses 23 00:02:09,420 --> 00:02:12,180 after complaining of minor chest pains. 24 00:02:12,180 --> 00:02:16,180 He's rushed to Northwest Community Hospital. 25 00:02:16,180 --> 00:02:18,100 Adam arrives in critical condition. 26 00:02:18,100 --> 00:02:24,860 Shortly thereafter, he dies of what doctors thought was heart failure. 27 00:02:24,860 --> 00:02:31,980 In shock, Adam's brother Stanley and sister-in-law Teresa return home from the hospital and take 28 00:02:31,980 --> 00:02:35,140 Tylenol for headaches. 29 00:02:35,140 --> 00:02:39,660 That same day, they also collapse and die. 30 00:02:39,660 --> 00:02:40,660 The police are baffled. 31 00:02:40,660 --> 00:02:44,220 They have three victims in the same family in the same house. 32 00:02:44,220 --> 00:02:47,340 They initially suspect carbon monoxide poisoning. 33 00:02:47,340 --> 00:02:50,940 They called the technicians but no carbon monoxide was detected. 34 00:02:50,940 --> 00:02:55,140 So the police called the public health department looking for some medical guidance and they 35 00:02:55,140 --> 00:02:58,900 sent nurse Helen Jensen to the Janis family. 36 00:02:58,900 --> 00:03:05,420 Jensen finds a bottle of extra strength Tylenol with six capsules missing. 37 00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:08,140 Three doses taken from a bottle, three people dead. 38 00:03:08,140 --> 00:03:13,340 So Jensen takes this bottle back to the medical center to get it tested because she feels 39 00:03:13,340 --> 00:03:16,220 that this could be something of importance. 40 00:03:16,220 --> 00:03:22,340 Police at Northwest Community Hospital turn it over to law enforcement. 41 00:03:22,340 --> 00:03:26,260 Helen Jensen suspects the Tylenol from the beginning. 42 00:03:26,260 --> 00:03:28,900 She actually says this to the investigating officers. 43 00:03:28,900 --> 00:03:31,780 I think it's something in the Tylenol. 44 00:03:31,780 --> 00:03:37,460 The Janis family having no idea what has killed three members of their family so far, they're 45 00:03:37,460 --> 00:03:39,020 terrified. 46 00:03:39,020 --> 00:03:43,740 So they're brought to the hospital, put under observation and official documents so far 47 00:03:43,740 --> 00:03:48,900 as to give them their last rights because they didn't know what was killing these people 48 00:03:48,900 --> 00:03:52,060 and they didn't know if they were next. 49 00:03:52,060 --> 00:03:57,980 While the Janis family remains under watch, 18 miles away in the suburb of Winfield, Mary 50 00:03:57,980 --> 00:04:00,300 Reiner arrives home. 51 00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:04,700 She's recently given birth and wants pain relief. 52 00:04:04,700 --> 00:04:10,420 Soon after taking extra strength Tylenol, Mary Reiner collapses. 53 00:04:10,420 --> 00:04:15,020 Police rush to the hospital and she also dies soon thereafter. 54 00:04:15,020 --> 00:04:19,860 Five fatalities, each an apparent mystery. 55 00:04:19,860 --> 00:04:21,940 Authorities are confounded. 56 00:04:21,940 --> 00:04:27,540 The Janises and Mary Kellerman all died in Cook County, which meant they all ended up 57 00:04:27,540 --> 00:04:28,980 in the same morgue. 58 00:04:28,980 --> 00:04:31,340 There were also two bottles of Tylenol. 59 00:04:31,340 --> 00:04:37,380 The Tylenol bottle that was used by the Janises and the Tylenol bottle that Mary Kellerman 60 00:04:37,380 --> 00:04:39,900 got her Tylenol from. 61 00:04:39,900 --> 00:04:46,420 Both bottles have the same lot number, which is MC2-880. 62 00:04:46,420 --> 00:04:51,100 They also have another weird thing in common. 63 00:04:51,100 --> 00:04:55,820 They both had the distinctive smell of bitter almonds and they're trained professionals who 64 00:04:55,820 --> 00:05:01,500 know about poisons and contaminants and that bitter almond smell could only mean one thing, 65 00:05:01,500 --> 00:05:03,620 cyanide. 66 00:05:03,620 --> 00:05:04,620 It's a real mystery. 67 00:05:04,620 --> 00:05:06,060 Who would do this? 68 00:05:06,060 --> 00:05:07,500 Why did this happen? 69 00:05:07,500 --> 00:05:08,500 Why cyanide? 70 00:05:08,700 --> 00:05:11,540 Police have tons of questions. 71 00:05:11,540 --> 00:05:17,460 What cyanide does is blocks the cells in your body from absorbing and transporting oxygen 72 00:05:17,460 --> 00:05:19,340 and it does it very quickly. 73 00:05:19,340 --> 00:05:23,500 It's a very fast-acting, very dangerous poison. 74 00:05:23,500 --> 00:05:28,700 Tests performed on capsules confirm the investigator's fears. 75 00:05:28,700 --> 00:05:34,980 Not only were the Janises and Mary Kellerman killed with cyanide, but it was a dose of 76 00:05:34,980 --> 00:05:40,940 cyanide that was about a thousand times more potent than what you would need to kill a 77 00:05:40,940 --> 00:05:42,660 person. 78 00:05:42,660 --> 00:05:48,460 Authorities are panicked because they don't know how far this is going to go. 79 00:05:48,460 --> 00:05:50,540 Is it just in Chicago suburb? 80 00:05:50,540 --> 00:05:51,620 Is it nationwide? 81 00:05:51,620 --> 00:05:53,140 They don't know. 82 00:05:53,140 --> 00:05:59,060 While authorities struggle to connect the dots, there's another incident. 83 00:05:59,060 --> 00:06:04,940 At around 3 a.m., a woman named Mary McFarland was working at her telephone company. 84 00:06:04,940 --> 00:06:05,940 She was doing a pretty good job. 85 00:06:05,940 --> 00:06:09,380 Not feeling great, so she took a Tylenol. 86 00:06:09,380 --> 00:06:14,740 And almost immediately, she passes out and has to be rushed to the hospital where she 87 00:06:14,740 --> 00:06:15,740 died. 88 00:06:15,740 --> 00:06:22,500 After Mary McFarland collapses, they're looking to see, is this another victim? 89 00:06:22,500 --> 00:06:28,220 And sure enough, there are poison pills in there, just like the others. 90 00:06:28,220 --> 00:06:32,740 That morning, Deputy Medical Examiner Edmond Donahue addresses the public. 91 00:06:32,740 --> 00:06:36,020 It's definitely some of the campers with the capsules, but we have no idea of where 92 00:06:36,020 --> 00:06:37,020 that occurred. 93 00:06:37,020 --> 00:06:41,900 Donahue hits the airwaves, letting everyone know that if you have Tylenol from this certain 94 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:46,180 lot number, whatever you do, do not take that Tylenol. 95 00:06:46,180 --> 00:06:48,940 Remember, it's 1982. 96 00:06:48,940 --> 00:06:50,660 There's no social media. 97 00:06:50,660 --> 00:06:52,420 There's three networks. 98 00:06:52,420 --> 00:06:56,340 To get the word out, police were even going around with loudspeakers making announcements 99 00:06:56,340 --> 00:07:01,500 in the streets to make sure people would not be taking Tylenol from this lot number at 100 00:07:01,500 --> 00:07:02,500 this time. 101 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:06,900 This is a huge deal because Tylenol is probably the number one pain medicine in the country 102 00:07:06,900 --> 00:07:08,220 at the time. 103 00:07:08,220 --> 00:07:13,780 Every hospital in every home in America probably had Tylenol in their cabinet. 104 00:07:13,780 --> 00:07:22,020 Johnson and Johnson moved quickly to recall 4.7 million capsules from lot number MC2880 105 00:07:22,020 --> 00:07:24,380 had all been manufactured in Pennsylvania. 106 00:07:24,380 --> 00:07:26,980 At this point, they're treating it like a homicide. 107 00:07:26,980 --> 00:07:31,740 They just have no idea how to figure out who's doing it. 108 00:07:31,740 --> 00:07:36,780 The next day, authorities form a coordinated multi-agency task force. 109 00:07:36,780 --> 00:07:43,260 Chicago PD is involved and it ends up being something like 140 law enforcement officials 110 00:07:43,260 --> 00:07:46,860 who are involved, including the FBI. 111 00:07:46,860 --> 00:07:51,940 Not only were they investigating multiple homicides, but they were also trying to figure 112 00:07:51,940 --> 00:07:56,860 out are there any more bottles on the shelves out there, which was key. 113 00:07:56,860 --> 00:08:02,940 Before this task force can even mobilize and hit the streets, there's another incident. 114 00:08:02,940 --> 00:08:10,460 In Old Town Chicago around 5 p.m. that day, a woman named Paula Prince is found dead on 115 00:08:10,460 --> 00:08:17,420 the floor of her home and there is an open bottle of Tylenol on her bathroom counter. 116 00:08:17,420 --> 00:08:20,180 But this bottle is different. 117 00:08:20,180 --> 00:08:25,740 It was actually manufactured in Texas and the number on that particular bottle was 118 00:08:25,740 --> 00:08:27,900 1920 M.D. 119 00:08:27,900 --> 00:08:33,500 Now we have a different lot number that's been tainted with cyanide and of course now 120 00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:35,900 all the red flags go up. 121 00:08:35,900 --> 00:08:38,540 They now know that this isn't contained to a single lot. 122 00:08:38,540 --> 00:08:43,460 It is spread and they don't know how far it might go. 123 00:08:43,460 --> 00:08:50,460 Tonight Mayor Jane Byrne orders all Tylenol removed from Chicago shelves. 124 00:08:50,460 --> 00:08:52,860 People of course were panicked so they were calling up. 125 00:08:52,860 --> 00:08:56,540 I just took a Tylenol, am I going to die? 126 00:08:56,540 --> 00:08:59,660 Emergency responders on the other end would say, well if you're able to call, you're 127 00:08:59,660 --> 00:09:03,220 gonna be okay, but don't take any more. 128 00:09:03,220 --> 00:09:07,180 The first problem for police is where do you start? 129 00:09:07,180 --> 00:09:09,700 Is it just a random lunatic? 130 00:09:09,700 --> 00:09:11,300 Is it a serial killer? 131 00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:17,540 The obvious first place to look is to see if maybe it's something that happened in the 132 00:09:17,540 --> 00:09:22,580 supply chain. 133 00:09:22,580 --> 00:09:27,260 Investigators start with the Chicago offices of Johnson and Johnson. 134 00:09:27,260 --> 00:09:32,540 Police interview several current and former Johnson and Johnson employees looking for 135 00:09:32,540 --> 00:09:36,140 anyone bearing a grudge. 136 00:09:36,140 --> 00:09:40,580 Johnson and Johnson put out a hundred thousand dollar reward for any tips that might lead 137 00:09:40,580 --> 00:09:42,900 to whoever was doing this. 138 00:09:42,900 --> 00:09:44,100 Nothing came of it. 139 00:09:44,100 --> 00:09:48,900 They're also concerned about if there are other pills still. 140 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:54,460 Their interviews with employees don't get them anywhere so a drastic step has to be 141 00:09:54,460 --> 00:09:56,500 taken. 142 00:09:56,500 --> 00:10:03,100 On October 5th Johnson and Johnson recalls all Tylenol products nationwide. 143 00:10:03,100 --> 00:10:10,620 A total of 31 million bottles valued at more than a hundred million dollars. 144 00:10:10,620 --> 00:10:12,140 They were able to test them. 145 00:10:12,140 --> 00:10:14,220 50 pills were contaminated. 146 00:10:14,220 --> 00:10:16,540 Those 50 pills were only in eight bottles. 147 00:10:16,540 --> 00:10:20,180 Two of the bottles had been returned in the recall. 148 00:10:20,180 --> 00:10:26,420 One other bottle was found after the fact still on a shelf, but hadn't been sold yet. 149 00:10:26,420 --> 00:10:30,260 They're lucky somebody else didn't buy those three bottles. 150 00:10:30,260 --> 00:10:36,020 They know these tainted pills were only produced in Pennsylvania or Texas in these two lot 151 00:10:36,020 --> 00:10:37,100 numbers. 152 00:10:37,100 --> 00:10:45,140 One thing they don't find is any evidence of pills that are tainted with cyanide outside 153 00:10:45,140 --> 00:10:48,700 the Chicago metro area. 154 00:10:48,700 --> 00:10:54,780 And while Johnson and Johnson is testing all of this they make another huge breakthrough. 155 00:10:54,780 --> 00:11:02,860 A chemist at J&J discovers that when you put cyanide inside a Tylenol capsule it degrades 156 00:11:02,860 --> 00:11:05,500 within 24 hours. 157 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:12,020 Which means these crimes had to happen locally because the amount of time it takes for that 158 00:11:12,020 --> 00:11:16,980 pill to dissolve after you put the cyanide in it doesn't allow for shipping it out from 159 00:11:16,980 --> 00:11:20,140 a factory and waiting until it hits store shelves. 160 00:11:20,140 --> 00:11:21,940 You gotta act fast. 161 00:11:22,100 --> 00:11:26,580 This time pill bottles didn't have tamper proof seals on them. 162 00:11:26,580 --> 00:11:32,100 So anyone could open a medicine bottle without detection, virtually anywhere. 163 00:11:32,100 --> 00:11:38,220 If it's not an inside job this case becomes much more difficult. 164 00:11:38,220 --> 00:11:46,740 Now they have to canvas the entire Chicago area for any suspect. 165 00:11:46,740 --> 00:11:50,020 Early October 1982. 166 00:11:50,020 --> 00:11:56,820 Media coverage of the Chicago Tylenol murders is constant and frenzied. 167 00:11:56,820 --> 00:11:58,540 This is a huge story. 168 00:11:58,540 --> 00:12:00,380 Mass hysteria breaks out. 169 00:12:00,380 --> 00:12:07,300 It's like the Kennedy assassination in the coverage and the way it just captivates America's 170 00:12:07,300 --> 00:12:08,300 attention. 171 00:12:08,300 --> 00:12:13,620 There was somewhere in the area of 100,000 different newspaper articles that were done 172 00:12:13,620 --> 00:12:16,100 on this particular case. 173 00:12:16,100 --> 00:12:21,460 The scariest thing is that seven days have passed and they still have no viable suspects. 174 00:12:21,460 --> 00:12:28,820 Then on Wednesday October 6th investigators finally receive what they hope will be a clue. 175 00:12:28,820 --> 00:12:35,380 A ransom letter arrives at the Johnson and Johnson offices and this letter claims to 176 00:12:35,380 --> 00:12:40,140 be from the person who is poisoning these Tylenol pills. 177 00:12:40,140 --> 00:12:44,820 So finally police have a suspect. 178 00:12:44,820 --> 00:12:51,260 In the letter the Tylenol killer appears to be bragging about his prowess. 179 00:12:51,260 --> 00:12:54,460 It only takes him 10 minutes to contaminate a bottle. 180 00:12:54,460 --> 00:12:57,980 He's only spent $50 to kill all of these people. 181 00:12:57,980 --> 00:13:02,140 And hey Johnson and Johnson if you don't want the killings to continue you better wire a 182 00:13:02,140 --> 00:13:07,380 million dollars to this bank account and don't tell the FBI. 183 00:13:07,380 --> 00:13:09,220 And the tone is so creepy. 184 00:13:09,220 --> 00:13:14,780 He says it's so easy to get buyers to swallow the bitter pill. 185 00:13:14,780 --> 00:13:18,540 It's a sociopath. 186 00:13:18,540 --> 00:13:20,020 This is not a smart crime. 187 00:13:20,020 --> 00:13:25,860 If this is a genuine ransom letter the person who sent it put their actual bank account 188 00:13:25,860 --> 00:13:28,740 number in the letter. 189 00:13:28,740 --> 00:13:33,220 The account belongs to a man named Frederick Miller McKay. 190 00:13:33,220 --> 00:13:37,180 Could the Tylenol killer finally have a name? 191 00:13:37,180 --> 00:13:43,220 So investigators follow the trail and speak to Frederick Miller McKay and he's an heir 192 00:13:43,220 --> 00:13:46,420 to the Miller brewing fortune. 193 00:13:46,420 --> 00:13:50,740 Clearly he's not likely to be the Tylenol killer. 194 00:13:50,740 --> 00:13:55,940 So they analyze this letter and police find a fingerprint and it traces back to a man 195 00:13:55,940 --> 00:13:58,500 named Robert Richardson. 196 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:07,380 In October 13th 1982 police issue a warrant for his arrest over extortion charges. 197 00:14:07,380 --> 00:14:10,900 There's a big big man looking for this Robert Richardson. 198 00:14:10,900 --> 00:14:15,820 They have over a hundred law enforcement officers but at this point he's in the way and he's 199 00:14:15,820 --> 00:14:16,820 ghost. 200 00:14:16,820 --> 00:14:21,380 A few days later the alleged killer makes contact again. 201 00:14:21,380 --> 00:14:26,540 A second threatening letter shows up this time at the White House. 202 00:14:26,540 --> 00:14:28,940 This letter matches the handwriting of the first letter. 203 00:14:28,940 --> 00:14:33,660 It also includes a death threat to President Reagan. 204 00:14:33,660 --> 00:14:40,180 In the letter he demands a taxation overhaul or else the killers will continue. 205 00:14:40,180 --> 00:14:43,460 Within days a third letter arrives. 206 00:14:43,460 --> 00:14:49,620 This time to the Chicago Tribune but unlike the other letters this one is an attempt to 207 00:14:49,620 --> 00:14:51,540 clear his name. 208 00:14:51,540 --> 00:14:57,860 And he basically identifies himself as James Lewis, sends a thumb print and copy of his 209 00:14:57,860 --> 00:14:59,140 driver's license. 210 00:14:59,140 --> 00:15:02,260 Everything's there for law enforcement to identify who he is. 211 00:15:02,260 --> 00:15:09,540 Lewis' thumb print is a match and investigators find out that Robert Richardson is an alias. 212 00:15:09,540 --> 00:15:12,860 And he says you know I was just being opportunistic. 213 00:15:12,860 --> 00:15:15,060 I have nothing to do with this. 214 00:15:15,060 --> 00:15:20,340 It was really a crime of opportunity not a mass murdering at least as far as he was 215 00:15:20,340 --> 00:15:22,380 concerned. 216 00:15:22,380 --> 00:15:26,140 So James Lewis is now at the top of the FBI's most wanted list. 217 00:15:26,140 --> 00:15:29,220 They take his photo and they circulate it nationwide. 218 00:15:29,220 --> 00:15:32,860 They have a massive, massive man looking for this Lewis. 219 00:15:32,860 --> 00:15:37,060 And they arrest him on December 13th of 1982. 220 00:15:37,060 --> 00:15:39,420 So he's in custody at this point. 221 00:15:39,420 --> 00:15:44,740 The next day his wife Leanne turns herself in to the Chicago police. 222 00:15:44,740 --> 00:15:48,220 Her bail is also set at five million dollars. 223 00:15:48,220 --> 00:15:53,700 They were probably relieved that they had a really strong suspect in custody. 224 00:15:53,700 --> 00:15:59,460 It didn't seem that more people were dying of the same ailments. 225 00:15:59,460 --> 00:16:05,180 Lewis admits to sending the ransom letters but he denies any involvement in the murders. 226 00:16:05,180 --> 00:16:08,340 He was simply trying to frame a key because he felt he was crooked. 227 00:16:08,340 --> 00:16:12,540 And he was trying to get the FBI to look at him and hopefully that they would look into 228 00:16:12,540 --> 00:16:15,340 any of his financial activities. 229 00:16:15,340 --> 00:16:20,380 Now Lewis is being interviewed multiple times and he basically sticks to a story that he 230 00:16:20,380 --> 00:16:22,500 didn't have anything to do with it. 231 00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:29,500 Tainting of the pills, we find out that Lewis' wife who's in custody worked for a McKay-E. 232 00:16:29,500 --> 00:16:35,900 There was a falling out, apparently the wife's last check which was in the area of five hundred 233 00:16:35,900 --> 00:16:38,300 and eleven dollars bounced. 234 00:16:38,300 --> 00:16:43,980 So for five hundred and eleven dollars this guy goes after this individual McKay-E and 235 00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:49,420 basically implicates him in the Tylenol murders. 236 00:16:49,420 --> 00:16:56,980 Is Lewis simply inventing an elaborate defense or could his story actually be true? 237 00:16:56,980 --> 00:17:03,420 To defend himself, Richardson slash Lewis says, you know, this would be really easy to do. 238 00:17:03,420 --> 00:17:05,340 Let me show you how. 239 00:17:05,340 --> 00:17:12,820 And he talked them through opening up capsules, replacing the powder inside with cyanide, 240 00:17:12,820 --> 00:17:13,820 closing it back up. 241 00:17:13,820 --> 00:17:15,620 See, it's so simple. 242 00:17:15,620 --> 00:17:16,620 Anyone could do it. 243 00:17:16,620 --> 00:17:22,100 It wasn't the smartest move because now police were really feeling comfortable that this was 244 00:17:22,100 --> 00:17:23,660 their guy. 245 00:17:23,660 --> 00:17:30,220 And what's crazy about this whole thing is you start looking at Lewis' background and 246 00:17:30,220 --> 00:17:35,580 at one point in time he actually had some involvement in the pharmaceutical industry. 247 00:17:35,580 --> 00:17:43,620 He also had a short-lived business venture where he was importing pill making machines 248 00:17:43,620 --> 00:17:45,540 from India. 249 00:17:45,540 --> 00:17:50,180 Lewis' criminal record also gets investigators' attention. 250 00:17:50,180 --> 00:17:52,060 James Lewis had a troubled past. 251 00:17:52,060 --> 00:18:00,020 He had committed assaults as a teenager, chased after his stepfather with an axe, tried to 252 00:18:00,020 --> 00:18:02,020 kill himself. 253 00:18:02,020 --> 00:18:06,500 He would later say that he did those things to try to get out of the Vietnam War draft, 254 00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:09,140 but a lot of people questioned that. 255 00:18:09,140 --> 00:18:15,460 He also served two years for tax fraud, but he was very prolific. 256 00:18:15,460 --> 00:18:20,820 Investigators have all they need to prosecute Lewis for extortion, including a confession. 257 00:18:20,820 --> 00:18:25,620 Now they need to prove he's a murderer. 258 00:18:25,620 --> 00:18:29,140 So law enforcement starts to build a timeline of this guy's whereabouts. 259 00:18:29,140 --> 00:18:34,140 The months before the poisoning, they find out that this guy was running from law enforcement 260 00:18:34,140 --> 00:18:37,380 in Kansas City back in December of 1981. 261 00:18:37,380 --> 00:18:42,980 When he left Kansas City, this is when he started using the alias of Robert Richardson 262 00:18:42,980 --> 00:18:47,380 and his wife also used the same Richardson alias. 263 00:18:47,380 --> 00:18:52,780 James Lewis' main alibi for not committing the Tylenol murders is that he wasn't anywhere 264 00:18:52,780 --> 00:18:55,100 near Chicago when the killings occurred. 265 00:18:55,100 --> 00:19:02,700 In early September 1982, he and his wife booked cash tickets on Amtrak, left Chicago, 266 00:19:02,700 --> 00:19:07,820 for New York City, using the alias is William and Karen Wagner. 267 00:19:07,820 --> 00:19:11,940 They lived there in Manhattan for weeks at the same time these Tylenol killings were 268 00:19:11,940 --> 00:19:14,740 happening. 269 00:19:14,740 --> 00:19:21,940 Investigators confirm the couple did indeed rent a New York hotel room, but suspicion remains. 270 00:19:21,940 --> 00:19:25,860 You've got to figure out, okay, he's in New York on September 4th. 271 00:19:25,860 --> 00:19:30,100 Could he possibly have come back to Chicago, tainted the pills and then went back to New 272 00:19:30,100 --> 00:19:31,100 York? 273 00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:37,300 The problem is no one can prove that hypothesis because we didn't have the technology back 274 00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:39,580 then that we have now. 275 00:19:39,580 --> 00:19:42,500 There aren't cameras on every streetlight. 276 00:19:42,500 --> 00:19:50,980 But there is one camera that might hold the answer. 277 00:19:51,100 --> 00:19:57,540 Now two and a half months after the Chicago Tylenol murders, police have a potential suspect, 278 00:19:57,540 --> 00:20:00,620 James William Lewis in custody. 279 00:20:00,620 --> 00:20:03,900 But can they prove he's the killer? 280 00:20:03,900 --> 00:20:06,700 Police have James Lewis on extortion. 281 00:20:06,700 --> 00:20:08,780 I mean, he's confessed to it. 282 00:20:08,780 --> 00:20:11,180 It's a pretty open and closed case. 283 00:20:11,180 --> 00:20:16,780 But he is adamant that he had nothing to do with the poisonings and they cannot place 284 00:20:16,780 --> 00:20:17,940 him in Chicago. 285 00:20:17,940 --> 00:20:20,860 His alibi is really pretty strong. 286 00:20:20,860 --> 00:20:24,580 Still new evidence surfaces. 287 00:20:24,580 --> 00:20:30,500 When Paula Prince bought her bottle of Tylenol, there actually was surveillance video. 288 00:20:30,500 --> 00:20:35,140 And this is a key part of this investigation because they're able to go back and find 289 00:20:35,140 --> 00:20:40,220 that she purchased her Tylenol on September 28th of 1982. 290 00:20:40,220 --> 00:20:44,900 And what's interesting here is they actually have security camera video and it's at the 291 00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:48,740 register where she's paying for her Tylenol. 292 00:20:48,740 --> 00:20:50,260 This was huge. 293 00:20:50,260 --> 00:20:56,380 There's a gentleman a couple feet behind her who looks an awful lot like James Lewis. 294 00:20:56,380 --> 00:21:01,020 So if he's there during the time that Paula Prince bought her tainer bottles, then that's 295 00:21:01,020 --> 00:21:02,020 it, right? 296 00:21:02,020 --> 00:21:04,940 You think he would have enough to close this case. 297 00:21:04,940 --> 00:21:10,660 Unfortunately, the video isn't clear enough for a positive ID. 298 00:21:10,660 --> 00:21:15,700 Lewis presents himself as an opportunist, as a con man, as a hustler. 299 00:21:15,700 --> 00:21:18,220 But he says he's not a killer. 300 00:21:18,580 --> 00:21:20,900 It's not in his repertoire. 301 00:21:20,900 --> 00:21:26,540 But when police dig deeper, they discover Lewis isn't quite as innocent as he claims. 302 00:21:26,540 --> 00:21:32,180 As police unfold his background, they find that he actually had been charged with murder 303 00:21:32,180 --> 00:21:34,500 before. 304 00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:40,260 In the mid-70s, Lewis was running a little tax and bookkeeping firm with his wife, Leanne, 305 00:21:40,260 --> 00:21:42,140 in Kansas City. 306 00:21:42,140 --> 00:21:48,500 And one of their favorite clients was an elderly guy named Raymond West. 307 00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:52,740 On July 23, 1978, Raymond West disappears. 308 00:21:52,740 --> 00:21:58,180 His friend Charles Banker goes to Raymond West's house to see how he's doing, see if 309 00:21:58,180 --> 00:21:59,260 he's turned up. 310 00:21:59,260 --> 00:22:02,540 There is a letter on Raymond's door. 311 00:22:02,540 --> 00:22:09,260 Ray is out of town for further call Jim and it's on the Lewis and Lewis stationery. 312 00:22:09,260 --> 00:22:11,340 That's pretty weird. 313 00:22:11,340 --> 00:22:12,580 He's talking to his friend. 314 00:22:12,580 --> 00:22:17,140 So you know, Ray doesn't go out of town, certainly not without telling him about it. 315 00:22:17,140 --> 00:22:18,140 Banker calls police. 316 00:22:18,140 --> 00:22:22,180 When the police come, they enter the house. 317 00:22:22,180 --> 00:22:23,180 Police look around the house. 318 00:22:23,180 --> 00:22:25,700 They don't see anything strange. 319 00:22:25,700 --> 00:22:27,940 So they leave. 320 00:22:27,940 --> 00:22:33,100 Three weeks passed and Charles Banker came back to Raymond's house. 321 00:22:33,100 --> 00:22:39,420 On August 14, 1978, when he opened the door, there was a terrible odor. 322 00:22:39,420 --> 00:22:43,980 He went and got the police who were experienced enough that they knew from the smell what 323 00:22:43,980 --> 00:22:45,780 they were dealing with. 324 00:22:45,780 --> 00:22:55,300 So police in the basement, they find a bloody lawn chair, rope, and a garbage bag containing 325 00:22:55,300 --> 00:23:00,420 his toupee, eyeglasses, and a blood stain sheet. 326 00:23:00,420 --> 00:23:07,060 Upstairs, officers notice a stain running from the ceiling to the wall. 327 00:23:07,060 --> 00:23:11,780 In the attic, they find a body with its legs dismembered. 328 00:23:11,780 --> 00:23:17,860 There's white rope around the remains, bags covering parts of his body, and the decomposition 329 00:23:17,860 --> 00:23:20,460 is tremendous. 330 00:23:20,460 --> 00:23:22,780 They knew it was the work of a killer. 331 00:23:22,780 --> 00:23:25,340 They just didn't know why or who. 332 00:23:25,340 --> 00:23:31,660 As they continue the search to gather more evidence, they find a $5,000 check made out 333 00:23:31,660 --> 00:23:33,300 to guess who. 334 00:23:33,300 --> 00:23:36,620 The payee is James Lewis. 335 00:23:36,620 --> 00:23:42,220 So the police ask if they can search his car, and he says, sure. 336 00:23:42,220 --> 00:23:49,500 In his trunk, they find 20 feet of white rope, trash bags like the ones found in Raymond's 337 00:23:49,500 --> 00:23:58,980 house, a briefcase with Raymond West papers, and a stack of Raymond West checkbooks. 338 00:23:58,980 --> 00:24:07,180 In late August 1978, the Jackson County grand jury charges James Lewis with capital murder. 339 00:24:07,180 --> 00:24:11,500 Before the case had even started, before any evidence was even presented, his attorney 340 00:24:11,500 --> 00:24:14,700 gets the case thrown out on a technicality. 341 00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:19,340 Once they arrested him, they failed to read him his Miranda rights. 342 00:24:19,340 --> 00:24:25,140 So every bit of that evidence that they had found would be thrown out. 343 00:24:25,140 --> 00:24:27,340 And without it, there was no case. 344 00:24:27,340 --> 00:24:29,900 And James Lewis walked out the door. 345 00:24:29,900 --> 00:24:35,060 Despite the lack of a conviction, investigators working the Tylenol case now believe Lewis 346 00:24:35,060 --> 00:24:37,500 is capable of murder. 347 00:24:37,500 --> 00:24:39,700 But do they have enough evidence to prove it? 348 00:24:39,700 --> 00:24:45,940 So this guy gets off on a murder in 79, and in 1982 they have from poor extortion. 349 00:24:45,940 --> 00:24:51,340 And authorities can't connect him to these Tylenol cases because all they have is circumstantial 350 00:24:51,340 --> 00:24:56,220 evidence because his alibi says he was in New York. 351 00:24:56,220 --> 00:24:58,660 Can you believe that? 352 00:24:58,660 --> 00:25:06,100 In October of 1983, one year after the Tylenol killings, Lewis has tried for extortion and 353 00:25:06,100 --> 00:25:07,220 convicted. 354 00:25:07,220 --> 00:25:11,580 He serves 13 years of his 20 years since. 355 00:25:11,580 --> 00:25:17,220 So after that, police have another chance to maybe find some closure in the Tylenol 356 00:25:17,220 --> 00:25:18,220 case. 357 00:25:18,220 --> 00:25:20,500 So they look for more evidence again. 358 00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:22,980 They searched his house in 2009. 359 00:25:22,980 --> 00:25:30,300 They confiscated some computers and paperwork that they hoped would point to him as having 360 00:25:30,300 --> 00:25:34,620 been the mastermind of this poisoning scheme. 361 00:25:34,620 --> 00:25:41,100 In 2010, they got a court order to get DNA from James Lewis and his wife Leanne. 362 00:25:41,100 --> 00:25:42,660 Charges never came. 363 00:25:42,660 --> 00:25:46,860 Is Lewis in the Walgreens video behind Paula Prince? 364 00:25:46,860 --> 00:25:57,820 And is Lewis the individual that tainted the pills or is he not? 365 00:25:57,820 --> 00:26:03,940 When the Tylenol murders rock Chicago in 1982, investigators initially believe it's an isolated 366 00:26:03,940 --> 00:26:05,180 event. 367 00:26:05,180 --> 00:26:10,660 But as they dig deeper, they unravel an unsettling possibility. 368 00:26:10,660 --> 00:26:14,140 The killer has been active before. 369 00:26:14,140 --> 00:26:21,900 In fact, he could be one of the most infamous criminals in U.S. history. 370 00:26:21,900 --> 00:26:27,740 One week into the initial investigation, a Chicago detective is dispatched to Sheridan, 371 00:26:27,740 --> 00:26:30,180 Wyoming to follow a lead. 372 00:26:30,180 --> 00:26:36,460 On October 9th in 1982, New York Times released an article that talked about a lead up in 373 00:26:36,460 --> 00:26:37,700 Wyoming. 374 00:26:37,700 --> 00:26:43,740 There was a very similar homicide that occurred using tainted extra strength Tylenol with 375 00:26:43,740 --> 00:26:44,740 cyanide. 376 00:26:44,740 --> 00:26:51,020 So they sent a team of investigators up there to go ahead and look at this particular case. 377 00:26:51,020 --> 00:26:58,580 As it turns out, a couple months before the Chicago murders happened, on July 26th in Sheridan, 378 00:26:58,580 --> 00:27:07,340 Wyoming, 19-year-old janitor J. Adam Mitchell is found dead of cyanide poisoning, just 379 00:27:07,340 --> 00:27:09,300 like the cases in Chicago. 380 00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:15,820 According to his mom, the only thing he had taken prior was extra strength Tylenol. 381 00:27:15,820 --> 00:27:21,620 Chicago PD and the FBI couldn't make a direct connection other than circumstantial evidence 382 00:27:21,620 --> 00:27:27,660 between the Sheridan, Wyoming poisoning of Mitchell and the Tylenol murders two months 383 00:27:27,660 --> 00:27:29,980 later in Chicago. 384 00:27:29,980 --> 00:27:34,700 The case kind of goes cold for about 30 years. 385 00:27:34,700 --> 00:27:39,700 Then, a very high-profile suspect is thrust into the spotlight. 386 00:27:39,700 --> 00:27:48,700 On May 19th, 2011, dozens of news agencies pick up on a story about a new suspect. 387 00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:59,940 The FBI was seeking DNA from none other than Ted Kosinski, the unibomber. 388 00:27:59,940 --> 00:28:04,980 Kosinski was a reclusive mathematician convicted of sending bombs through the mail for nearly 389 00:28:04,980 --> 00:28:11,060 20 years, killing three people and wounding 23. 390 00:28:11,060 --> 00:28:16,460 He's currently serving eight life sentences for his crimes in a prison medical facility 391 00:28:16,460 --> 00:28:19,460 in North Carolina. 392 00:28:19,460 --> 00:28:25,740 In 1978 through 1980, Ted Kosinski was living with his parents in Lombard, Illinois, right 393 00:28:25,740 --> 00:28:27,620 outside of Chicago. 394 00:28:27,620 --> 00:28:32,380 And obviously we have the first four attacks that occurred right there in the Chicago metropolitan 395 00:28:32,380 --> 00:28:33,380 area. 396 00:28:33,380 --> 00:28:38,420 But he also intermittently stayed with his parents after that timeframe. 397 00:28:38,420 --> 00:28:42,700 Lombard could also be an ideal home base for the Tylenol killer. 398 00:28:42,700 --> 00:28:49,260 All of the stores where those Tylenol bottles were purchased were all within a 20-mile drive 399 00:28:49,260 --> 00:28:52,500 from Kosinski's parents' home. 400 00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:57,340 And so he would have known these stores, he would have known easily how to get to them, 401 00:28:57,340 --> 00:29:01,660 he would have been comfortable in the area, and that's something else to think about poisoning 402 00:29:01,660 --> 00:29:04,260 within a particular radius. 403 00:29:04,260 --> 00:29:10,020 When you look at the video of the individual standing behind Paula in Walgreens, not only 404 00:29:10,020 --> 00:29:15,260 does he look like Lewis, but he also looks like Ted Kosinski, the unibomber. 405 00:29:15,260 --> 00:29:20,620 The overlap between what Kosinski is convicted of and the Tylenol deaths, people started 406 00:29:20,620 --> 00:29:22,420 to wonder, okay, they're both domestic, non-native, non-native. 407 00:29:23,340 --> 00:29:24,820 And there are also other domestic terrorism cases. 408 00:29:24,820 --> 00:29:32,820 And actually some of Kosinski's first terrorist attacks originated in Chicago. 409 00:29:32,820 --> 00:29:37,940 There's also another reason authorities think Kosinski could be responsible. 410 00:29:37,940 --> 00:29:44,500 When you look at where Kosinski was arrested in Montana and you follow I-90 to go to Chicago, 411 00:29:44,500 --> 00:29:49,860 almost in that direct line is Sheridan, Wyoming, which is just off I-90. 412 00:29:49,860 --> 00:29:55,180 So here we have another circumstantial connection for Kosinski to be involved in at least the 413 00:29:55,180 --> 00:30:00,820 Sheridan-Wyoming murder and the 1982 Tylenol murders in Chicago. 414 00:30:00,820 --> 00:30:09,260 Could Ted Kosinski have committed this Sheridan-Wyoming crime as a run-up or practice to his much 415 00:30:09,260 --> 00:30:11,300 bigger crimes later? 416 00:30:11,300 --> 00:30:13,900 Ted Kosinski was a really good planner. 417 00:30:13,900 --> 00:30:18,540 He tested stuff out before he actually committed the crime. 418 00:30:18,540 --> 00:30:20,620 He tested his bombs out. 419 00:30:20,620 --> 00:30:26,700 And could the Sheridan-Wyoming homicide be the precursor to what occurred in Chicago two 420 00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:28,740 months later in 1982? 421 00:30:28,740 --> 00:30:30,500 Could very well have been. 422 00:30:30,500 --> 00:30:34,340 That's the way Ted Kosinski operates. 423 00:30:34,340 --> 00:30:38,500 Kosinski denies any involvement with the Tylenol case. 424 00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:44,580 Now Kosinski claims he never had potassium cyanide in his possession and they didn't 425 00:30:44,580 --> 00:30:49,220 find any in his cabin in Montana. 426 00:30:49,220 --> 00:30:55,380 Since 2011 police haven't filed any new charges against Ted Kosinski. 427 00:30:55,380 --> 00:31:01,780 So it's possible that there wasn't a DNA match, but it's possible that they're still building 428 00:31:01,780 --> 00:31:05,860 a case. 429 00:31:05,860 --> 00:31:11,500 One month into the hunt for Chicago's Tylenol killer, investigators asked a new and provocative 430 00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:12,740 question. 431 00:31:12,740 --> 00:31:18,020 What if these people weren't killed at random? 432 00:31:18,020 --> 00:31:23,300 Investigators look into the victim's friends and family, searching for any potential motive. 433 00:31:23,300 --> 00:31:27,380 Does someone's husband or wife have a reason to commit murder? 434 00:31:27,380 --> 00:31:34,460 Does an employee who is disgruntled with their job have a reason to do this? 435 00:31:34,460 --> 00:31:38,140 Most of the victims don't seem to have any enemies. 436 00:31:38,940 --> 00:31:45,740 But Mary Reiner might have a connection to a possible suspect. 437 00:31:45,740 --> 00:31:52,980 His name is Roger Arnold and he's a self-proclaimed closet chemist. 438 00:31:52,980 --> 00:31:59,420 Around the time of the murders he's heard openly bragging about having access to cyanide. 439 00:31:59,420 --> 00:32:06,300 He's a bar fly so he hangs out at one particular tavern, knows all the bartenders and he's 440 00:32:06,300 --> 00:32:11,940 constantly talking about how easy it is to poison people and basically goes into detail 441 00:32:11,940 --> 00:32:14,340 as to how it could be done. 442 00:32:14,340 --> 00:32:19,500 One of the people listening at the bar thought his theories were a little too close to plausible 443 00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:27,140 and called in a tip asking for investigators to look at Arnold. 444 00:32:27,140 --> 00:32:33,220 Things that raised eyebrows about Arnold were he worked in a warehouse for jewel grocery 445 00:32:33,220 --> 00:32:34,220 stores. 446 00:32:34,220 --> 00:32:36,980 This one of the bottles of Tylenol was found. 447 00:32:36,980 --> 00:32:42,940 At the warehouse where he worked he was a colleague with the father of one of the victims. 448 00:32:42,940 --> 00:32:47,060 So we have a little bit of a tangential relationship. 449 00:32:47,060 --> 00:32:52,780 This is the first time police have identified a suspect who might have a connection to one 450 00:32:52,780 --> 00:32:54,300 of the victims. 451 00:32:54,300 --> 00:32:57,900 Did he have some sort of beef with the Reiner family? 452 00:32:57,900 --> 00:33:00,460 Was this a revenge killing? 453 00:33:00,460 --> 00:33:01,780 It could be. 454 00:33:01,780 --> 00:33:07,700 One thing police will tell you all the time is there's no such thing as coincidences. 455 00:33:07,700 --> 00:33:12,660 Officers act on the tip immediately and bring Arnold in for questioning. 456 00:33:12,660 --> 00:33:18,060 At the time Arnold was out on an assault complaint so the police had good reason to check in 457 00:33:18,060 --> 00:33:19,060 on him. 458 00:33:19,060 --> 00:33:23,100 They talked about what Arnold thought about the Tylenol killings and hey guy did you have 459 00:33:23,100 --> 00:33:26,660 anything to do with this and he said absolutely not. 460 00:33:26,660 --> 00:33:28,620 Roger did tell police. 461 00:33:28,620 --> 00:33:34,660 Yeah I had cyanide but I got rid of it in August and the crimes weren't until late September 462 00:33:34,660 --> 00:33:38,940 so according to him it was all gone by then. 463 00:33:38,940 --> 00:33:42,700 This is all circumstantial but it's very alarming. 464 00:33:42,700 --> 00:33:50,700 We have a suspect who fancies himself as a closet chemist and he has a connection to 465 00:33:50,700 --> 00:33:57,300 one of the victims and he worked in the perfect spot to pull off a crime like this. 466 00:33:57,300 --> 00:34:00,860 He admits to handling and having cyanide. 467 00:34:00,860 --> 00:34:04,580 It's enough to get a search warrant for Arnold's apartment. 468 00:34:04,580 --> 00:34:14,580 They found chemicals, weapons, how to guides for various criminal activities. 469 00:34:14,580 --> 00:34:17,060 And they also find two one-way tickets to Thailand. 470 00:34:17,060 --> 00:34:23,060 They find five unregistered guns, chemistry equipment and white powder. 471 00:34:23,060 --> 00:34:29,100 They find potassium carbonate which is not the same as potassium cyanide but if you modify 472 00:34:29,100 --> 00:34:31,740 it a little bit it can be deadly. 473 00:34:31,740 --> 00:34:37,060 You can make a synthetic version using other ingredients. 474 00:34:37,060 --> 00:34:42,380 Arnold doesn't help himself either because he won't tell police why he has this potassium 475 00:34:42,380 --> 00:34:44,900 carbonate in his possession. 476 00:34:44,900 --> 00:34:46,740 He just says it wasn't illegal. 477 00:34:46,740 --> 00:34:48,980 Don't worry about it. 478 00:34:48,980 --> 00:34:53,620 Others next ask Arnold to take a polygraph exam. 479 00:34:53,620 --> 00:34:59,660 Obviously he refuses so he ends up charged with the assault and weapons violations. 480 00:34:59,660 --> 00:35:07,300 While he's awaiting trial on those charges he's released on a $6,000 bond and he's very 481 00:35:07,300 --> 00:35:08,300 angry. 482 00:35:08,300 --> 00:35:13,380 When he was being interviewed by law enforcement he made a very interesting quote and he said 483 00:35:13,380 --> 00:35:19,500 I'd like to be in on the homicide of the guy that turned me in. 484 00:35:19,500 --> 00:35:26,180 In the early morning of June 18th 1983 Arnold snaps. 485 00:35:26,180 --> 00:35:31,540 Roger Arnold becomes convinced that the bar owner Marty Sinclair is the guy who turned 486 00:35:31,540 --> 00:35:38,860 him in so he starts to stalk him, approaches him and pulls out a gun, says you turn me 487 00:35:38,860 --> 00:35:42,660 in and he fires. 488 00:35:42,660 --> 00:35:47,180 The man drops dead but it's not Marty Sinclair. 489 00:35:47,180 --> 00:35:51,580 The man he killed was a computer consultant named John Staniscia. 490 00:35:51,580 --> 00:35:53,300 He was a father of three kids. 491 00:35:53,300 --> 00:35:57,420 He had absolutely no connection to the case whatsoever. 492 00:35:57,420 --> 00:36:02,180 Arnold is sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing Staniscia. 493 00:36:02,180 --> 00:36:10,420 He ends up serving 15 years and then dies in 2008 without ever admitting any guilt or 494 00:36:10,420 --> 00:36:13,700 involvement in the Tylenol case. 495 00:36:13,700 --> 00:36:17,340 The case files remain closed to public or press inspection. 496 00:36:17,340 --> 00:36:23,060 It's still an open investigation so we'll never know how many prime suspects may have 497 00:36:23,060 --> 00:36:25,980 been looked at in the Tylenol murders. 498 00:36:25,980 --> 00:36:31,260 Lewis remains a person of interest for many people involved in the case. 499 00:36:31,260 --> 00:36:37,580 Roger Arnold, he's dead now we'll never know but still raises eyebrows. 500 00:36:37,580 --> 00:36:45,900 But who else is out there and who else was looked at and who else wasn't looked at? 501 00:36:45,900 --> 00:36:51,420 In the years since the Chicago Tylenol murders, many have wondered if the suspect is still 502 00:36:51,420 --> 00:36:52,860 out there. 503 00:36:52,860 --> 00:36:55,380 Why have the killings stopped? 504 00:36:55,380 --> 00:37:01,300 So since no other tainted pills show up in Chicago, that has led some people to assume 505 00:37:01,300 --> 00:37:06,100 maybe the killer died or maybe he just gave up. 506 00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:10,340 But there is another really frightening possibility. 507 00:37:10,340 --> 00:37:17,420 In the aftermath of the Tylenol murders, there are hundreds of copycat attempts all across 508 00:37:17,420 --> 00:37:18,420 the country. 509 00:37:18,420 --> 00:37:22,260 At least that's what police categorize them as. 510 00:37:22,260 --> 00:37:24,420 But what if they weren't copycats? 511 00:37:24,420 --> 00:37:25,740 Maybe the killer didn't stop. 512 00:37:31,420 --> 00:37:37,700 In 1986, four more deaths occur due to tempered pain pills. 513 00:37:37,700 --> 00:37:45,780 Two of the victims are attributed to a killer in Seattle named Stella Nicol. 514 00:37:45,780 --> 00:37:54,100 She used cyanide-laced excedrin to kill her husband and a woman named Sue Snow. 515 00:37:54,100 --> 00:37:59,260 But there are two more deaths that are a little more intriguing. 516 00:37:59,260 --> 00:38:08,180 In Austin, Texas, in May 1986, a college student named Kenneth Fairies dies after taking cyanide-laced 517 00:38:08,180 --> 00:38:09,180 anisin. 518 00:38:09,180 --> 00:38:17,380 His death was ruled a suicide because he had supposedly had access to cyanide at his work. 519 00:38:17,380 --> 00:38:25,460 And so the thinking was that he had tainted an anisin pill himself and intentionally taken 520 00:38:25,460 --> 00:38:26,460 it. 521 00:38:26,460 --> 00:38:33,300 It does seem like a very horrific way to die by suicide, but that's what it was ruled. 522 00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:38,340 The one that probably stood out for people was in Yonkers. 523 00:38:38,340 --> 00:38:46,260 On February 8, 1986, Diane Ellsroth took some extra strength Tylenol that had been laced 524 00:38:46,260 --> 00:38:49,660 with cyanide, and she dropped dead. 525 00:38:49,660 --> 00:38:55,940 The tainted bottles were found in stores in Westchester County, and fortunately they 526 00:38:55,940 --> 00:39:00,820 were able to get them all off the shelves before anyone else was killed. 527 00:39:00,820 --> 00:39:05,820 Investigators looked at the New York cases to see if maybe this was a continuation of 528 00:39:05,820 --> 00:39:07,900 the Chicago cases. 529 00:39:07,900 --> 00:39:14,020 Maybe whoever had done it had just been dormant for things to quiet down. 530 00:39:14,020 --> 00:39:18,540 There hasn't been a direct connection made between that case and the Chicago Tylenol 531 00:39:18,540 --> 00:39:22,540 murders, but it's eerie that it's very similar. 532 00:39:22,540 --> 00:39:28,060 If the New York cases were connected to the Chicago cases, that would have thrown a wrench 533 00:39:28,060 --> 00:39:35,860 in all of the theories up to date because Roger Arnold was in prison and James Lewis 534 00:39:35,860 --> 00:39:37,420 was in prison. 535 00:39:37,420 --> 00:39:42,380 Or as the FBI currently believes, maybe it is just a copycat. 536 00:39:42,380 --> 00:39:47,140 And there still are two poisoning suspects out there at large. 537 00:39:47,140 --> 00:39:53,060 Thankfully these days it's very unlikely that we'll have another epidemic of poisoned 538 00:39:53,060 --> 00:39:56,060 pills. 539 00:39:56,060 --> 00:40:01,300 In the wake of the Tylenol murders, the U.S. government passed the Federal Anti-Tampering 540 00:40:01,300 --> 00:40:04,580 Act in 1983. 541 00:40:04,580 --> 00:40:11,740 This case and the bill that it inspired are responsible for the tamper-proof seals and 542 00:40:11,740 --> 00:40:15,780 packaging that you see on medicine bottles today. 543 00:40:15,780 --> 00:40:20,820 It absolutely changed history and saved countless lives. 544 00:40:20,820 --> 00:40:27,860 These poisonings were an act of domestic terrorism and whoever committed them was a heinous, 545 00:40:27,860 --> 00:40:33,700 heartless, horrible person who didn't care who went down, how they would die. 546 00:40:33,700 --> 00:40:36,260 They just wanted to inflict some damage. 547 00:40:36,260 --> 00:40:39,420 And it's a terrible case. 548 00:40:39,420 --> 00:40:44,300 The families that were affected by the Tylenol murders still are wanting justice in this 549 00:40:44,300 --> 00:40:45,420 case. 550 00:40:45,420 --> 00:40:46,620 No one's been charged. 551 00:40:46,620 --> 00:40:48,380 No one's been convicted. 552 00:40:48,380 --> 00:40:52,340 There are no answers yet in the Tylenol murders. 553 00:40:52,340 --> 00:40:57,780 And this is one of those great cold cases from the 20th century that there's a lot of questions 554 00:40:57,780 --> 00:40:58,780 out there. 555 00:40:58,780 --> 00:41:04,620 But I think with having the FBI involved and maybe where we are right now with some of 556 00:41:04,620 --> 00:41:08,940 the new DNA stuff that's come out, hopefully they can bring this to a conclusion. 557 00:41:10,420 --> 00:41:17,900 Authorities have gathered thousands of documents and interviewed more than 400 persons of interest 558 00:41:17,900 --> 00:41:20,940 during their ongoing investigation. 559 00:41:20,940 --> 00:41:28,140 They're currently testing the original cyanide-laced capsules in an attempt to complete a DNA profile 560 00:41:28,140 --> 00:41:29,700 of the killer. 561 00:41:29,700 --> 00:41:35,460 Perhaps modern technology can finally close the case. 562 00:41:35,460 --> 00:41:37,100 I'm Lawrence Fishburne. 563 00:41:37,100 --> 00:41:40,220 Thank you for watching History's Greatest Mysteries.