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It’s been more than four decades since seven people died after ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in 1982 in the Chicago area, and still nobody knows who contaminated the pills or how they got contaminated.
The poisonings sparked a recall and terrified the nation. How could medicine that was supposed to help people actually be hurting people?
James W. Lewis, the main suspect in this case for more than 40 years, explains why he couldn’t possibly be the so-called Tylenol murderer in Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders, out May 26 on Netflix. The three-part series is a comprehensive overview of the case, featuring interviews with journalists who covered it, former law enforcement officials, and people who knew the victims.
Here’s what to know about the Tylenol murders, how Lewis has remained the main suspect for so long, and why the case is still cold after four decades.
What to know about the Tylenol murders
Authorities realized something was amiss when three members of the same family—Stanley Janus (25), Adam Janus (27) and Theresa Janus (20)—died at the same time.
“The only reason why they understood this happened was because three young people from the same family died all together at the same time,” says Yotam Guendelman, co-director of Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders. “In many ways, this is sort of the perfect crime because cyanide is basically untraceable after a few hours.”
Other victims included: Mary Kellerman (12); Mary Reiner (27), a mother who had just delivered her fourth child; Paula Prince (35), a United flight attendant; and Mary McFarland (31), a telephone company worker.
Filmmakers tracked down the people who could recall the horror of watching the victims’ final moments.
Reiner’s daughter Michelle Rosen recalls being eight-years-old when she saw her mother fall to the floor, wracked with convulsions. Jean Regula Leavengood, who rushed over to the home of her fellow flight attendant Prince because she was having trouble getting in…
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