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1982 Chicago Tylenol murdersThe Tylenol murders occurred in the autumn of 1982, when seven people in the Chicago, Illinois areain the United Statesdied after ingesting Extra Strength Tylenolmedicinecapsules which had been laced with cyanidepoison. This incident was the first known case of death caused by deliberate product tampering. The perpetrator has never been caught, but the incident led to reforms in the packaging of over-the-counter substanceand federal anti-tampering laws.
The incidentsIn the early morning of Wednesday, September 29, 1982, 12-year old Mary Kellerman of Elk Grove Villagedied 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, taking pills from the same bottle. By October 1, 1982, the poisoning had also taken the lives of Paula Prince of Chicago, Mary Reiner of Winfield, and Mary McFarland of Elmhurst. 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 supermarketsand drug storesover a period of weeks, pilfered packages of Tylenol from the shelves, adulterated their contents with solid cyanidecompound 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. InvestigationThe crime has never been solved, although an opportunistic extortionistwith no connection to the deaths had made a money demand. This person, one James W. Lewis, was arrested and ended up serving 13 years of a 20-year prison term for the extortion. A $100,000 reward, posted by Johnson & Johnson for the capture and conviction of the "Tylenol Killer", has never been claimed. AftermathJohnson & 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 analgesicin the United States. A number of copycatattacks involving Tylenol and other products (see Excedrin) ensued during the following years. However, the incident did inspire the pharmaceutical, food, and consumer product industries to develop tamper-resistantpackaging and improved quality controlmethods. 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 Administrationintroduced more stringent regulations to avoid product tampering. This led to the eventual replacement of the capsule with the solid "caplet" as a drug delivery form and to the addition of tamper-evidentsafety-seals to bottles of many sorts. External links
Further reading
Categories: History of Chicago| Homicides| Pharmacology| Unsolved murders| 1982
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