Chicago’s 1982 Tylenol Murders: The Poisonings That Shocked the Nation

The early morning of September 29th, 1982 changed the lives of many, many people.  What started as a simple sore throat and runny nose quickly escalated into one of the biggest medical mysteries in U.S. history.  Have you heard of the Chicago Tylenol Murders?

12-year-old Mary Kellerman from Elk Grove Village told her parents that she wasn't feeling well, so they gave her one extra-strength Tylenol capsule.  Little did they know, inside the capsule was potassium cyanide.  Yes, a lethal poison.

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By 7AM the next morning, Mary had passed away.  Her death was so sudden and unexplained that it caught national attention.

Chicago’s 1982 Tylenol Murders: The Poisonings That Shocked the Nation

The same day, a 27-year-old man, Adam Janus of Arlington Heights, Illinois, had also collapsed and died after being poisoned by the same thing: extra-strength Tylenol capsules.  They thought it was a heart attack, but his brother and sister-in-law also took the same medication from the exact same bottle while mourning Adam's death.

Both the brother and sister-in-law died just days later.

Within days, three more victims had died:

• Mary McFarland of Elmhurst
• Paula Prince of Chicago
• Mary Weiner of Winfield

All of their deaths had one thing in common: they all consumed Tylenol capsules before their deaths.

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By early October of 1982, investigators put it all together: someone had tampered with Tylenol bottles, lacing the pain reliever with cyanide.  The poisonings didn't happen at the factory, though.  The bottles were actually pulled off the shelves, manipulated, and put back on the shelves for other customers to buy.

This terrified the public.  It'd terrify anyone!

So, Johnson & Johnson, the parent company of Tylenol's maker, McNeil Consumer Products, faced a massive crisis at this point.  They immediately recalled more than 31 million bottles nationwide, and worked directly with media to warn consumers.

This is where tamper-proof packaging was born.  Foil seals, childproof caps (which are truly a blessing), and protective wrappers that became the "new standard" for over-the-counter medications.

As for today, the case remains unsolved.  Nobody could actually be tied to the actual killings.  Congress than passed the "Tylenol Bill' in 1983, which made product tampering a federal crime!  By 1989, the FDA required all medications to have tamper-evident packaging.

Tylenol sales plummeted, but Johnson & Johnson's quick response and safety integrations helped them bound back pretty fast, within a year's time.  The Tylenol Murders still remain one of Illinois' most unsolved crimes.