Netflix's Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders is a captivating true-crime docuseries chronicling the shocking crime that occurred in the Chicago metropolitan area in 1982, where seven people died after ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. While a significant number of people consider the prime suspects to be the perpetrators, there are still those convinced that the drug's manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, as well as the authorities, played a significant role in the incident. However, the real truth remains unclear, as the case remains unsolved to this day, making The Tylenol Murders an even more intriguing film.
On September 29, 1982, the Arlington Heights, Illinois, fire and emergency department was informed of a situation requiring immediate medical assistance: a man named Adam Janus had suddenly fallen ill. The 27-year-old man felt unwell and had taken the day off, but suddenly collapsed and became seriously ill, leaving the doctors rushing to treat or help him. Adam Janus died of an unknown cause, and authorities believed it was a sudden heart attack or other health problem that had taken his life. As the Janus family gathered to mourn his sudden death, another tragedy awaited them: Adam's brother, Stanley, and his wife, Teresa, died in their home under mysterious circumstances. When authorities were informed again, they were shocked to discover that three young, healthy people had suddenly died of heart attacks, which was extremely unusual.
Stars: Chuck Kramer, Joseph Janus, Monica Janus
After a quick inspection of the house, a connection was found between the three deceased: they had all taken medication from the same bottle. Since Adam had caught a cold, he had taken two Extra Strength Tylenol tablets, acetaminophen capsule, and, coincidentally, Stanley and Teresa had each taken two tablets from the same bottle to relieve their headaches. Officials quickly analyzed the newly purchased bottle, as only six capsules were missing, and sent it for further examination. Meanwhile, another victim, a 12-year-old girl named Mary Kellerman, had died after taking Tylenol tablets to treat her cold. Although the possibility of a Tylenol overdose as the cause of these deaths was ruled out, as the symptoms were completely inconsistent, authorities decided to conduct a toxicological analysis of the capsules collected from the Janus house.
It was then that a shocking revelation was made: four of the remaining 44 pills in the bottle were found to contain high doses of cyanide, meaning that 10 of the 50 pills in the new bottle were fatally toxic. Within 24 hours, three more victims, all under the age of 30, were found dead from cyanide poisoning after consuming Extra Strength Tylenol tablets. The source of the fatal poisoning was already quite clear, and on September 30, health authorities addressed the public live on television to inform them of the strange event, also asking them not to take Tylenol until further notice. The Chicago Police Department took charge of the situation and began active campaigns, including television and newspaper advertisements, as well as door-to-door canvassing, to prevent people from purchasing and consuming more Tylenol tablets. This created panic among the public, as they feared that other medications were similarly contaminated with poison, but this was obviously better than not warning them about the situation. The makers of Tylenol, the world's largest healthcare conglomerate, Johnson & Johnson, soon had to step in and address the public, as the question understandably arose as to whether people were dying through their own fault or due to negligence. Tylenol, manufactured by the McNeil Company, owned by Johnson & Johnson, was (and remains) the conglomerate's best-selling product by a wide margin, so they had to address the situation quickly. They began by recalling approximately 5 million pills from pharmacies and suppliers throughout the Chicagoland region to prevent people from purchasing the contaminated batch.
By then, the FBI had already intervened, supposedly at the request of President Ronald Reagan, and Johnson & Johnson agreed to cooperate in any way possible. Initially, it was considered possible that workers at the factory, which supplied the Illinois market, had contaminated the batch with cyanide, intentionally or unintentionally, meaning the conglomerate was directly responsible for the terrible incident. However, it was later revealed that some of the poisoned batches came from two different factories, in Pennsylvania and Texas. This was considered solid evidence that the pills had not been contaminated with poison at the factories, but afterward, which Johnson & Johnson immediately used to clean up its public image.
After removing the drug from the shelves for a time, the conglomerate reintroduced it with more security measures on the bottles to prevent tampering. While the drug typically came in bottles that could be easily opened, contaminated, and resealed without a trace, the Tylenol Murders changed this packaging style forever. Johnson & Johnson reintroduced the drug by modifying the outer carton, which now had adhesive flaps that couldn't be closed once opened, and the bottle itself, adding neck seals and foil inner seals—practices that have become standard packaging practices. However, despite these advances, authorities still had no clue who committed this heinous crime until an anonymous letter was sent to Johnson & Johnson a week after the incident. In it, the alleged perpetrator threatened to kill more people until his demands were met.
The blackmail letter showed the perpetrator bragging about spending less than $50 to contaminate each bottle and how it took him less than 10 minutes to poison the pills that killed seven people and tarnished Johnson & Johnson's public image. The letter ordered the company to transfer $1 million to a Continental Illinois Bank account to stop the murders. The police immediately decided to track down the sender of the letter, which was no easy task. However, they had to investigate the aforementioned bank account, belonging to a Chicago travel agency called Lakeside Travel. When questioned by authorities, the company's owner, Fred McCahey, denied sending any letters, and his demeanor and his belonging to a wealthy family suggested he wouldn't go as far as demanding a million dollars. It was through McCahey that the police learned of another man, named Robert Richardson, with whom he had recently had an altercation.
When the police began investigating Robert Richardson, who was missing at the time, they eventually discovered that his real name was James Lewis and that he had been a suspect in another case previously. Interestingly, James Lewis himself appears in the Netflix series "The Tylenol Murders" and attempts to clear up the confusion surrounding his involvement. Lewis had a difficult childhood after his mother abandoned him at a very young age, and he was later adopted by another family. After completing his university studies, Lewis married the love of his life, Leanne, and opened an accounting business with her. Their only child, Toni, was born with Down syndrome, and it was through the lively girl that James Lewis befriended an older man named Ray West. West, a retired truck driver, grew attached to Toni and visited her at the garage almost daily until the girl tragically passed away at the age of five. Toni was born with a hole in her heart, which was operated on when she was a few months old, but the patch used to fill it eventually ruptured, and the girl died at the age of five.
Lewis, understandably distraught after this incident, sought support from his friend West, whose house he began to frequent. Although they initially remained on friendly terms, West complained to some friends that his accountant stayed over too often, before the man disappeared altogether. When Lewis was questioned, he claimed that West had informed him he was going on vacation, but a quick search of the missing man's home revealed the terrible truth. Ray West had been murdered, and his dismembered body had been hidden in the attic of his home. A suspicious financial transaction was also recorded: West paid $5,000 to his accountant, James Lewis, but the check was clearly forged. Police suspected that Lewis had asked West for money, but West refused, and that the accountant then killed his client and forged the check to obtain the money anyway.
Police arrested James Lewis for murder, but the defendant's lawyers claimed, shockingly, that he had not been informed of his constitutional rights during the arrest. This meant that Lewis could no longer be charged with anything due to the clear violation of his Miranda rights, and the man was released. Several months later, it was revealed that he had sent the threatening letter addressed to Johnson & Johnson, and both he and his wife were arrested by the New York police. Not only did Lewis's handwriting match the letter, but a security camera photograph of the potential suspect also made it appear that he was the perpetrator.
While most believed the real perpetrator had been caught, some, such as journalist Gardiner Harris and Michelle Rosen, daughter of Mary Lynn Reiner, one of the victims, believed, and still believe, that the situation had a different angle. According to them, and many others, Johnson & Johnson actively tried to clean its hands and refuse to take any responsibility for the murders, even though the conglomerate may have been more involved than revealed. Initially, it was claimed that cyanide was absolutely impossible to be present near the manufacturing or bottling units of Johnson & Johnson's factories, which was soon proven false.
It was evident that the pills were being tested for cyanide, meaning it was highly likely that some of the compound had accidentally gotten into them during manufacturing. This further raised the question of why the pills were being tested for cyanide, as such testing wouldn't be necessary unless Johnson & Johnson suspected some other type of contamination. Rather alarmingly, most of the testing and analysis of Tylenol pills and bottles that occurred after the series of deaths was conducted by the conglomerate itself. This meant that Johnson & Johnson essentially conducted the investigation against it and then pleaded not guilty, thus clearing its public image. The US authorities also openly supported the company, to the point that President Reagan awarded Johnson & Johnson CEO Jim Burke the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1986. The company clearly attempted to portray the murders as a "madman," a disturbed individual with criminal intent, and it can be argued that by attempting to find a suspect fitting this description, another life was lost in the process.
While no significant evidence was found against James Lewis, police investigated another man named Roger Arnold after the owner of a bar he frequented reported that he claimed to have killed people by poisoning them and that he also had cyanide in his possession. Arnold was detained for further investigation, but no evidence was found against him either. As soon as he was released, he killed the man he mistakenly believed had filed the complaint against him. A seemingly major breakthrough in the case came in 2009, when the FBI obtained DNA samples from James Lewis that matched the samples collected on the contaminated bottle at the Janus residence. Curiously, the FBI has not released the results of this test to date, and the FBI Special Agent featured in the Netflix docuseries, Roy Lane, steadfastly refuses to discuss them. For many, including the Chicago Police Department officials who began investigating the case in 1982, this is a clear indication that the FBI's theory of Lewis's authorship has fallen apart, which is why the results are being covered up.
While Johnson & Johnson and the government may not have been directly involved in the murders, or even in what appeared to be a subsequent cover-up, they clearly made a significant effort to clear their names and prove their theory of a disturbed criminal, even somewhat forcefully at times. Although James Lewis was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his threatening letter in 1982, he was arrested again in 2004 after assaulting, kidnapping, and raping a young woman who lived next door to his. Although the investigation found no DNA evidence linking him to the case, it went to trial, and the victim struggled to present her case due to the trauma, choosing not to press charges. As a result, Lewis was acquitted after spending three years in prison during the investigation. While no concrete evidence was ever found that he was the Tylenol Killer, there were certainly some suspicious details.
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