Paramount+’s latest documentary titled Painkiller: The Tylenol Murders chronicles the notorious unsolved murders from 1982. The latest addition premiered earlier today, i.e., October 10, 2023, on the streaming service.
Starting on September 29, seven victims, including a 12-year-old girl, died after consuming cyanide-laced Tylenol in the Chicago area. The deaths occurred over a span of three days and subsequently prompted the emergence of tamperproof packaging for over-the-counter medications.
Investigators have failed to solve the case even to this day, despite having set their sights on a primary suspect, James Lewis. No one was ever charged in the killings. Moreover, Lewis recently died after spending a dozen years in prison on unrelated charges.
Who Were the Seven Victims of the 1982 Tylenol Murders?
According to KMBC News, on September 29, 1982, Mary Ann Kellerman, 12, died after ingesting Extra-Strength Tylenol. Experts later disclosed that the over-the-counter medication was laced with a deadly dose of cyanide. Following Kemmerman’s tragic demise, six other individuals died in the following days. Their names were Adam Janus, 27, Mary Reiner, also 27, Stanley Janus, 25, Theresa Janus, 19, Mary McFarland, 35, and Paula Prince, also 35.
The outlet reported that investigators were able to link all seven deaths to Tylenol. They also found multiple other laced bottles of the drug. These crucial discoveries were made in a couple of drug and grocery stores in the Chicago area. Back then, as panic spread across the country, over 31 million bottles of Tylenol already in circulation were reportedly recalled.
People as well as law enforcement officials widely believe that those involved did not tamper with the pain relief medicines during production. In fact, they have theorized that the bottles were likely laced with cyanide while on store shelves. Little to no progress has been made as the murders remain unsolved to date.
Is There a Suspect in the Decades-Old Case?
As the years passed, investigators were stunned by the mysterious Tylenol murders case but failed to find the individual(s) involved in the crime. However, they did believe that a man named James Lewis was involved in the killings. He remained a primary suspect for a couple of years and was eventually ruled out as one.
Nonetheless, Lewis eventually faced extortion charges after writing a letter to the drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. In that letter, he claimed to be the Tylenol killer while also demanding $1 million in exchange for stopping the poisonings. The man was then sentenced to 20 years in prison and only recently died earlier this year at the age of 76.
