Seven People Died After Ingesting Tylenol in the 1980s — Were the Tylenol Murderers Caught?

In 1982, the city of Chicago was gripped by a series of bizarre deaths that on the surface were not connected to each other. Over the course of two days, seven people died hours after ingesting Tylenol they purchased from various locations across the city. These seemingly random deaths were later traced back to the drug and were categorized as murders.

The Tylenol Murders created a wave of panic that was similar to the fear felt in New York City when the Son of Sam was stalking victims in the late 1970s. An investigation into this never-before-seen type of crime was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. Did authorities ever catch the Tylenol murderers? Here's what we know.

Despite an exhaustive investigation that spanned decades, the individual or individuals responsible for the Tylenol murders were never caught. According to Analytical Chemistry, authorities learned that the Tylenol capsules ingested by the victims had been tampered with and were laced with potassium cyanide. Johnson & Johnson and McNeil Consumer Products, the makers of Tylenol, quickly recalled every bottle being sold in the greater Chicago area.

It didn't take long for the rest of the country to panic, which resulted in stores across the United States pulling Tylenol from their shelves, per Time. This was also due to the fact that investigators reached the conclusion that the Tylenol bottles were being tampered with at the stores. Unfortunately, a wave of copycat crimes also swept the nation and even expanded to food tampering, in particular Halloween candy. There were more than 270 incidents of product interference.

Despite not charging anyone in connection with the Tylenol murders, police long suspected the person responsible was a tax consultant named James Lewis. In October 1982, he wrote a letter to Tylenol manufacturers demanding they give him $1 million to "stop the killings." Lewis had a record that dated back to 1978 when he was charged with murdering a Kansas City man, who was one of his clients, after his dismembered remains were found in his attic.

A judge later ruled that the police search of Lewis's home was illegal, so the charges were dropped. Lewis denied he was involved with the Tylenol murders, but he was convicted of extortion for writing the letter. He served more than 12 years in a federal prison. In February 2009, investigators reopened the case and once again turned their attention to Lewis. The F.B.I. conducted a search of Lewis's home in Cambridge, Mass., leaving with several boxes as well as his computer, per The New York Times.

The motivation behind this renewed interest in Lewis was partially due to the fact that 2007 marked the 25th anniversary of the murders. There were also advances in technology that might be able to help. Authorities always believed that Lewis was the man behind the Tylenol murders, but they could never prove it. In July 2023, Lewis died at the age of 76 from a pulmonary embolism.