Tylenol Murders Remain Unsolved After 37 Years

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — The deaths of seven people who died after taking potassium cyanide-laced Tylenol products 37 years ago are still under investigation by police in Arlington Heights, where three victims of the 1982 Tylenol Murders died. Multiple suspects in the case remain, and police still hold out hope of making an arrest nearly four decades later.

"This is still an active investigation, and we are moving forward with it," Arlington Heights Police Department Commander Joseph Pinnello told Patch just before the 37th anniversary of the crime that resulted in the creation of tamper-proof packaging for products sold at stores nationwide.

'When We Lost Our Innocence': Nurse Who First Saw Tylenol Connection Remembers Murders

"We are constantly reviewing documents and files related to the case and coming up with new approaches with the hopes of eventually arresting someone," Pinnello said.

In one of the nation's most well-known cold cases, seven people across the Chicagoland region died over a three-day span from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, 1982. All seven deaths were traced back to various bottles of Tylenol capsules that had all been laced with cyanide.

Three members of the Janus family — Adam, Stanley and Teresa — died after taking pills from the same bottle on Sept. 30, 1982 in Arlington Heights. The other victims were Mary Kellerman, a 12-year-old girl from Elk Grove Village; Mary McFarland; Paula Prince and Mary Reiner.

The deaths prompted a nationwide recall of all Tylenol products, and for years after were believed to be the basis for a number of "copycat" crimes in which over-the-counter medication had been tampered with and people died from the poisonings.

While a man named James Lewis spent 13 years in prison for writing an extortion letter to Tylenol maker Johnson & Johnson in connection with the murders, no one has ever been arrested in connection with the seven murders.

Pinnello said that while changes occur in the staffing at the police department, the importance of one day solving the Tylenol Murders remains a constant.

"We have retirements, changes in positions and are right now bringing in new investigators to bring them up to speed on the investigation," he said.

The investigation has not narrowed on any specific suspect in the last year, however.

"We are not focusing (the investigation) on one person or another," Pinnello said. "It would hurt our investigation if we weren't looking at many different avenues."

The Tylenol Murders are one of those tragic events in American history that some, like former Arlington Heights village nurse Helen Jensen who first saw the Tylenol connection in all seven deaths, say was the moment in time in which the country "lost its innocence."

Making it just as important now as it was in 1982 to find the person responsible.

"Even after 37 years, we are hopeful for an arrest," Pinnello said.

Related: Timeline, Theories in 1982 Tylenol Murders