Arlington Heights police still investigating Tylenol poisoning murders, 40 years later
CHICAGO (CBS) – Exactly 40 years ago, a 12-year-old girl and three members of the same family died when they took the over-the-counter pain killer Tylenol. Unbeknownst to them, it had been laced with cyanide.
Their deaths set off panic across the Chicagoland area. In total, seven people would die. To this day, the case remains unsolved.
CBS 2's Chris Tye had more on how the Arlington Heights Police Department is still handling the case that's very much active.
The victims in this case crisscrossed from the city into suburbs. Three deaths took place in Arlington Heights.
Multiple agencies dug into the cases, but none were ever closed.
The tiny capsules laced with cyanide remain critical pieces of evidence stored by the FBI, may just be the best shot investigators ever have at knowing what really happened.
"We are still actively working this as a homicide investigation of a serial killer," said Arlington Heights police Sgt. Joe Murphy.
That's a serial killer or killers that laced little red and white capsules with potassium cyanide, creating a medical red alert unlike anything the country had seen before, whose identity, 40 years later, remains a mystery.
Among the first victims to die in 1982 were three members of the Janus family in Arlington Heights.
"[It's] basically one of the first acts of terrorism in the country," Murphy said, who is one of the investigators assigned to the case.
Hundreds of investigators have tackled the case and millions of people stopped taking the pain medication during the scare.
But in recent years, the hope is that new DNA technology and the 40-year anniversary of the case may just unearth something.
"The anniversary brings the opportunity with the increased media attention to possibly hear from somebody that's had reservations about coming forward," Murphy said.
And even as recently as last year, tips have not stopped coming in.
"Within the last year, we've received multiple tips," Murphy said.
Investigators have been running the new tips against the old evidence to see if anything sticks. This is the pathway, investigators said, to solving the case.
"We're looking at technology advances that have been emerging over the last couple of years, mostly regarding DNA and fingerprints," Murphy said.
He added, "We have the untainted pills and the tainted pills in the bottles and the boxes and the cotton balls that were inside."
Murphy also pointed out that "it seems there has been an acceleration of cold cases being solved. I think a lot of that has to do with the new DNA technology that's out there."
CBS 2 investigators have confirmed that individuals investigating the Tylenol murders were in Boston just last week, further investigating efforts that included interviewing a long-standing suspect in the case: James Lewis. He was convicted of sending a $1 million extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson, the company that produces Tylenol, after the murders.
"That's where you have hope in finding that resolution that everybody's seeking," Murphy said. "There's still viable leads and forensics, absolutely,"
It's still not absolute that the case will be definitively closed, which generations of relatives hope for.
"It's 40 years and no one's been charged with this crime," Murphy said. "I can understand that frustration.
"There's always gonna be people out there to second guess what you've done and as an agency we just have to put our best foot forward and make sure we're doing everything we can to solve this case."
CBS 2 pressed for more answers, like specifics on suspects, evidence and the state of the investigation. But Murphy would not confirm what suspects or leads they are looking for.
To learn more about CBS 2's investigation into the Tylenol murders, "Painkiller," visit cbsnews.com/Chicago/painkiller.
