- 2 hours ago
مسلسل Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders مترجم - Episode 1
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:10Good evening, this is the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather reporting.
00:14A bizarre and terrifying story today.
00:16Seven persons are now dead in the Chicago area.
00:18After they took Tylenol capsules that had been laced with poison.
00:22Police say the capsules were laced by someone officials describe as a very sophisticated malicious person.
00:28It was just such a terrible crime to take a product that helps someone and turn it into a weapon.
00:36The guy's a maniac, I mean, Paula was murdered, she was just murdered.
00:41This is the perfect crime.
00:44The innocent people going through their normal daily lives were poisoned to death for no reason.
00:53There are real reasons to doubt the narrative that we've all accepted.
00:58For 42 years.
01:00The tampering with and the poisoning of the product did not, I repeat, did not take place in our plan.
01:08Why are we not digging and asking Johnson & Johnson more questions?
01:13It's baffling to me how secretive the investigators have been.
01:17They're barking up the wrong tree, and it absolutely guarantees that they will never solve the Tylenol homicides.
01:26There's somebody out there, and you have to follow the evidence, wherever the evidence takes you.
01:34What is our injury?
01:49Management 1,555, our thingy in Columbo, our league of Jones Institute.
01:49How many people want to tell you what you have been with?
01:59tempo, we'll treat everyone's body of spot that day. That
02:01straws were on fire, and it's very important for you to
02:19I've been on thousands of calls in a 31-year career,
02:22but there are some that just come back like a ton of bricks.
02:27September 29th of 1982, just prior to 12 o'clock noon,
02:31the tones went off, and they announced,
02:34District 3, you have a code 1,
02:37which was a call for an ambulance, a medical assist.
02:40The gentleman's name was Adam Janis.
02:42He was 27 years old.
02:46He was not quite feeling well that particular day,
02:49and he told his wife, he said,
02:51I think I'm going to take the day off, and then he collapsed.
02:56He was down no matter what we tried.
02:59Nothing worked.
03:00Don't like a bolt.
03:01He was 27 years old, healthy, except for a cold.
03:04We lost him.
03:12I got a phone call.
03:14They said, my brother, Adam, got a heart attack.
03:21I said, what are you talking about?
03:22He's a very healthy person.
03:25They said, he's dead.
03:28We can do nothing to him.
03:30I almost passed out.
03:31I was, I was, I was shocked.
03:35The family gathers at the hospital.
03:37Everyone is confused, and they're all questioning each other.
03:41Did Adam have some kind of heart condition?
03:44Was he on any kind of medication?
03:45And his wife said, no, there was nothing wrong with Adam.
03:52The same day that Adam passed away, my grandparents, they asked everyone to gather at Adam's house to grieve.
04:02My uncle Stanley and his wife, Teresa, did not want to.
04:07They said they'll come and visit the next day.
04:09But my grandma was very adamant.
04:12And she said, well, you have to be with your family.
04:18My brother Stanley and Teresa, I guess they were depressed.
04:23Maybe they had a headache.
04:25I don't know.
04:27There was a Tylenol sitting on top of the table.
04:33And they took the pills.
04:36We were sitting on a couch.
04:39Stanley, he stand up, he said a couple words, and then he fell down.
04:46His mouth, white foam was coming out.
04:49And he started, you know, shaking.
04:52I was looking at him, I see his eyes are turning white.
04:58Just before 6 o'clock, the tones went off again.
05:03And it was deja vu.
05:05Code 1.
05:07It was the same exact address.
05:09For the man down.
05:11And the guys looked at me, they said, it's impossible, he's dead.
05:15When I got into the house,
05:19one of the most seasoned paramedics I knew
05:22looked up, and I could see fear in his face.
05:25He said, this is the same thing as this morning.
05:28We're losing this guy.
05:31A young woman came up to me,
05:33and she was holding onto my arm,
05:35and she was screaming, Stanley, Stanley.
05:38This was his wife.
05:39Her name was Teresa.
05:42And suddenly, she let out a groan
05:45and collapsed right next to me.
05:47And I knelt down, and I turned her over.
05:49And as soon as I did, I looked into her eyes,
05:52and they were fixed, her pupils were fixed and dilated.
05:55Her breathing was rapid and shallow,
05:57the same as the brother earlier,
05:59and the same as her husband.
06:01I looked at the guys and said,
06:02these are not all heart attacks.
06:04Something's killing them.
06:08Three people, all in one family.
06:11I don't know what we're dealing with,
06:13so I thought of Helen Jensen.
06:15Helen Jensen was our health department chief nurse.
06:20Two young officers took me out to the house.
06:24I wanted to see if there was anything suspicious
06:26in the refrigerator,
06:28that maybe somebody had eaten,
06:30that they'd eaten something toxic.
06:32There was nothing.
06:34I went into the bathroom,
06:37and I found this bottle of extra-strength Tylenol,
06:40which was brand new.
06:44And I laid it out and counted it.
06:51There were six capsules missing,
06:54and there are three victims.
06:56And I said, it has to be Tylenol.
07:05Naturally, when we come back from call,
07:07we discuss what had happened.
07:09I told a friend of mine, I said,
07:10Phil, we've had a really unusual day.
07:12I said, the only thing these people had in common for the day
07:14is they all took a Tylenol.
07:17And his voice, he said, what?
07:19And I said, they all took a Tylenol.
07:21He said, Chuck, the lady from Elk Grove,
07:23her name is Kellerman.
07:24She lost her little girl this morning, 12 years old.
07:31She had a cold.
07:33She wanted to stay home from school that day.
07:34She didn't feel well.
07:35Her mom and dad said, okay, here,
07:37take a couple of Tylenol, which she did.
07:40And they heard her collapse in the bathroom.
07:43They got into the bathroom.
07:44They called the paramedics.
07:46And no matter what they did, she was going down.
07:50Healthy little girl,
07:51the only thing she did was take Tylenol.
07:55How can you lose a 12-year-old girl?
07:57I said, I don't know if there's something wrong with that stuff,
08:00but somebody better check.
08:02I'm going to call the hospital.
08:05I remember it as if it happened yesterday.
08:10I knew immediately there's something horrible happening
08:14that I'm obligated to trying to explain.
08:21A young girl and two brothers dead.
08:25Teresa was brain dead.
08:28And the paramedics thought maybe it was the Tylenol.
08:34I remember thinking,
08:35it can't be Tylenol overdose.
08:38Because you have to take tons of pills,
08:43and it takes two, three days before you die.
08:46And these people died so quickly.
08:50So what's in this pill?
08:54I had taken care of patients with poisons
08:57when I was in training in ICU,
09:00like arsenic, lead, botulism, and that kind of thing.
09:04But they all have symptoms,
09:06like nausea, vomiting,
09:07or some neurologic problems.
09:11But these cases, they had no symptoms.
09:16I was pacing in the room,
09:17looking through the pharmacologic books,
09:20and that's when I thought cyanide poisoning,
09:24like in the movies,
09:27spy movies,
09:28where someone would get caught,
09:30they would fight on the tablet,
09:32and they're instantly dead.
09:36So I took two samples of blood
09:39from Stanley and Teresa,
09:42and I sent them to the lab
09:45and said,
09:46can you have someone check for cyanide?
09:51I got a call from the lab,
09:53and she said,
09:54I did the test that you wanted.
09:56They were positive.
09:58I said,
09:59oh my God.
10:01There's a potential for a disaster.
10:05People's lives are on the line.
10:13September of 1982,
10:14I was a rookie reporter for CNN.
10:19This day,
10:20there came across the ticker,
10:22news of a press conference
10:23at the medical examiner's office.
10:25Now,
10:26it figured that that was some local story,
10:28but we didn't have anything else going on.
10:30So out we went
10:31to the medical examiner's office.
10:33In fact,
10:33I made plans for later in the day
10:35because I thought,
10:36this is some local thing
10:37and I'm going to get off early.
10:41We were contacted last night
10:42and immediately
10:44an investigator from our office
10:46was dispatched to the scene
10:47and to the hospital.
10:50They talked about deaths
10:51that had taken place,
10:52poisonings.
10:53In two cases,
10:54in Cook County, Illinois,
10:55we had found cyanide
10:57and Tylenol,
10:58and that we want the people
11:00to be aware of this.
11:01But these are two different locations,
11:04two distinct locations.
11:06But by the end of that press conference,
11:09the word kind of came
11:10from the medical examiner's office,
11:13you shouldn't take Tylenol.
11:14The only safe course here
11:16is that people should refrain
11:18from taking extra-strength Tylenol.
11:21Which,
11:23I'm a rookie reporter,
11:24I don't want to overreact to something,
11:26but I'm kind of looking for like,
11:28is this a big deal?
11:29Because I think this is a big deal.
11:31The Cook County Medical Examiner's office
11:33here in Chicago
11:33has definitely confirmed
11:35the presence of cyanide
11:36in two separate bottles
11:38of extra-strength Tylenol.
11:40And then it mushroomed from there
11:43as to where's this going?
11:44A bizarre and terrifying story today
11:46in the Chicago suburbs
11:48of Arlington Heights
11:48and Elk Grove Village.
11:51Three people are dead,
11:52and another is in critical condition tonight.
11:55Doctors found each victim
11:57had taken Tylenol,
11:58each had cyanide
12:00in the bloodstream.
12:02By the end of the day,
12:04there were two more victims.
12:08In Downers Grove,
12:09still another death
12:10suspected of being cyanide poisoning.
12:13This is 31-year-old Mary McFarland
12:16who took the capsule at her job
12:18after feeling ill.
12:20The warnings against taking
12:21extra-strength Tylenol
12:22came too late
12:23for 27-year-old Mary Reiner.
12:26Winfield, Illinois,
12:27where this latest poisoning case
12:29has been reported,
12:29is located about 25 miles
12:31from the northwest Chicago suburbs
12:33where the initial deaths occurred,
12:34meaning that the tainted drugs
12:36have had some degree of circulation.
12:49September 29, 1982,
12:52my mom was 27 years old.
12:55She had just given birth
12:56to her fourth child.
12:58I was eight years old.
13:04That day, my dad,
13:06he picked us up from school.
13:07I'm walking into the house,
13:11and I remember her coming out
13:13of the bathroom
13:14and saying,
13:15I feel weird.
13:16And my grandma told her
13:18to sit down,
13:19pulled out a kitchen chair,
13:21and her breathing was erratic.
13:24It was hard.
13:25It was memorable still.
13:28I still remember
13:30the breathing in her eyes
13:31and how scared
13:33she looked in her eyes.
13:38My grandma told her
13:39to put her face,
13:43put her head between her knees,
13:47and maybe that would help
13:48her breathing.
13:52But it didn't help,
13:53and she went into convulsions,
13:56and I just watched her
13:57hit the floor.
14:00I do remember my dad
14:02picking up the phone,
14:03calling 911,
14:04and then sending me upstairs.
14:08And the next I know is
14:10I'm watching my mom,
14:12you know,
14:13go out on a stretcher.
14:14I didn't realize
14:14that she had died.
14:15I didn't know that.
14:16I just thought
14:16the paramedics
14:17were taking her out.
14:22And we did not find out
14:24until the next afternoon
14:25what had happened.
14:29And I came home from school.
14:31House is full of crying people.
14:32Arms out.
14:33What's going on?
14:35And my dad had taken us upstairs
14:37and said that,
14:41um,
14:42had said that
14:45Jesus came down
14:46to take your mom
14:47to live with him.
14:59Back in 1982,
15:02I was the chief executive officer
15:04of the entire police department.
15:08We have a lot of murders
15:10every day in Chicago.
15:12We've seen it all.
15:15But the Tylenol murders
15:17were unusual
15:19because here they had
15:22these unfortunate people
15:24suffering,
15:25poisoning,
15:26just as random victims.
15:30The general population
15:32of northeastern Illinois,
15:34the Chicago metropolitan area,
15:36was about 6 million people.
15:416 million terrified people
15:45all wondering
15:46if the next thing
15:48that I'm going to put
15:48in my mouth
15:49is going to be contaminated
15:51and am I going to die.
15:53And there was terror.
15:54There was fear.
15:56The news of the poisoning
15:58has just hit the community
15:59like a bombshell.
16:01People who shop
16:02in one of the supermarkets
16:03where the contaminated capsules
16:04were bought
16:05worry about this.
16:06Gary,
16:07makes me apprehensive
16:08come on and use it myself.
16:10How would you like to die tomorrow
16:11from taking aspirin?
16:14You know,
16:14so it's got to make people worry.
16:19St. Joe's,
16:20poison information center.
16:21May I help you?
16:22Poison control centers
16:23throughout the metro area
16:24were inundated with calls
16:25from worried residents.
16:26She's short of breath.
16:28Maybe we ought to check her out
16:28and see what's going on.
16:29We've been receiving calls
16:31about once every 15 seconds.
16:35People would be calling me,
16:38what's going on?
16:39I said,
16:39I don't know what's going on.
16:41But almost every home in America
16:44would have had Tylenol.
16:45So our first concern
16:47was to get the Tylenol
16:50off the shelves.
16:53We had police cars
16:55going up and down
16:56the streets
16:57of the city of Chicago
16:59giving warnings.
17:01Cyanide-contaminated Tylenol
17:03has been responsible
17:04for deaths
17:04in the Ironton Heights area.
17:06Do not take Tylenol
17:07until further notice.
17:08This product
17:09may be contaminated
17:10with cyanide.
17:12Volunteers are going
17:13door to door
17:13warning anybody
17:14who hasn't heard
17:15about the Tylenol scare.
17:17Do you have any Tylenol
17:18in the house?
17:22The warnings everywhere
17:24from the television screen
17:25to the Mayor Jane Byrne's
17:27midnight live television
17:28plea to all Chicagoans.
17:30Don't use Tylenol.
17:40Johnson & Johnson
17:42is the largest
17:43healthcare conglomerate
17:44in the world.
17:48Tylenol is
17:49by far and away
17:51the most
17:52profitable
17:53and successful
17:54part of the company.
17:56My name's Gardner Harris.
17:58I was the lead
17:59pharmaceutical reporter
18:00for the New York Times.
18:02I covered Johnson & Johnson
18:03for many, many years.
18:06After the 1982 deaths,
18:08there was a sense
18:09of disbelief
18:10within
18:11Johnson & Johnson
18:13corporate circles
18:14that this was happening
18:15and there is
18:17reason to believe
18:18that in those
18:19early days,
18:20Johnson & Johnson
18:21executives
18:22suspected
18:24that they had
18:25some responsibility.
18:26Our first reaction
18:27was
18:28one of fear.
18:30Could this possibly
18:31have
18:31somehow happened
18:33in our
18:34manufacturing process
18:36of our facilities?
18:36If the poisoning
18:39had been found
18:40to take place
18:40in their
18:41manufacturing facilities,
18:43clearly would have
18:44been
18:44Johnson & Johnson's
18:45fault
18:46and they would
18:47likely
18:47lose
18:48the trust
18:50the public
18:51had
18:51attached to
18:53that brand.
18:54I'm very careful
18:55about the medicines
18:56I keep at home.
18:57That's why
18:57we use Tylenol.
18:59For relief
18:59you can trust.
19:01Trust Tylenol.
19:02Hospitals do.
19:05Tylenol is made
19:06by a company
19:07called
19:07McNeil.
19:09McNeil is owned
19:10by Johnson & Johnson.
19:13Tylenol was
19:14by far
19:15Johnson & Johnson's
19:16biggest selling
19:17most profitable
19:18product.
19:21More than
19:2225% of their
19:23profits
19:24are bound up
19:25with Tylenol.
19:29If they
19:30lose Tylenol,
19:31if they
19:32lose that
19:32brand,
19:33it's an
19:33existential
19:34issue
19:35for the
19:35conglomerate.
19:36In Washington,
19:37the head
19:38of Johnson & Johnson
19:39spoke out.
19:40Wayne Nelson
19:40feels somebody
19:41has it in
19:42for his
19:42company.
19:43All I can
19:44tell you
19:44is it's a
19:44deliberate
19:45attempt to
19:46sabotage
19:46the product.
19:47I am
19:47indicating
19:48that this
19:49is a
19:50clear-cut
19:50example
19:51of
19:51indiscriminate
19:52murder.
19:54As soon
19:54as the
19:55news
19:55emerges,
19:56Johnson &
19:57Johnson
19:57went
19:58immediately
19:58into
19:59emergency
20:00mode.
20:00There
20:01was
20:02an
20:02understanding
20:03that
20:04they
20:04needed
20:04to get
20:05control
20:05of this
20:06and get
20:06control
20:07of the
20:07narrative
20:07immediately
20:08or
20:10the
20:10company
20:11would
20:11be no
20:12more.
20:16I was
20:17attorney
20:17general,
20:19the chief
20:19law enforcement
20:20officer for
20:21the state
20:21of Illinois.
20:22I became
20:23the face
20:24of the
20:24investigation.
20:27I was
20:28having this
20:28conference
20:29in the
20:29attorney
20:29general's
20:30office
20:30with all
20:30of these
20:31local
20:32police
20:32officers.
20:33During
20:33that
20:34meeting,
20:34I got
20:34a call
20:35from the
20:35head of
20:35Johnson &
20:36Johnson
20:36who said,
20:37we're not
20:38sure what's
20:38going on
20:39on this,
20:39but anything
20:40we can do.
20:41And I said,
20:41well, what we
20:41can do is
20:42don't sell
20:43any Tylenol.
20:44There's a
20:44nationwide alert
20:45tonight that
20:45has triggered
20:46a recall of
20:47nearly 5 million
20:48capsules.
20:49They were
20:49doing what
20:50they could do.
20:50It's a matter
20:51of common sense
20:52and self-preservation,
20:54right?
20:56To that point
20:57in time,
20:58it was the
20:58largest recall
20:59in history.
21:02But now,
21:03we had to
21:04figure out
21:04what was
21:05going on
21:06and how
21:06to deal
21:06with it.
21:09Chicago Police
21:10Superintendent
21:10Richard Brzezak
21:11talked about
21:12the investigation.
21:13I really
21:13can't play
21:14God and tell
21:15you how long
21:16it's going
21:16to take.
21:17One of the
21:18first things
21:18I did was
21:20I went right
21:20over to
21:21the medical
21:21examiner's
21:22laboratory
21:23to look at
21:24the poisoned
21:25Tylenol.
21:27When I walked
21:28in there,
21:29the bottle
21:29of Tylenol
21:30was sitting
21:30on the
21:31laboratory
21:31table.
21:34Some of
21:35the capsules
21:36were out
21:37on the table.
21:41But what
21:42was unusual
21:43was that
21:44some of
21:45the capsules
21:46had brown
21:47rings from
21:49the cyanide
21:50forming around
21:52the ends
21:53of the
21:53gelatinous
21:54capsule.
21:56Capsule came
21:57in two parts,
21:59red and
22:00white.
22:01And you
22:02could pull
22:02those capsules
22:03apart with
22:04your fingers.
22:05And I could
22:06tell from
22:07looking at
22:08it that
22:09it had
22:09been pulled
22:10apart,
22:11the medicine
22:12was emptied,
22:14and cyanide
22:15was scooped
22:16up and the
22:17capsule put
22:17back together.
22:19What kind
22:20of person
22:21did this?
22:25Officials
22:26from the
22:26FBI,
22:27Illinois,
22:27and local
22:28police met
22:28in Arlington
22:29Heights,
22:29Illinois,
22:30to coordinate
22:30their investigation
22:31into the
22:31deaths of
22:32at least
22:32six people
22:33who took
22:33the poisoned
22:34Tylenol.
22:38I was told
22:39that the
22:39president of
22:40the United
22:40States at
22:40that time,
22:41Ronald Reagan,
22:42wanted the
22:42FBI to be
22:44involved in
22:44the investigation.
22:47The special
22:48agent in charge
22:49of the Chicago
22:49Division had
22:50a list of
22:51agents that
22:52he would call
22:53upon if there
22:54was a major
22:55investigation,
22:56and I happened
22:56to be on
22:57that list.
22:59At that time,
23:00I was 34.
23:01I was working
23:02bank fraud and
23:03embezzlement.
23:04White-collar
23:05crime.
23:06So it was
23:07quite a big
23:08job to me
23:09being assigned
23:09to the
23:10investigation.
23:13It was a
23:14new way
23:15for a
23:15mass murder.
23:17Nothing to
23:18this magnitude
23:19had ever
23:19happened before.
23:22I was out
23:23in the
23:24bureau car,
23:25and they
23:26started desperately
23:27trying to reach
23:27me over the
23:27radio and
23:28said,
23:28come back
23:28to the
23:28office,
23:29come back
23:29to the
23:29office.
23:30There's
23:30a big
23:30case going
23:31on,
23:31and we
23:32want you
23:32to report
23:33out there
23:33and be
23:33part of
23:33it.
23:34So Roy
23:35and I,
23:36we were
23:36briefed
23:36very quickly
23:37on what
23:38had happened,
23:39and they
23:40were setting
23:40up the
23:41task force.
23:43I personally
23:44never saw
23:45another case
23:46that had
23:46this kind
23:47of national
23:48concern or
23:49panic.
23:50It was
23:51frightening.
23:55The first
23:56thing that
23:57had to be
23:58determined
23:59was where
24:00the poison
24:01got in the
24:02tylenol
24:03in the
24:04manufacturing
24:04process
24:06over
24:06in the
24:07stores.
24:10When it
24:10comes to
24:11pharmaceuticals,
24:12there are
24:12sometimes
24:13little markings
24:14with numbers
24:15that say
24:16where it
24:17was made.
24:19At first,
24:20all of the
24:21tainted
24:21capsule that
24:22they found
24:23came from
24:24one lot
24:24number,
24:25which was
24:25all manufactured
24:26at the
24:27same factory.
24:28They thought
24:29someone perhaps
24:30in the factory
24:31could have
24:31taken cyanide
24:32and sprinkled
24:33it into the
24:34system somewhere.
24:36But then
24:37it emerged
24:38that there
24:39were tainted
24:40capsules that
24:41came from
24:41two other
24:42lot numbers.
24:43And it
24:44turns out
24:44they were
24:45manufactured
24:45in two
24:46different plants
24:46in different
24:47parts of the
24:47United States.
24:50Suburban
24:51Philadelphia
24:53and Texas.
24:55When a whole
24:56another factory
24:57was implicated,
24:58that got
24:58harder to
24:59believe that
24:59maybe there
25:00was a rogue
25:00employee
25:01somewhere who
25:02was able
25:03to randomly
25:05scatter cyanide
25:07into a capsule.
25:08Meanwhile,
25:09in Fort
25:09Washington,
25:09Pennsylvania,
25:10where Johnson &
25:11Johnson's
25:11subsidiary,
25:12McNeil Consumer
25:13Products
25:14makes Tylenol,
25:15Michael Schaefer,
25:16the chief
25:16toxicologist
25:17of the Cook
25:18County Medical
25:18Examiner's Office,
25:20toured the
25:20plant.
25:21Outside the
25:22facility,
25:22Schaefer told
25:23R. I.J.
25:24Hudson that he
25:25was satisfied
25:25that no cyanide
25:27contamination
25:27occurred in
25:28the plant.
25:29Unequivocally,
25:30yes, I would
25:31say that.
25:32I don't think
25:32you could probably
25:33have any other
25:34more secure
25:35system than
25:36following the
25:37guidelines of
25:38McNeil or any
25:39other pharmaceutical
25:40company.
25:41So that ruled
25:42out Johnson &
25:43Johnson, and
25:44that was pretty
25:44quick.
25:45The tampering
25:46with and the
25:46poisoning of the
25:47product did not,
25:49I repeat, did
25:50not take place
25:51in our plant.
25:53The tampering
25:53most likely took
25:54place in Chicago.
25:56The determination
25:57was that the
25:58perpetrator purchased
25:59or took, by
26:00shoplifting, Tylenol
26:02off the shelves of
26:03drugstores, took
26:05them someplace,
26:06contaminated just a
26:07few up the top, put
26:08the top back on, and
26:10then walked back in
26:11the store and put it
26:11on the shelf.
26:15One of the things
26:16that we obviously
26:17wanted to know was
26:19where the victims had
26:21purchased the pills,
26:22and we saw fairly
26:23quickly that they'd
26:24been purchased in
26:25numerous different
26:25stores in a fairly
26:27broad area of
26:29Chicago.
26:33We made a map.
26:37We retraced how
26:38long it would take
26:39to go into a store,
26:41place the Tylenol in
26:43there, come back out,
26:46and then drive to the
26:47next store.
26:48You could do that
26:49route in an hour, a
26:51little over an hour.
26:53How long would it
26:53take someone to grab a
26:54bottle of Tylenol,
26:55undetect it, open up
26:57the capsule, take a
26:58little bit out and put
26:59some cyanide powder in?
27:01I shouldn't think over
27:0230 seconds.
27:06You have to remember,
27:07we had no product
27:08tampering safety
27:09devices on anything at
27:10that point, not just
27:12Tylenol.
27:17In fact, this could be
27:18done so easily and so
27:19cheaply.
27:21You could buy cyanide at
27:23that time from hardware
27:24stores.
27:26We were very wide open
27:28then for someone to do
27:29this type of crime.
27:31We had some of the best
27:33detectives at that time
27:35in Chicago working on
27:37these cases.
27:39But problem was we had no
27:42major investigative leads.
27:46There's no crime scene.
27:48Most of them died at home.
27:52We had no connection
27:53between the victims.
27:56No witness and no motive.
28:01Why would the killer
28:02murder these random
28:04victims?
28:16We have just received
28:18word in our newsroom that
28:19a seventh person has died
28:20after swallowing extra
28:22strength Tylenol capsules
28:23laced with cyanide.
28:24The latest victim was found
28:26dead in her Chicago
28:26apartment tonight.
28:27She was a 35-year-old
28:29flight attendant.
28:32Paul and I were flight
28:34attendants for United
28:35Airlines.
28:36And it was just one of
28:38those friendships.
28:41She's gorgeous.
28:44Blonde, vivacious.
28:46She had an infectious
28:48laugh.
28:50We vacationed together.
28:52We had parties together.
28:55And just became really best of
28:58friends.
29:00And I'm sure we'd still be
29:02friends today had she not
29:04been murdered.
29:09On Wednesday evening, the 29th,
29:13I called her phone number to
29:15have a chat.
29:16And there was no answer.
29:18And of course, this was before
29:20cell phones, so you left a
29:22message, and that was it.
29:23You couldn't text.
29:24And then the next day, they
29:28were sending out police cars
29:30telling people to get rid of
29:32your Tylenol.
29:33I still never thought anything of
29:37not talking to her.
29:41But then on Friday morning, when I
29:44went to the airport, when I said
29:47something to the crew desk, he
29:50said, she missed her trip
29:51yesterday.
29:52I said, what do you mean she
29:53missed her trip?
29:54He said she was a no-show.
29:56The fact that she missed her trip,
29:58I knew something was wrong.
30:00So I called her sister, Carol, and
30:04we went up to Paula's apartment.
30:11When we first walked in, you could
30:14see her body.
30:15She was on the floor.
30:19Carol and I both screamed.
30:22We thought maybe someone had broken
30:24into her apartment and then
30:27murdered her.
30:28Maybe they were still there.
30:31Our minds were racing.
30:33We were just so rattled.
30:36And we called 911.
30:38And then that's when they said it
30:40looked like another Tylenol murder.
30:43And a policeman asked us, had we
30:46tried to resuscitate her?
30:49And we said no.
30:51And he said, well, there's so much
30:53cyanide on her lips that if you
30:56had tried, you might have been
30:57ended up dead.
31:01Cook County Medical Examiner Dr.
31:04Robert Stein confirmed that 35-year-old
31:06airline stewardess Paula Prince was the
31:08seventh victim in the cyanide-Tylenol
31:10deaths.
31:11She had apparently been dead about two
31:13days, having taken her Tylenol before the
31:16warnings came out.
31:18I don't know who is responsible, but I know that I feel
31:30murder within me because I'm so hurt is what happened.
31:34Well, I was a basket case.
31:37I cried and cried for days.
31:45This Walgreens drugstore is now one of the main points of focus in the search for the Tylenol
31:49killer.
31:50Police say Paula Prince bought the cyanide-contaminated Tylenol that killed her at this Walgreens store
31:55the night of September 29th.
31:57The automatic camera over the door took this picture of Ms. Prince at the checkout counter that night.
32:04It is so eerily dramatic.
32:08There's an innocent woman making a purchase of a pain reliever, and what she is paying money for is going
32:17to kill her.
32:18She's paying for her death warrant.
32:22Now the mystery.
32:24Did a security camera inside, which snapped this picture of Paula Prince, also catch her killer looking on?
32:31There was a person, two or three behind her, and his eyes were directed at her.
32:39You can see very clearly, he's in like a white shirt looking at her.
32:44His focus on her was so intent that I just said, that's who did it.
32:51Hopefully, we'll be able to piece things together if there is, in fact, a connection between Paula Prince's
32:57purchase of the Tylenol and someone else being in the store at that time.
33:00We have to find out who this guy is.
33:09It was about a weekend that we heard a big announcement from the task force.
33:15There surfaces a letter.
33:20The makers of Tylenol got an extortion letter today.
33:23It threatened more people would be poisoned if certain demands were not met.
33:27Sources close to the manhunt confirm that a letter to the manufacturer of Tylenol demanded
33:32that a million dollars be sent to Chicago's Continental Bank, or reportedly a second wave of killings would follow.
33:38Maybe this would be the crucial break in an investigation that really needed one.
33:43The letter reads as follows.
33:46Gentlemen, as you can see, it is easy to place cyanide, both potassium and sodium cyanide,
33:53into capsules sitting on store shelves.
33:56It is easy to get buyers to swallow the bitter pill.
34:01The cyanide operates quickly.
34:03It takes so very little, and there will be no time to take countermeasures.
34:08If you don't mind the publicity of these little capsules, then do nothing.
34:12So far, I spent less than $50, and it takes me less than 10 minutes per bottle.
34:18If you want to stop the killing, then wire $1 million to the Continental Illinois Bank, Chicago, Illinois.
34:25Don't attempt to involve the FBI or local Chicago authorities with this letter.
34:33We felt like it was the real deal, simply because whoever wrote the letter had some knowledge
34:39of not only what cyanide would do, he knew the types of cyanide, how quickly it reacted,
34:50the ability to kill people with such a nominal cost.
34:56What happened next is we went to identify the bank account that they wanted the million dollars
35:02wired through, and it turns out the bank account was a travel agency called Lakeside Travel,
35:08which was located in Chicago.
35:11The agents were dispatched to talk to the person who was the account holder,
35:15and the individual was Fred McKahie.
35:19Now, McKahie had come from a wealthy family, and it made no sense for him to ask.
35:24Asked for the money to be wired into a bank account that was clearly his bank account.
35:29But Mr. McKahie indicated it had a recent dispute with a volatile guy named Robert Richardson.
35:40Robert Richardson was a husband of one of the former employees there, Nancy Richardson.
35:48And the grievance Robert Richardson had with Lakeside Travel and McKahie, the owner,
35:55was that he paid Nancy Richardson her final paycheck, and the check bounced.
36:02Robert blamed Lakeside for that.
36:06We talked to the employees, and of course, no one knew anything about the extortion letter.
36:12But the extortion letter was handwritten.
36:16And one of the employees said that Robert Richardson would hang out at the travel agency.
36:22And they said that the handwriting looked like Robert Richardson's handwriting.
36:29So we got samples of his handwriting,
36:32sent everything to our document examiners in Washington, D.C.
36:38They identified his handwriting as identical to the person who wrote the extortion letter.
36:46So the investigation then shifted to trying to find him,
36:49and he became the main focus of the title case.
36:54We were turning the heat up.
36:56We were trying to find him.
36:59We found that Robert Richardson was living in an apartment on the north side on Belden Avenue.
37:06When the agents went to the apartment complex,
37:10the Richstons had left, and the apartment was vacant at that point.
37:15The neighbors told us that they were quiet, kept to themselves, and that they had left town.
37:22But at one point, Robert Richardson wrote an essay that was printed in the Chicago Tribune.
37:30And next to the essay, he had his picture taken.
37:40And when we saw the photograph of all the prints buying the Tylenol,
37:45it appeared that it possibly could have been Robert Richardson.
37:56And at that point, we had a prime suspect.
38:00So we got a warrant for Robert Richardson and printed out wanted flyers,
38:05and we sent them around the United States.
38:14October of 82, I was a sergeant in the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.
38:21The only thing I knew about the Tylenol killings was what I saw on the news.
38:25Good evening. This is the CBS Evening News. Dan Rather reporting.
38:28And Dan Rather puts up the picture of a subject wanted for questioning in a Tylenol extortion attempt.
38:35He was identified as a guy named Richardson.
38:41And I looked at the picture, and I immediately recognized him, jumped up off the couch and said,
38:48God damn it, that's not Robert Richardson.
38:52That's James Lewis.
38:55I immediately went and called an FBI associate, and his immediate question was, are you sure?
39:02And I said, absolutely, I'm positive.
39:07A nationwide search is underway for a man wanted in connection with the seven Tylenol cyanide deaths in Chicago.
39:13He has been identified as both Robert Richardson or James Lewis.
39:20Once we identified his true name and started looking into his background,
39:25the pieces seemed to fit that this could be someone that would commit a crime of this nature.
39:30The manhunt was owned then.
39:31The nationwide hunt for the Tylenol killer intensified today,
39:34as did the search for the writer of a $1 million extortion letter.
39:38Authorities are hunting for two important suspects right now,
39:4136-year-old James W. Lewis and his 35-year-old wife, Leanne.
39:44Investigators have labeled him a prime suspect in the seven Tylenol cyanide murders.
39:52I believe that he is the one responsible for the Tylenol murders.
40:00James Lewis is a dangerous killer.
40:09A man with little or no remorse.
40:13A conniving, devious, manipulative man.
40:17James Lewis is the scariest person I've ever met.
40:21No emotion, no compassion.
40:23He's a real-life boogeyman.
40:27Who else could have done this?
40:28It has to be him.
40:29It has to be him.
40:37They're making it look like I'm the world's most horrible, dangerous person ever.
40:44And I wouldn't hurt anybody.
40:45He's a real-life boogeyman.
40:47He's a real-life boogeyman.
40:50He's a real-life boogeyman.
40:58He's a real-life boogeyman.
41:00He's a real-life boogeyman.
41:00He's a real-life boogeyman.
41:03He's a real-life boogeyman.
41:04He's a real-life boogeyman.
41:08He's a real-life boogeyman.
41:11He's a real-life boogeyman.
41:43Transcription by CastingWords
42:13Transcription by CastingWords
42:43Transcription by CastingWords
43:02Transcription by CastingWords
Comments