I remember this sad chapter in history as if it were yesterday.  People were stunned, confused and amazed how something like poisoning Tylenol could happen so easily.  You see, before the Tylenol Murders in 1982, there was very little in the way of safety protection to ensure over the counter (OTC) drugs could not be tampered with by some devious individual.  For those of you who were too young to remember, let's do a quick refresher.   The Tylenol Murders occurred in Chicago in September and October of 1982.  These intentional poisoning deaths were due to the victims taking Tylenol branded acetaminophen capsules that had been laced with potassium cyanide.  Seven people died from taking the cyanide laced Tylenol. The first to die was twelve-year-old Mary Kellerman of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, died after taking a capsule of Extra-Strength Tylenol. Adam Janus of Arlington Heights, Illinois, died in the hospital shortly after. Adam's brother Stanley of Lisle, Illinois, and wife Theresa died after gathering to mourn his death, having taken pills from the same bottle.

Tylenol started being taken down from all shelves throughout the country.  In fact, people stopped taking any OTC pain reliever for fear of taking poison.  Sabotage during production of Tylenol was ruled out.  What was speculated is that  the suspect was believed to have entered various supermarkets and drug stores over a period of several weeks, grabbed several bottles of Tylenol capsules from the shelves, removed them from the stores and took them to another location. Once there, the suspect opened the bottles, took the capsules out, added the cyanide, then put the now-laced capsules back in the bottles and returned to the stores to place the bottles back on the shelves.  Only three bottles were caught with poison before they were bought by customers.

To this date, no arrests have been made.  The case of the Tylenol Murders remains unsolved, much to the chagrin of the FBI and Chicago Law Enforcement authorities.  Suspects have been wide and varied, including Unibomber Ted Kaczynski.  The investigation is still underway.  But, with no new leads, it is safe to say this case is a cold case file for now.  Hopefully, someone will eventually have to pay for the deaths of seven innocent people.  Like the Zodiac Killer, there is the possibility the killer has died of old age.