In the autumn of 1982, five women and two men living near Chicago, Illinois died after ingesting Tylenol® (acetaminophen) capsules. These victims were the first known fatalities in a case of product tampering. It was determined that a culprit had entered various stores and removed packages of Tylenol® from the shelves, adulterated their contents with a cyanide compound, and put them back into the stores after doing this.
The crime has never been solved, although an opportunistic extortionist with no connection to the deaths had made a money demand. This person, one James Lewis, was arrested and ended up doing 13 years of a 20 year prison term for the extortion.
A number of copycat attacks on other products ensued during the following years. However, the incident did inspire the pharmaceutical, food, and consumer product industries to develop tamper-resistant packaging and improved quality control methods.
A $100,000 USD reward, posted by Johnson & Johnson (the manufacturers of Tylenol®) for the capture and conviction of the "Tylenol Killer," has never been claimed.
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