Saturday, September 28, 2024

Anniversary of the Chicago Tylenol Poisonings

On September 28, 1982, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman of Elk Grove Village, IL told her parents that she had a sore throat. They gave her an extra-strength Tylenol capsule. She died the following morning of poisoning by potassium cyanide. The next day, six others in the Chicago area died the same way. Three took Tylenol from the same bottle: Adam Janus (27), Stanley Janus (25), and Theresa Janus (20). Mary McFarland (31), Paula Prince (35), and Mary Reiner (27) also died from contaminated Tylenol. No killer and thus no motive were ever discovered, although the contamination likely happened after the bottles were already in stores, rather than at the factory. The tragedy revolutionized packaging of pharmaceuticals with the addition of tamper-proof bottles and other precautions. 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/tylenol-murders-1982?fbclid=IwY2xjawFleMlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZnjzBGVzdNzFAyg0Ux84mNuNZ8-OnsY3z4oQyk4cCf193vLvSMvmrYKuQ_aem_eAwLRjhmuIMJheensbg8pA

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