Historic Crimes

Deborah Austin On September 29, 1982, it became quickly apparent that something in Tylenol was killing people in the Chicago area. By the end of it, seven people had died, a massive investigation had been launched by the companies responsible for manufacturing the product, the FBI and the FDA. Later, copycat murders would intermittently cause panic. The Chicago Tylenol Murders set a precedent for safe packaging and response to malicious consumer tampering. However, it never led to justice. The person responsible for seven deaths in the Chicago area in 1982 was never caught. On the morning of September 29, 1982, a twelve-year-old girl went into her parents' room in their Elk Grove Village home. She was sick and seeking comfort. Her parents gave her Tylenol Extra-Strength capsules to relieve her symptoms. Shortly after, they found her collapsed on the bathroom floor. She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her name was Mary Kellerman. Her parents and doc...