Lone suspect in 1980s Tylenol scare has died

Massachusetts police confirmed they found 76-year-old James Lewis unresponsive on Sunday and declared him dead at his home. Police ruled Lewis’ death as “not suspicious” after investigation. Police suspected Lewis of lacing Tylenol bottles with cyanide in 1982, killing seven people in the Chicago area. Although police never charged Lewis for the murders, he served 12 years in prison for sending an extortion note to Tylenol manufacturer Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million to “stop the killings.”

If he wasn’t charged, why is he still talked about? The Tylenol murders prompted panic from consumers, resulting in the development and widespread use of tamper-proof packaging for food and drugs. The snap-off ring below beverage caps, plastic sealing around products, and paper tabs beneath condiment caps are all tamper-proof packaging.

Dig deeper: Listen to the report on The World and Everything In It about the effects of the Tylenol poisonings 50 years later.