Netflix viewers terrified over documentary on ‘most chilling’ cold case in US history
The deaths of seven people terrified a nation and led to widespread reform.
Netflix viewers have been left horrified after watching one of the most ‘haunting’ unsolved murder cases in American history.
In 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules, yet still to this day nobody knows how they were contaminated or who did it.
The poisonings terrified a nation and sparked widespread changes within the pharmaceutical industry that can still be felt today with the way bottles of pills are sealed.
A man named James W. Lewis, who sent a letter to the drug company Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million or else more people would be killed, was the police’s main suspect for more than four decades.
But, in Netflix’s Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders, which came out on May 26, Lewis – who spent 12 years in prison after being convicted of extortion and not murder – explains how he could not have killed these people.
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Responding on X, viewers have been left reeling by what is one of the most famous unsolved cases ever.
Seven people died after ingesting poisoned Tylenol capsules in 1982 (Picture: Netflix) The tragedy shook the nation and led to widespread reform (Picture: Netflix)Writing on social media, @SaimaHash said: Just watched Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders.
‘I’m always drawn to true stories, and this documentary dives deep into one of the most chilling unsolved cases in American history.
‘Real events, real victims, and haunting questions that still linger. Highly recommended! Do watch! #tylenolmurders.’
@Dri_nkup added: ‘This Tylenol documentary on Netflix is absolutely insane.’
Meanwhile, @DonInBrookfield said: ‘This event changed everything in our daily lives as much as anything, including COVID. Every single package that we buy in a store was forced to be more secure and tamper resistant.
‘The cost over the years is in the billions, if not trillions.’
Speaking to journalists who covered the breaking story, former officers and people who knew the victims, the series sheds light on why the case is still cold after more than 40 years.
The series features interviews with some of the people who knew the victims (Picture: Netflix) Viewers have described the show as ‘haunting’ and ‘shocking’ (Picture: Netflix)The show’s producers also fought for roughly a year to land an interview with Lewis, who has avoided any contact with the media following his release from prison.
Towards the end of the miniseries, Lewis said: ‘I wouldn’t hurt anybody,’ while chuckling.
He continued: ‘You can keep asking me questions forever and ever. If we ever do come up with a…technology which allows you to read my mind, then you won’t find anything in there that will be incriminating.’
Lewis could also be seen holding a bottle of Tylenol and joking that he does not want to get his ‘fingerprints’ all over it while laughing.
He went on to explain how his extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson came from a place of grief after the company reportedly manufactured a patch that malfunctioned in his daughter’s heart and killed her.
The case was also described by one of the show’s directors, Yotam Guendelman, as ‘the biggest true crime story in America in the 80s’, when he spoke to the Guardian.
Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders is available to watch on Netflix.
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