40 years later, Tylenol murder investigators order new DNA tests on key evidence By Samah Assad, Rebecca McCann
January 30, 2023 / 7:23 AM / CBS News
WHEATON, Ill. — Beginning on Sept. 29, 1982, and over the next week, seven people were murdered in the Chicago area after unknowingly taking Tylenol pills that were spiked by a killer. Now, investigators are turning once again to DNA evidence to try to identify the person or people who did it, report CBS Chicago's Dave Savini, Samah Assad and Rebecca McCann.
Laura Morgan was only 3 years old in 1982 when her mother, Linda Morgan, bought a bottle of Tylenol from her local grocery store to ease the pain of an aching leg.
Like several others, Linda didn't know the bottle she purchased contained pills poisoned with cyanide. But unlike the others, she survived. ...
Now, with the case still unsolved, new documents obtained by CBS Chicago reveal an intense effort to use advanced DNA technology to identify the killer. And 40 years later, the Morgan family still finds itself a piece of that puzzle.
The Arlington Heights (Illinois) Police Department (AHPD) is initiating much of the DNA testing and collection as it continues to investigate the deaths of three members of the same family – Adam Janus, Teresa Janus, and Stanley Janus. They all were killed in Arlington Heights after taking poisoned Tylenol. ...
The police investigation into the Tylenol murders has centered around prime suspect James Lewis for decades. It started in 1982, not long after the murders. Later, Lewis was arrested, charged, and convicted for writing extortion letters in whihc he threatened the killings would continue unless $1 million was wired to a bank account.
DNA samples from Lewis were collected by investigators in 2010, the Chicago Tribune reported. ...
CBS
