freshwater
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Along with this case, the unsolved 1982 Chicago Tylenol Murders has always fascinated/frightened me.
The only person ever convicted in relation to the case (James W. Lewis, now 65 years old) was convicted only of sending an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson - the maker of Tylenol. The letter requested $1,000,000 from J&J in order to stop the poisonings.
This is the text of the extortion letter sent to J&J:
*********************************************************
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
PARENT OF
McNEIL LABORATORIES
GENTLEMEN:
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT IS EASY TO PLACE CYANIDE (BOTH POTASSIUM & SODIUM) INTO CAPSULES SITTING ON STORE SHELVES. AND SINCE THE CYANIDE IS INSIDE THE GELATIN, IT IS EASY TO GET BUYERS TO SWALLOW THE BITTER PILL. ANOTHER BEAUTY IS THAT CYANIDE OPERATES QUICKLY. IT TAKES SO VERY LITTLE. AND THERE WILL BE NO TIME TO TAKE COUNTER MEASURES.
IF YOU DON'T MIND THE PUBLICITY OF THESE LITTLE CAPSULES, THEN DO NOTHING. SO FAR, I HAVE SPENT LESS THAN FIFTY DOLLARS AND IT TAKES ME LESS THAN 10-MINUTES PER BOTTLE.
IF YOU WANT TO STOP THE KILLING THEN WIRE $1,000,000.00 TO BANK ACCOUNT # 84-49-597 AT CONTINENTAL ILLINOIS BANK CHICAGO, ILL.
DON'T ATTEMPT TO INVOLVE THE FBI OR LOCAL CHICAGO AUTHORITIES WITH THIS LETTER. A COUPLE OF PHONE CALLS BY ME WILL UNDO ANYTHING YOU CAN POSSIBLY DO.
**********************************************************
Now, I found the use of the phrase "counter measures" to be very interesting. Not a phrase I hear everyday. Also the word "gentlemen". And putting the decimal points in "1,000,000.00". Oh, and warning J&J not to involve "FBI" or "Authorities".
I wonder if the JonBenet ransom note writer stole a few ideas from the Tylenol extortion letter? Was the Tylenol letter published in the John Douglas book that was found in the Ramsey home?
This James W. Lewis character is very interesting, too.
Here is an excellent (but somewhat long) article I found about Lewis and the Tylenol murders:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/a-bitter-pill/Content?oid=903786
If I wanted to get all conspiracy-ish, I could point out that Lewis was released from prison in 1995, had a young daughter who died at the age of 5 in 1974, was the PRIME suspect in the murder of an elderly man in Kansas City in 1978 in which the victim was found hanging by a rope in his attic, and was once committed to a mental institution after an intentional overdose of Anacin and diagnosed as a catatonic schizophrenic. It appears that some in the FBI still suspected Lewis of actually being the Tylenol killer as of 2009, when the searched his residence in Massachusetts.
But I'm not going to go there! I just find some interesting coincidences, shall we say?
I'm really just wondering if the Tylenol note could have influenced the Ramsey note. Thoughts?
The only person ever convicted in relation to the case (James W. Lewis, now 65 years old) was convicted only of sending an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson - the maker of Tylenol. The letter requested $1,000,000 from J&J in order to stop the poisonings.
This is the text of the extortion letter sent to J&J:
*********************************************************
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
PARENT OF
McNEIL LABORATORIES
GENTLEMEN:
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT IS EASY TO PLACE CYANIDE (BOTH POTASSIUM & SODIUM) INTO CAPSULES SITTING ON STORE SHELVES. AND SINCE THE CYANIDE IS INSIDE THE GELATIN, IT IS EASY TO GET BUYERS TO SWALLOW THE BITTER PILL. ANOTHER BEAUTY IS THAT CYANIDE OPERATES QUICKLY. IT TAKES SO VERY LITTLE. AND THERE WILL BE NO TIME TO TAKE COUNTER MEASURES.
IF YOU DON'T MIND THE PUBLICITY OF THESE LITTLE CAPSULES, THEN DO NOTHING. SO FAR, I HAVE SPENT LESS THAN FIFTY DOLLARS AND IT TAKES ME LESS THAN 10-MINUTES PER BOTTLE.
IF YOU WANT TO STOP THE KILLING THEN WIRE $1,000,000.00 TO BANK ACCOUNT # 84-49-597 AT CONTINENTAL ILLINOIS BANK CHICAGO, ILL.
DON'T ATTEMPT TO INVOLVE THE FBI OR LOCAL CHICAGO AUTHORITIES WITH THIS LETTER. A COUPLE OF PHONE CALLS BY ME WILL UNDO ANYTHING YOU CAN POSSIBLY DO.
**********************************************************
Now, I found the use of the phrase "counter measures" to be very interesting. Not a phrase I hear everyday. Also the word "gentlemen". And putting the decimal points in "1,000,000.00". Oh, and warning J&J not to involve "FBI" or "Authorities".
I wonder if the JonBenet ransom note writer stole a few ideas from the Tylenol extortion letter? Was the Tylenol letter published in the John Douglas book that was found in the Ramsey home?
This James W. Lewis character is very interesting, too.
Here is an excellent (but somewhat long) article I found about Lewis and the Tylenol murders:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/a-bitter-pill/Content?oid=903786
If I wanted to get all conspiracy-ish, I could point out that Lewis was released from prison in 1995, had a young daughter who died at the age of 5 in 1974, was the PRIME suspect in the murder of an elderly man in Kansas City in 1978 in which the victim was found hanging by a rope in his attic, and was once committed to a mental institution after an intentional overdose of Anacin and diagnosed as a catatonic schizophrenic. It appears that some in the FBI still suspected Lewis of actually being the Tylenol killer as of 2009, when the searched his residence in Massachusetts.
But I'm not going to go there! I just find some interesting coincidences, shall we say?
I'm really just wondering if the Tylenol note could have influenced the Ramsey note. Thoughts?