In 1982, 7 people in Chicago died after taking the medicine Tylenol that had been contaminated with cyanide. The police discovered that the packaging of the medicines were tampered with, allowing the perpetrator to contaminate the pills with the lethal chemical. Now, the FBI has reopened the case, investigating on new clues. The agents searched the Cambridge, Massachusetts apartment of James Lewis, 62, who was the principal suspect. Lewis had already served twelve years in prison because he tried to extort one million dollars from Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturers of Tylenol.

Lewis, who admitted the extortion, has always denied involvement in the crimes. His argument: for the cyanide to have been effective, it must be mixed with the pills in a short period of time. He could not have done it because he was in New York and not Chicago at that time, according to him.

The alibi is not foolproof and the police have not ruled out the possibility that Lewis may have moved between the two cities on a quick plane ride. The police have also entertained the thought that Lewis would have had time to go shopping, take the packet of Tylenol, and tamper it with cyanide. There was the image captured by a surveillance camera in a supermarket in Chicago that showed a man much like Lewis.

After being released from jail, Lewis settled in Boston and opened a website on which he continued to declare his innocence. In addition to the Tylenol case, Lewis was involved in a rape in 2004, and two suspicious deaths. The FBI has not revealed its reasons for searching Lewis’ apartment, but merely stated that there are new leads in the case.

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Via Pantagraph