Seven Innocents
and the Tylenol Trail of Death
Thomas A. Braun, RPh
Health Advocate, Medical Writer, and Author
*****
Seven Innocents tells the true story of Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol crisis starting in the late 1970s and spanning more than eight years. It also shines a light on how corporate goals sometimes cause intelligent and successful pharmaceutical executives to cross the line and allow faulty drug research and aggressive marketing to become instruments of death. Drug related death events are not unique to J&J prescription products.
Thomas Braun, a Walgreen’s pharmacist in the thick of the medical controversy, has researched the Tylenol events for decades and this book documents his insider perspective on what actually happened. What he discovered is not what the “powers that be” lead everyone to believe.
In 1901, Upton Sinclair wrote the book “The Jungle” and what he revealed was the impetus to create the agency called the FDA. One hundred years later it is clear that changes are required at the FDA because their mission statement is failing to be meet.
“The FDA's mission is to protect and advance public health by helping to speed innovations that provide our nation with safe and effective medical products and ensure the safety of our food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.”
The book hopefully challenges the federal government and corporations to change their behavior to stop the needless deaths of many many thousands of innocents yearly. There are some voices calling for the behavior of the FDA and the drug manufacturers be monitored and guided by a federal oversight agency that is not influenced by special interests. I endorse this approach to save the many lives that are lost each year in the USA.
*****
At 8:15 a.m. on September 30, 1982, the door to Thomas Braun's office at Walgreens headquarters flew open. Albert, the OTC Drug Buyer—normally calm and meticulous—stood in the doorway, face drained of color.
"The manager of our store on Rand Road called. The Arlington Heights police are in the store demanding all the Tylenol be pulled off the shelf."
Braun asked what was wrong. Al's voice dropped.
"They told him there might be something wrong with the Tylenol. It may be killing people."
Those words—killing people—hung in the air like a toxin.
*****
Within days, seven innocent people in the Chicago area were dead.
Mary Kellerman, 12 years old.
Adam Janus, 27. A postal worker.
Stanley Janus, brother 25
Theresa Janus, Stanley’s wife 20,
Mary McFarland, single mother, 31
Mary Lynn Reiner, new mother 27.
Paula Prince, 35, single, but soon to be married. A flight attendant for United Airlines. Found in her studio apartment at 1540 North LaSalle Street, Chicago — on the bathroom floor in her nightgown.
*****
The cyanide used in the Tylenol capsules was fine-grade pharmaceutical potassium cyanide—not industrial, not crude, not something scooped from a factory floor. This was laboratory-grade material, the kind stocked in drug manufacturing facilities, the kind that requires sophisticated access.
*****
A week later, a letter arrived at McNeil headquarters in Fort Washington.
"Gentlemen, As you can see it is easy to place cyanide (both potassium and 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 countermeasures. If you don't mind the publicity of these little capsules, then do nothing. So far, I have spent less than $50. And it takes me less than 10 minutes per bottle. If you want to stop the killing, then wire $1 million to bank account number 84-49-597 at Continental Bank Chicago IL. 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."
*****
"The Tylenol murders were the perfect crime. They have no evidence.
Commander Brzeczek, Chicago Chief of Police
Seven Innocents and the Tylenol Trail of Death traces the evidence from the first poisoning through the last—and identifies a possible McNeil insider for the last who had access to the production chain, knowledge of the sealing process, and proximity to the pharmaceutical-grade cyanide used in the killing.
*****
“McNeil Tylenol factory in Fort Washington stocks Potassium Cyanide in their testing laboratory."
Gardiner Harris, author of No More Tears
*****
"The FBI and the Police will not release documents that were created from interviews with J & J executives."
Netflix documentary Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders
*****
We interviewed David Collins, the then chairman of McNeil Consumer Products, over a Zoom video call and he got very emotional and cried.
Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune Investigative journalist.
*****
"Your work stands as a searing indictment of corporate greed and the FDA's failure to serve as a watchdog, as well as a commentary on the human tendency to fix on a particular approach to the exclusion of other possibilities”
Thomas Rosenwein, Attorney at law. My guiding light.
*****
I'm so thrilled for you that this book is finally coming to fruition. I know it's been decades in the making. Congratulations. I'll be one of the first people to buy it.
Jamie Bartosch, veteran Chicago Reporter.
*****
Estimated financial cost to J & J.
J & J settled multiple lawsuits during this period, one in 1982 for $170.4 million, the same year they lost $100 million by recalling and destroying Tylenol capsule products, settled lawsuit brought by the families of the seven victims and in 1989 they completed settling all the prescription lawsuits for an estimated $500 million or more. The cost of re-tooling Tylenol production line is unknown. The total cost in 2026 dollars, is estimated to be $2,500,000,000 dollars.
*****
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