Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders

For the first time in a decade, there is movement on the Tylenol murders. Investigators traveled to meet with their top suspect in hopes of shoring up the case against him. The Tribune talked to him, too. They outline what evidence investigators say they have against Lewis –– and what they don’t. Is the case bulletproof enough for prosecutors and a jury?

The top two suspects spent their lives after prison very differently. But it wouldn’t be long before both were caught up in the Tylenol murders investigation again. This time, one was dead. And one was still alive. During an undercover operation, the FBI hoped one suspect would incriminate himself.

James Lewis was sentenced to prison for the extortion letter. But no one had been charged with the Tylenol murders. Then the FBI got a message. Lewis wanted to talk and help solve the crime. He gave the investigation a creative twist.

Back in 1978, the Kansas City police focused on James Lewis as a suspect in a missing person’s case. A serious mistake during an interrogation would come back to haunt them.

During the nationwide manhunt, a Kansas City police sergeant unveiled shocking new details about the suspected extortion letter writer. On a flight to Chicago, he brought two suitcases packed with information to share with the Tylenol Task Force about their suspect. He told investigators the story of a different man. Someone who went missing a few years before the Tylenol murders.

A week after the killings, investigators had yet to identify any lead suspects. Until the owner of a bar in Chicago made a phone call.

Investigators raced to find out who committed these random crimes and why. But there was something in their way. And the murder toll climbed. Journalists Stacy St. Clair and Christy Gutowski of the Chicago Tribune find something of their own –– one piece of the puzzle, hiding in plain sight.

In September 1982, people started dying mysteriously in the Chicago area. The victims seemed to have nothing in common. Until a surprising discovery revealed a much bigger mystery. One that wouldn't be so easy to solve.

In January 2022, investigative journalists Christy Gutowski and Stacy St. Clair got a phone call they weren't expecting. Their source had an intriguing tip about an unsolved mass murder.