‘Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders’ Documentary Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Would you let a suspect investigate a case?
An interviewee asks this rhetorical question in the Netflix documentary series ‘Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders,’ which revisits seven deaths that took place in 1980s Chicago due to the consumption of cyanide-laced Tylenol pills, over-the-counter pills for pain relief. Did someone at the manufacturing factory tamper with the pills, or was it the handiwork of a malicious murderer mixing cyanide into the pills at drugstores when nobody was looking? Most investigators working on the case seemed to think the latter.
Episode one of ‘The Tylenol Murders‘ kicks off with archival news footage of anchors reporting the shocking case of seven people dying in the Chicago metropolitan area due to the poisoned pills in 1982. It succinctly and rather dramatically introduces the case for international viewers, beginning by focusing on the first death linked to the tampered Tylenol pills. Emergency responders, investigators (including police and FBI), journalists, and family members of the victims recall the case as it unfolded back then. The episode closes with a surprise ‘smoking gun’ interview, one that practically guarantees viewers will click ‘next episode’ without hesitation.
Unfortunately, as the title suggests, ‘The Tylenol Murders‘ remain unsolved, and the documentary chronologically unravels the mystery and case timeline. The murders not only made national headlines, but also led to a nationwide panic and the recall of millions of Tylenol pills. A primary suspect was soon arrested, but the evidence against him remained inconclusive. And since there isn’t concrete proof to nail the ‘real’ culprit, the second half of the documentary isn’t as gripping, but it continues to reveal crucial aspects of the case.
Except for old TV interviews, the creators do not have anybody from Johnson & Johnson on record to present the corporate side of the story, not even an ex-employee (assuming some watertight NDAs were signed) from the 1980s. The corporate silence isn’t surprising and is the only real missing piece in this series, but otherwise, it features lots of different people connected to the case, in both big and small ways, to present all possible sides of the case. It’s up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions.
For those unfamiliar with the case, the most striking revelation in the documentary is that the Tylenol murders led to a major overhaul in medical packaging. In the 1980s, pill bottles lacked the tamper-proof seals we take for granted today. But after the nationwide panic caused by this case, one that shook public trust in a household brand, Tylenol was recalled and re-packaged with triple-seal protection. The tragedy ultimately prompted lasting changes in consumer safety and packaging standards to prevent medication tampering.
Overall, ‘Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders’ is an interesting documentary for true-crime enthusiasts who don’t know much about the case.
You can watch it on Netflix.
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