These Horrible Crime Stories I Hope You Never Come Across!-3

A 12-year-old girl in Chicago died immediately after taking an Extra Strength Tylenol in September 1982. After taking the same medication that day, a man passed away in a hospital. Two members of his family then came after. More persons in Chicago who appeared to be in good condition during the following few weeks died, and the only thing they had in common was that they had taken Extra Strength Tylenol just before they passed away.

It was found that several of the Extra Strength Tylenol pills had been poisoned with potassium cyanide as bottles were recalled by Johnson & Johnson. After this became known, Johnson & Johnson ran multiple advertisements urging consumers to stay away from the product. The business got to work quickly developing a triple-sealed package that would deter tampering.

James William Lewis of New York City contacted Johnson & Johnson claiming that he was responsible for tampering with the bottles and filling the capsules with cyanide. He demanded $1 million in exchange for him to stop. He was arrested for the crime and although he wasn’t found guilty, he was still imprisoned for extortion.

Even after Johnson & Johnson fortified their Tylenol bottles against tampering, the widespread news of what had happened in Chicago prompted crimes of a similar nature all around the country. Several more people died from cyanide poison found in other over-the-counter medication.

The Chicago Tylenol Murders is one of the few true crime stories to spark real change in the country. The quality control of pharmaceuticals increased tenfold, as did the security of their packaging. Although the FBI didn’t have enough evidence to convict anyone of the crime, it is widely believed that James William Lewis and his wife were indeed responsible.

The Girl Scout Murders

Via Google

Three young Girl Scouts who were camping in Oklahoma during the summer of 1977 were raped and killed. The three girls, Lori, Michelle, and Doris, ranged in age from eight to ten. A camp counsellor discovered a troubling note in her baggage around two months before the murders. The assailant made a promise to kill three campers. The camp counsellor brushed off the menacing note as nothing more than a practical joke because she was aware that young campers love to tell scary stories around the campfire—a judgement she would later come to regret.

Via Google

The bodies of the girls were discovered in their sleeping bags on the trail leading to the camp showers on June 13 early in the morning. The only things their murderer left behind were a bloody footprint and a red flashlight.

Via Google

The prime suspect in the Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders was Gene Leroy Hart, an escaped convict. Hart had been raised about a mile from Camp Scott and at the time of the murders he was at large after escaping from prison, where he had been serving time for burglary, kidnapping, and rape. A local jury acquitted Hart of the crime, citing a lack of evidence. However, Oklahoma police consider the case solved.

To this day, no one knows if Gene Leroy Hart got away with murder, or if the true killer was someone else entirely. Either way, the girls’ killer never saw justice.

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