An autopsy has concluded that James Lewis, the lone suspect in the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders, died of natural causes in his suburban Boston home last month.
The Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announced Thursday that Lewis, 76, died of pulmonary thromboembolism — a blood clot in the lungs.
As the Tribune first reported, Lewis’ body was found in his downtown Cambridge condominium just after 4 p.m. July 9. Police said Lewis’ wife, who was out of town visiting relatives, had asked someone to check on her husband after she was unable to reach him.
Police initially said an autopsy was not expected because officers did not find signs of foul play. Lewis also had a history of heart issues. But the state medical examiner launched an investigation that week at the urging of Illinois authorities.
Lewis was cremated July 17, according to his death certificate. The document lists his occupation as self-employed artist and writer. The director of the Cambridge-area funeral home that handled his services declined to comment, citing the family’s wishes for a private memorial.
In September 1982, seven Chicago-area residents died after swallowing Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. The victims were Mary Kellerman, Mary McFarland, Mary “Lynn” Reiner, Paula Prince and Stanley, Adam and Terri Janus. Their deaths prompted a national recall of the medicine and led to the adoption of tamper-evident packaging.
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Lewis — a convicted con man who inserted himself into the Tylenol investigation shortly after the poisonings by sending an extortion letter to the drug’s manufacturer — long denied being the killer.
He spent about 13 years in federal prison for attempted extortion related to that letter and for committing mail fraud in an earlier Kansas City credit card scam. He was released from prison in 1995 and joined his wife in Cambridge, where he lived the rest of his life.
His death came after 40 years of intense scrutiny and a lengthy cat-and-mouse game between Lewis and the Tylenol investigators. Authorities questioned Lewis for several hours as recently as September in Cambridge as part of a renewed effort to bring charges in the case. But the investigation stalled afterward.
Authorities maintained they had a “chargeable, circumstantial case” against Lewis, but prosecutors were hesitant to seek an indictment without direct physical evidence.
Police say the case remains open. But given the intense focus on Lewis, charges against anyone else seem unlikely absent a confession or a major advancement in DNA technology.
cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com
sstclair@chicagotribune.com
