After the third sudden and unexpected death was confirmed on Sept. 29, 1982, Arlington Heights Fire Department captain Philip Capitelli began to suspect something was not right in his small suburb of Chicago.
For Dr. Thomas Kim at Northwest Community Hospital, it was when a young couple was admitted on an early fall day in critical condition with dim prospects for recovery. Kim was shocked when he recognized them: just a few hours earlier, he had been speaking to the pair at the bedside of the husband’s brother, explaining that he had no idea why the young, fit man had suddenly died. Now these family members were also on their deathbeds for no obvious reason.
As the two men began to look into the suspicious deaths, they realized an unusual connection: all of the victims—four so far—had taken Extra Strength Tylenol just before falling ill.