James W. Lewis

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Last time we were in the middle of talking about James Lewis, who was one of the two main suspects who had been developed in this case.

And I want to jump right back into that discussion.

So as a reminder, James Lewis became a main suspect in after writing an extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson requesting that $1 million be wired to an account if, quote, you want to stop the killing, end quote.

I did want to say something about the extortion letter.

There was an investigator that was talking about one of the reasons that they believe that Lewis was actually responsible for the poisonings is because some of the language in the letter had to be from somebody that was knowledgeable about it.

If they bought this at all, it would at least give this guy a really hard time and a scary time.

And that seems very much...

Well, technically, this case has never been solved.

The James Lewis, who is the only person convicted in connection with Tylenol killings, died in 2023.

And this is according to ABC News.

so i'll tell you about mr james lewis the back to chicago and they said this is when when august 4th of 2023 the i team let's see if i can play this

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Tonight, our ABC7 Eye team has learned the cause of death for the prime suspect in the 1982 Tylenol murders.

An autopsy from the Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner tonight shows James Lewis died from a pulmonary embolism.

Lewis was the only convicted Tylenol criminal.

It did not say whether they consider Petuski a suspect.

Investigators long believed a man named James Lewis was responsible for the killings, though he was never charged.

Lewis died in 2023 after serving more than 12 years in prison for sending an extortion note to Johnson & Johnson, the drugs manufacturer at the time, demanding $1 million to stop the killing.

When Lewis was arrested in 1982, he gave investigators a detailed account of how the killer might have operated.

Then on October 1st, an extortion letter arrived demanding $1 million.

The letter was traced to James William Lewis, and a nationwide manhunt ended with his arrest in New York City.

Lewis had a complicated history.

He had worked as an accountant in the 1970s and had previously been charged in connection with the death of a client.

At least seven people were killed in the Tylenol poisonings in the Chicago area.

James Lewis, the longtime leading suspect, was convicted of extortion after demanding a million dollars from the drug company.

He was never charged for the killings and died in twenty twenty-three.

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