Suspect In '82 Tylenol Case Heads To Court

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jan 8, 2010 3:40PM

James W. Lewis, the lone suspect in the 1982 Tylenol poisoning case, made an appearance in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge, Massachusetts earlier this week, the Boston Globe reports [via the Trib]. The hearing was allegedly addressing a grand jury subpoena Lewis was served with, ordering him to turn over DNA and fingerprint samples. Lewis' attorney, David E. Meier, would not comment on if such a hearing took place, saying such proceedings "are supposed to be secret precisely to protect the reputations of innocent people like James Lewis and his wife. To comment further would be irresponsible, unprofessional, and unethical.’’ Seven people in the Chicago area died in the fall of 1982 as a result of Extra-Strength Tylenol tablets tainted with cyanide. Lewis served time in prison for trying to extort money from Johnson & Johnson, sending them a note demanding $1 million to "stop the killing," but has always denied he was responsible for the tainted Tylenol.