The single suspect in the 1982 deaths of seven people from Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide is back in the news again following a raid on his home last week. James Lewis, once a “citizen” of Chicago has been served a grand jury subpoena ordering him to submit fingerprint and DNA samples.
Lewis, some may remember, was never officially charged with the homicides; rather, he was charged with trying to extort $1 million dollars from Johnson & Johnson in order to stop the killings. He was convicted and sentenced to 20-years in prison, but got out after 13-years served in 1995.
He and his wife then moved to Boston, and in 2004, James Lewis once again ran into legal troubles, this time for the kidnapping and rape of a woman who, according to Boston authorities, was force fed a variety of chemicals. Lewis went back to prison to await trial, and spent three years locked up. When the victim was unwilling to testify, Lewis walked out of prison a free man.
Prior to the Tylenol murders, James Lewis had been charged with the murder or Raymond West, an elderly client ofLewis’s accounting business. The charges were dropped. Mr. West’s body was found chopped up, wrapped in plastic, and stored in the attic of his Kansas City residence.
