S1: The Tylenol Murders (From "Crimes of the Centuries")

Strange and Unexplained with Daisy Eagan

Society & Culture, Science, True Crime

4.0 • 10.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2021

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Strangers! We're taking a break this week, but we wanted to share the FASCINATING AND TERRIFYING TALE of the "The Tylenol Murders" from another Obsessed Network podcast: "Crimes of the Centuries"

When 52-year-old Bruce Nickell suddenly dropped dead in Washington state, investigators at first thought he'd died of a heart attack. But then a second person collapsed, and police realized that the two victims had both taken the painkiller Excedrin. Suddenly, they realized they were dealing with a copycat of a case that had haunted federal investigators for nearly 15 years.

In that earlier case, seven people died when someone randomly tampered with the over-the-counter painkiller to replace some of the powder inside capsules with enough cyanide to kill an entire family. Those deaths changed how medication is packaged nationwide and made it a federal crime to tamper with such products -- a legal change that years later came back to bite Nickell's killer.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can find and subscribe to "Crimes of the Centuries" wherever you get your podcasts.

Transcript

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0:00.0	At Virgin Active, there's something for everybody.
0:05.0	Whether you like to work up a sweat in a strengthened conditioning class,
0:09.0	or tone your limbs in Pilates and then head to the spa,
0:13.0	we can help you find your thing,
0:16.0	from swimming to boxing to gentle jacuzzi bubbling.
0:20.0	Whatever gets you moving, it all counts at Virgin Active.
0:24.0	Join today and get your first two months free.
0:27.0	Season C's apply, or for ends January 31st.
0:34.0	Hey strangers, we're taking a break this week from our regular episodes,
0:38.0	but we'll be back next week with an all-new episode of Strangin' Unexplained.
0:41.0	But don't despair.
0:43.0	While we're away, here's an episode of another fascinating true crime podcast
0:47.0	from the Obsessed Network. It's called Crimes of the Centuries.
0:51.0	Crimes of the Centuries is a podcast all about true crimes throughout history.
0:55.0	Murders, disappearances, kidnappings, and more.
0:58.0	The crimes were huge when they happened, but were somehow lost to history.
1:02.0	Each week, host Amber Hunt takes a deep dive into one of these cases,
1:06.0	putting it into historical perspective and examining its lasting impact on society.
1:11.0	In this episode, Amber looks at the Tylenol murders,
1:15.0	a case that killed seven people when someone randomly tampered
1:18.0	with the over-the-counter pain killer and sparked a panic throughout the US.
1:22.0	Enjoy the episode and we'll see you next week.
	...

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