EPISODE THREE - The Ice box & Tylenol Murders

In the third episode of the JMN podcast, the host discusses two murder cases. The first is the Icebox Murders, where Charles Rogers killed and dismembered his parents, but he was never found. The second case is the Tylenol Murders in Chicago, where extra-strength Tylenol pills were laced with cyanide, causing several deaths. Johnson & Johnson recalled the product and a man named James William Lewis claimed responsibility, but was arrested for extortion. The podcast concludes after summarizing the two horrifying stories. Hello, welcome back to the third episode of the JMN podcast. Today we'll be talking about the Icebox Murders and the Tylenol Murders in Chicago. I'll begin by reading a short story of what happened. In 1965, Fred and Edwina Rogers were living in Houston along with their grown son, Charles. The family mostly kept to themselves in their quiet neighborhood, especially given Charles' reclusive and antisocial behavior. Despite this fact, many neighbors were not aware that Charles lived at home with his parents, because he left the house each day before dawn, and he didn't return until after nightfall. So already, just judging by what I've just read, he was very particular, like he was different from what normal people would do. So, I'll begin reading again. While a family member hadn't heard from the Rogers in several days, he called the Houston police for a welfare check on his elderly aunt and uncle. The patrolmen were unable to locate Fred and Edwina, but when they noticed food sitting on the dining room table, they opened the fridge and noticed numerous packages of meat neatly stacked atop one another. Then they noticed two human heads in the vegetable bin. Then the officers arrived on the stomach training scene and slowly moved the packages full of dismembered body parts from the fridge. So just hearing that, I'm guessing that Charles, their grown son, did this. The remains were then identified that it was Fred and Edwina Rogers. The police could not find Charles, but he is naturally the prime suspect. However, he seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. Though the police were able to collect circumstantial pieces of evidence against him, Charles Rogers was never found. So, after reading all that, I think that that's awful. Because he killed his own parents and he cut them up and put them in a fridge. And that's not cool. So, next I'll be moving on to the second part of the podcast, talking about the Tylenol murders of Chicago. Hello, welcome back to the second part of the third episode. Today I'll be talking about the Tylenol murders in Chicago. I'll begin by reading a short summary of what happened. In September of 1862, a 12-year-old girl in Chicago passed away shortly after ingesting extra-strength Tylenol. So, it wasn't just a regular Tylenol, it was an extra-strength. That same day, a man died in the hospital after taking the same pill. Two of his family members followed. Over the course of the next few weeks, more seemingly healthy people in Chicago dropped dead. The only thing they had in common was taking extra-strength Tylenol, shortly before their untimely death. As balls were recalled by Johnson & Johnson, it was discovered that many of the extra-strength Tylenol pills had been laced with potassium cyanide. Once this was made public, Johnson & Johnson issued numerous ads and warnings to customers to avoid the product. The company began working fervently on a triple seal package that would prevent tampering. So, just reading that, the company of the Tylenol was Johnson & Johnson. They laced the pills with potassium cyanide. Well, not them necessarily, but someone did. And it's killing people in Chicago. It was killing people. So, that's awful. Because all these people have long lives to live, and especially the 12-year-old girl. Okay. Next, I'll begin reading again. James William Lewis of New York City contacted Johnson & Johnson, claiming that he was responsible for tampering with the bottles and filling the capsules with cyanide. He demanded $1 million in exchange for him to stop. He was arrested for the crime, and although he wasn't found guilty, he was still in prison for extortion. So, they found the culprit of who was lacing the pills with, this again, cyanide? Potassium cyanide. Let me look up what that is. Potassium cyanide. Releases hydrogen cyanide gas, a highly toxic chemical that interferes with the body's ability to use oxygen. So, basically, what the pills were doing were removing the oxygen from their body, and they couldn't breathe. So, that's how their untimely deaths got there so quick. Well, I hope you enjoyed listening to me talk about these two short horror stories. And that'll be it for our podcast. This is the last episode. And thank you for listening to the GMN Podcast.