The Tylenol Murders’: How Netflix Got the Only James Lewis Interview

Netflix’s “Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders” features chief suspect James Lewis’ first and only interview, where he addresses the allegations made against him — including that he killed seven people in 1982.

That year, cyanide-laced Tylenol was distributed in Chicago, leading to the pharmaceutical industry introducing tamper seals to certain products.

The docuseries also includes interviews with family members of some of the victims.

Joseph Janus recalled the moment he heard that his brother, Adam Janus, had died: “I got a phone call, they said my brother Adam had a heart attack. I said ‘What are you talking about? He’s a very healthy person.’ They said: ‘He’s dead and we can do nothing for him.’ I almost passed out, I was in shock.”

Lewis, who died in 2023, was arrested but not convicted and denied the allegations.

But he admitted to writing a ransom letter to Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of Tylenol, for $1 million. He later claimed it was an attempt to point the authorities at his wife’s former boss for unpaid wages.

Lewis was convicted of extortion in 1983 for writing the letter and served 10 years in prison.

Author Nicholas Mennuti, who wrote “The Tylenol Murders” book and features in the three-part true crime series, compared the Lewis case to the gangster Al Capone, who was suspected of committing more serious crimes than he was convicted of.

“They make it look like I’m the world’s most horrible, dangerous person ever… and I wouldn’t hurt anybody,” Lewis says at the end of the first episode, seemingly referring to the authorities and the media.

The creators of ‘The Tylenol murders’ earned Lewis’ trust

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, co-director Yotam Guendelman praised the show’s producer Molly Forrester for convincing Lewis to take part.

Guendelman said that Forrester told Lewis: “‘You’re a human being. We want to talk to you as a human being — even if you did all of this horrible stuff.'” adding, “She just sort of got his trust.”

The documentarian said that Lewis was cautious about being interviewed, but Forrester’s “intimate rapport” helped him open up.

“There was something in him that wanted to say what he wanted to say, for many years. Having people basically trying to get you for 40 years, I guess also makes you want to talk and enjoy this attention,” Guendelman said.

Ari Pines, the show’s co-director, said they also aimed to shed light on the other cases connected to Lewis with “The Tylenol Murders.”

“We didn’t do this interview just to get a confession out of [Lewis], but to really confront him about all the hard questions about this case and the other cases that he was suspected of in the past,” Pines told The Hollywood Reporter.

Lewis was also connected with other criminal cases and was charged but not convicted of killing a truck driver called Raymond West in 1978. Episode three also states that he was accused of aggravated rape after allegedly kidnapping a young woman, but that the supposed victim dropped the charges.

In the docuseries, Lewis said: “I did not kidnap her. There was no evidence that I had ever been with her or touched her in any way, shape, or form, not even shaking hands.”