Forty-three years ago, in October 1982, the greater Chicago area was consumed with terror. In the span of just a few days, seven otherwise healthy people died suddenly and inexplicably. Three were from the same family. One was a 12-year-old girl.
That terror spread across the country when it was discovered that the deaths were caused by cyanide that had been added to Tylenol capsules. The manufacturer instituted a massive recall of the product once the connection was made. An estimated 31 million bottles were in circulation at the time — a retail value of over $100 million (over $300 million in today’s dollars).
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The incident led to pharmaceutical, food and consumer product industries developing tamper-proof packaging, and product tampering was made a federal offense.
No one was ever charged with the crime.
What many people may not remember is that the mystery of what caused the deaths was solved by two firefighters from two departments in the Chicago area. Without their observant intervention, many more people likely would have died.
The two firefighters — Richard Keyworth of the Elk Grove Fire Department and Lt. Philip Cappitelli of the Arlington Heights Fire Department — were off duty when the deaths occurred in their districts. Cappitelli was at home listening to a police radio when he heard the response to three deaths at the same location. Then his mother-in-law came home and told him that the 12-year-old daughter of a coworker had died that morning of unknown causes in Elk Grove Village.
Cappitelli phoned his friend Richard Keyworth, and they compared notes about the incidents. Both men then called their fire departments and had other members read them the reports about the responses. The presence of Tylenol at both scenes triggered their suspicions. Keyworth and Cappitelli notified their department leaders who reported the potential link to law enforcement.
Follow-up investigations revealed that Tylenol capsules found at both locations had been poisoned with cyanide. Other contaminated bottles of Tylenol were discovered at private homes and in retail outlets in the area. Public notifications followed, including police cruisers roaming the streets with loudspeakers blaring warnings of unexplained deaths, possibly attributed to cyanide in Tylenol. Firefighters went door-to-door with the poison alert. The national recall of the medication soon followed.
While Keyworth acknowledged being proud of his part in unraveling the mystery, he otherwise downplayed his role. “It’s really a coincidence,” he said at the time, noting that the child who died lived just a few blocks from him.
These men’s contribution to mitigating the damage in this case was far more than luck, however. They were both paying attention, even off duty. They each separately noticed that something unusual might be happening, beyond a typical EMS response. They both chose to follow up with their suspicions.
As Keyworth later said, “I’ve been involved in the investigation of fires for about 15 years. Having an inquisitive mind, when we started talking and the symptoms started matching up, I said, maybe ....”
The other important factor in these firefighters’ contribution to this event was their relationship. Their friendship had been formed years earlier during firefighter training. Keyworth later stated, “At first it was just another call that the department responded to. When Phil called me later that night and we started talking about it and discussing the symptoms, things started to match up that maybe we had a connection here.”
Philip Cappitelli died of cancer in 1998 at the age of 55. Richard Keyworth lived to age 80, passing away in 2023. Both men lived long enough to see major changes in product safety as a result of their efforts.
The men were recognized for their actions at the time, even at the national level, but fame was never their goal. Saving lives was. Through their quiet and purposeful actions in the fall of 1982, they left a legacy of attention, cooperation and commitment that outlives any individual and highlights the best of what being a firefighter means.
