‘Getting a confession on tape, that’s every documentarian’s dream’
Netflix has just dropped Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders, a three-part docuseries digging into one of the most disturbing unsolved crimes in American history, the 1982 cyanide-laced Tylenol killings in the Chicago area. It’s been over forty years since seven people died after unknowingly taking poisoned capsules. And it’s still unclear who was behind it.
The series takes a close look at the case, with powerful interviews from journalists, former law enforcement, and people close to the victims. And for the first time ever, we hear directly from the man who’s been the FBI’s only named suspect for decades: James W. Lewis.
So, how did they get James Lewis to talk?
James Lewis via Netflix
Getting James W. Lewis to speak wasn’t easy. He’d refused every major interview for years. But filmmakers Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines pulled it off, thanks in large part to producer Molly Forster.
“She was given the task to get him, and she brought him,” Guendelman said. “She’s the best at this.”
Back in 2022, while reporters were still parked outside Lewis’ home hoping for a quote, it was Forster who got him to open the door. Her pitch was simple but powerful: We want to hear your side. Not just as a suspect but as a human being.
And that’s what worked. “She got his trust,” Guendelman said. “She really made that connection.”
From that point on, Lewis slowly let them in. It wasn’t about charm, it was about persistence, patience, and offering him something no one else had: The space to speak freely.
So, was James Lewis the Tylenol murderer?
Via Netflix
Well, Lewis had a dark history. Even though he wasn’t charged with the Tylenol murders, he was convicted of extortion after sending a letter to Johnson & Johnson, claiming responsibility and demanding $1 million to stop the killings. He later claimed the letter was meant to frame someone else: His wife’s ex-boss. He served 10 years.
Before that, he’d been charged with the 1978 murder of a former client, Raymond Westa case that fell apart due to sloppy police work. He was later convicted of mail fraud. At one point, he was accused of rape, though that case didn’t move forward.
So although he might not have been the Tylenol murderer, he had good reason to be cautious on camera.
“There was something in him that needed to speak,” Guendelman said. “If you’ve had people chasing you for four decades, eventually, you want to have your say, and maybe enjoy the spotlight a little.”
Lewis, it turns out, loved attention. But he was smart enough to know how risky speaking out could be. That’s why the fact he did agree to sit down is such a big deal.
Well, did they get a confession?
James Lewis via Netflix
Not quite. As Guendelman put it, “Getting a confession on tape, that’s every documentarian’s dream.” But in this case, they didn’t get one from Lewis.
“Jim is not the only suspect in this case,” Pines said. “We don’t know for sure that he’s responsible.”
Another man, Roger Arnold, had been investigated too. He admitted to having potassium cyanide, but the case against him didn’t hold either.
In the end, the filmmakers weren’t just after a dramatic reveal. They wanted to confront Lewis with the big, unanswered questions. About Tylenol, about the other crimes he was linked to, and about who he really was.
Lewis died shortly after the interviews were filmed. The timing is haunting, but the series now stands as a rare and intimate look into the mind of a man who may, or may not, have been behind one of the most terrifying crimes in American history.
Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders is available on Netflixnow. For all the latest Netflix news, quizzes, drops and memeslike The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.Featured image via Netflix.
