In Chicago 1982, taking acetaminophen was a little like playing Russian Roulette. At least seven people died after ingesting cyanide-laced Extra Strength Tylenol capsules and to this day, the feds never nailed the culprit. In 2025, Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders documentarians Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines got their man or at least, the Netflix filmmakers got the FBIs lone suspect, James Lewis, to speak in great length on camera. It was producer Molly Forester who landed Lewis.

She was given the task to get him and she brought him, Guendelman said. Shes the best at this. Joe Berlinger, an executive producer on the docuseries, is also no slouch in the space himself. In 2022, as journalists camped out on Lewis lawn hoping for a soundbite that never came, it was Forester who got him to open the front door. She promised Lewis hed get to tell his full story a promise shed reiterate over the next year.

Youre a human being, Forester pitched Lewis. We want to talk to you as a human being even if you did all of this horrible stuff.

She just sort of got his trust, Guendelman said.

Theres no doubt that Lewis, abandoned as a baby by his parents, has done some horrible stuff. But what was never proven and still hasnt been is whether of not Lewis did this horrible stuff.

Forester and Lewis, and through osmosis Guendelman (and through further osmosis, Pines) and Lewis, ended up having a really intimate rapport, Guendelman said.

There was one other factor that certainly didnt hurt. As you can see on the show, he loves attention, Guendelman said. But he never gave an interview because he was so cautious.

One thing Lewis has never been accused of is being dumb or, probably, being a good dude. Though never charged in the actual Tylenol killings, Lewis was convicted ofextortionfor sending a letter to Tylenol maker Johnson Johnson taking responsibility for the deaths and demanding $1 million to stop them. Lewis said later that his letter was an attempt to point authorities to his wifes former boss. He got a 10-year sentence.

Years earlier, in 1978, Lewis was charged in the murder of Raymond West, who had hired Lewis as an accountant, but poor police work killed any chance of a conviction. In 1983, Lewis was convicted of mail fraud; another time, he was accused of aggravated rape, but the alleged victim chose not to go through with the case.

In other words, Lewis knew there was a lot of opportunity to slip up during an interview.

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

Shortly after their interview, Lewis died.

In 1982, at least seven Chicago-area residents died after taking laced Extra Strength Tylenol Courtesy of Netflix It would have been cool to get a confession on tape the dream of every documentarian Guendelman conceded, a la Robert Durst in The Jinx. But theres a difference between Durst and Lewis.

Jim is not the only suspect in this case, Pines said. We dont know for sure that hes responsible.

Roger Arnold, a dock worker who admitted to possessing potassium cyanide, was also investigated by police.

So we didnt 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 casesthat he was suspected of in the past, Pines continued.

It was not for a lack of trying, of course. And Guendelman and Pines have already proven their works worth to the legal system.

Guendelman and Pines are the duo behind Shadow of Truth, a doc about the 2006 murder of 13-year-old Israeli girl whose body was found in a school bathroom. Roman Zadorow, a Ukrainian immigrant who had worked at the school, was arrested and convicted. Well, he was convicted until Guendelman and Pines came along.

The four-part Shadow of Truth, since acquired by Netflix, resulted in a retrial for Zadorow. He was ultimately acquitted and released.

True-crime documentaries do have a lot of power to change reality, Pines said, and they can achieve very important things.

Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders is now available on Netflix.