Unabomber's parents lived in Lombard at time of Tylenol deaths
Convicted “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski's parents were still living in their DuPage County home at the time of the 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people, including five who also lived or consumed the cyanide-laced medicine there.
Kaczynski's brother David said Friday his parents were still in their Lombard home at the time of the poisonings.
“I'm trying to remember if Ted was visiting home,” David Kaczynski wrote in an email to the Daily Herald. “I don't think so, but I'm not sure. Of course, he could have been in the area without our knowledge.”
David Kaczynski declined to comment further about recent reports that the FBI was seeking his brother's DNA to test for any links to the Tylenol poisoning case that has gone unsolved for almost 30 years.
“I'm way out of the loop about the Tylenol investigation,” David Kaczynski wrote.
In the Tylenol poisonings, authorities determined the bottles were tampered with after purchase. They surmised the suspect would purchase the bottles at Chicago-area stores, add a cyanide compound to the pills and then put the bottles back on store shelves for purchase.
In September 1982, an Elk Grove Village 12-year-old named Mary Kellerman was the first to die after ingesting poisoned Extra Strength Tylenol. Three people — Adam Janus, Stanley Janus and Theresa Janus — ingested capsules from the same bottle in Lisle and died. Mary McFarland of Elmhurst, Mary Reiner of Winfield and Paula Prince of Chicago also were killed. Investigators later found three other tampered bottles.
The case led to major overhauls of safety packaging for over-the-counter medications and sparked federal anti-tampering laws.
Authors and independent investigators have long pointed the finger at Ted Kaczynski as having a possible link to the Tylenol case, but until this week, it appeared federal authorities weren't giving the allegations much credence.
Ted Kaczynski was born in the South suburb of Evergreen Park and grew up there before heading to Harvard University at age 16. He used his parents' Lombard address to obtain an Illinois driver's license in 1972 and 1978. He had been living in Montana between that time period and returned to his remote cabin after receiving the second license.
Ted Kaczynski was arrested at his sparse Montana cabin in 1996 and charged with sending 16 mail bombs that killed three people and injured 23 others dating back to 1978. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
The initial bomb targets were in the Chicago area, with two bombs exploding at Northwestern University in Evanston in 1978 and 1979. Two more bombs had Chicago connections over the nearly 20-year bombing spree. Authorities dubbed their suspect the Unabomber.
Ted Kaczynski was eventually linked to the crimes due to the infamous “Unabomber Manifesto” he demanded be published by major newspapers. In the end, it was his brother David who alerted authorities to writing-style similarities between the manifesto and his older brother's writings.
David Kaczynski turned over much of the $1 million reward money he received to his brother's victims and their families. David Kaczynski is now the executive director of New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. He also contributes opinion pieces to New York newspapers, has published essays and poems and lectures across the country.