Cyanide-Laced Tylenol Kills Woman in N.Y.

NEW YORK — A 23-year-old woman died of cyanide poisoning after taking two Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules, authorities said Monday, prompting a grocery chain to remove bottles of the medicine from supermarkets in two dozen states.

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo urged New York residents to stop using Tylenol “until further notice.”

Police said it was not known how the poison was introduced into the Tylenol or whether the bottle’s tamper-resistant packaging had been breached. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration immediately joined local police in the investigation, and the FBI said it was closely monitoring the situation.

7 Deaths in Chicago

The incident in Yonkers, situated just north of New York City, recalled poisonings from cyanide-laced Tylenol in the Chicago area in 1982. No one has been arrested in the seven murders that shocked the nation and resulted in widespread introduction of “tamper-proof packaging” of consumer products.

Police identified the victim Monday as Diane Elsroth of Peekskill, N.Y., the daughter of a state police investigator, who died at the home of her boyfriend in Yonkers. Authorities said the man, whose identity was not released, gave Elsroth the two capsules from a 24-capsule bottle on Friday. He reported her death the next day.

During an autopsy, “large quantities of cyanide were found present in the victim’s blood and stomach,” said Claire Palermo, a spokeswoman for Westchester County Executive Andrew P. O’Rourke.

“We don’t know where or when it (the poison) was introduced,” added Yonkers Police Commissioner Joseph V. Fernandes.

Three of the capsules in the bottle also appeared to contain cyanide. Conclusive tests will be completed today.

Authorities said that the mother of the man whom Elsroth was visiting also took one of the capsules in the tainted bottle. She suffered no ill effects.

Sales Banned

Westchester County officials banned the sale of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules Monday night. New York City’s health commissioner advised residents not to use the pain reliever “until all the facts are in.”

Cuomo said: “I have instructed my immediate family to discontinue the use of all Tylenol capsules until further notice. I make the same recommendation to everyone in the state.”

A&P; Food Stores Monday ordered Tylenol capsules removed from all of its more than 1,000 supermarkets. “We did that as a precautionary measure this afternoon, pending the outcome of an investigation being conducted by the Yonkers police department,” Michael Rourke, a spokesman for the supermarket chain, said.

The bottle containing the capsules that were found to contain poison was purchased at an A&P; in Bronxville, N.Y., near Yonkers.

Outlets in 24 States

A&P; said it has outlets in 24 states. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

In Washington, the Food and Drug Administration advised residents in the Yonkers area to avoid taking Tylenol until more is known. As a special precaution, the federal agency advised consumers to avoid Tylenol with the code ADF916 and an expiration date of 5/87.

“The lot has been in distribution since August, 1985, without any other instances,” the FDA said. “In the past, such instances have invariably proved local in nature.”

A federal law enforcement official in Washington said there was no indication at this point that the Tylenol poisoning is a repetition of the 1982 killings but that the FBI was watching the Yonkers police investigation closely.

McNeil Consumer Products Co., a division of Johnson & Johnson, Tylenol’s manufacturer, said it appeared that the incident was localized. “At this time, we have no reason to believe this is more than an isolated incident,” the pharmaceutical company said. It said the lot in question was distributed all along the East Coast and there had been no previous incidents.

Fears Run High

Nevertheless, as reports of the Tylenol poisoning spread, fears ran high. In New York City, Assistant Health Commissioner Marvin Bogner said that the city’s poison control center received more than 100 calls from people asking about Tylenol.

Police said that Elsroth died in the Yonkers home of her friend, who reported the death at 1:34 p.m. Saturday. The initial autopsy did not disclose the cause of her death, and additional tests were ordered. During these tests, Joan Fogel, a toxicologist, smelled bitter almond and suspected cyanide. Chemical analysis confirmed her suspicions.

Toxicologists say potassium cyanide quickly stops the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. Victims suffer convulsions and, unless they are promptly treated, death.

Seven people were killed in the Chicago area from cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol between Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, 1982. The incidents caused Johnson & Johnson to withdraw the top-selling pain reliever nationwide until tamper-resistant packaging could be substituted for existing bottles. Although no one has been arrested for the killings, a man was convicted of attempting to extort $1 million from Johnson & Johnson in the case.

The Chicago poisonings prompted copycat incidents, including a case in San Jose, Calif., in which a husband was convicted of trying to kill his wife by lacing aspirin with cyanide.