Netflix’s Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders has one chilling moment true crime fans can’t ignore

Netflix’s docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders is striking, not due to the way it recounts the Chicago-area poisonings of 1982, but for including something no other docuseries has: the only complete recorded interview with James Lewis, the prime suspect. That captivating moment transforms the captivating series by allowing viewers to hear the unfiltered insights from a man who eluded police for decades.

This applies to the captivating docuseries too, which ensures viewers are with the lapsed-release crime of seven innocent people dying from cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. Most people might feel like they have an upper hand on the crime, but this series bolsters its sneaky emotional undertones that accompany it alongside exploiting the psychology behind the act.

The aforementioned exclusive interview with Lewis, paired with strong narratives from the victims’ family members, transforms the docuseries into something unexpected: A chilling, eerie tale wrapped in human experiences that defies encapsulation as a mere true-crime story.

James Lewis finally speaks, but can he be believed?

James Lewis had avoided interviews for as long as possible and kept a public silence while being considered a primary suspect in the case, with a striking lack of attention. Lewis, who has a history of credit card fraud and extortion, as well as being linked to a murder in a separate case, is a controversial person, to say the least.

However, what makes his interview in Cold Case so intriguing is the way that he so nonchalantly explains the reasoning behind his infamous letter to Johnson and Johnson in which he demanded 1 million dollars to stop the killings.

He alleges that the entire thing was staged to pin the blame on someone else, and that he never planned on actually getting the money in the first place. The explanation is unnerving, not because it exonerates him, but rather because it describes someone who is unsettlingly capable of sophisticated lies.

Whether what he said is true or if he is attempting to spin a web of lies over the reality he is trying to escape, the strain remains endlessly after the credits end.

The victims’ families finally get to tell their stories in Cold Case

To the extent that the Lewis interview may capture the viewer's attention, the core focus of Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders deals with how the victims and the victims' circle are treated.

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The emotional responses of family and first responders are featured at the very beginning of the series, describing the utter perplexity and deep trauma that followed the deaths. Their voices lend humanity and nuance to a narrative often boiled down to a whodunit.

By the last episode, one relative expresses his wish that the detectives disregard the deceased James Lewis and his connection, and those listening to the detectives in the first place consider more promising avenues. Over and over again gives one poignant reminder that too many cold cases left unsolved, those who pursue real answers, lose the closure they desperately need.

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