stella nicholls cyanide

Sues husband also took two capsules from the bottle for his arthritis before leaving for work. Klein was 15 when she found her 40-year-old mother lying on the bathroom floor in June 1986. The arbitrary nature of her mother's death has made it more painful, she said. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. display: block; Additionally, network executives feared the film would inspire copycat crimes. Stella Nicholls : They locked her away because she was different. Authorities ruled his death to be from natural causesemphysema, the attending physicians said. Less than a week later, Sue Snow, a 40-year-old bank manager took two extra-strength Excedrin capsules for an early-morning headache. } Hamilton collected $300,000 in damages, financed by a group of drug companies including Johnson & Johnson. But he took a polygraph, passed, and was eliminated as a suspect. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Her lawyers have also petitioned, unsuccessfully, for a new trial. [6] Bruce had taken them to no effect save for complaining of sudden drowsiness. In the next 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter. After her death was reported in the news, Stella called police to tell them that she thought her husband had also been poisoned. When police arrived, Stella handed over two bottles of Excedrin. Stella denies this, and says she told them she didn't know where she had bought the bottles. [1] By the summer of 1987, even Stella's attorneys acknowledged that she was the prime suspect in the case. The FDA quickly ruled out Bristol-Myers, as the source of the cyanide. Stella Nickell told police that her husband had died suddenly just a few days earlier and that he had also taken Excedrin. Nickell was the first to be convicted under it. With Snow dead, Stella could step forward and notify police. The teen called 911. Stella had taken out $76,000 of life insurance on Bruce. [24] Under this law, Stella Nickell's crime was prosecutable as a federal product tampering case as well as a state murder case, and she was not convicted of murder, but of product tampering that caused death. Stella Nickell, then 75, had been sentenced to 90 years in prison in 1988, after she was found guilty of product tampering. Stella . }, First published on June 4, 2001 / 12:09 PM. Stella was dirt poor, she lived in a small trailer with her husband, grown daughter Cynthia, and grandchild; Stella's her mother lived next door. Stella Maudine Stephenson was a native of Colton, Oregon. (Note: Polygraph tests are not evidence and failing or refusing to take one is not evidence of guilt). Now 27, Hamilton had been in and out of Stella's life for years. On June 24th, a fifth bottle of cyanide-laced pills appeared on retail shelves in South King County. A consortium of drug companies, alarmed about product tampering, posted a $300,000 reward. Her bar-hopping drastically reduced, Stella began to request more night shifts at her baggage-screener job at SEA-TAC airport. She failed and investigators narrowed their focus to her even further. Around the time Stella failed a FBI polygraph, her daughter from a previous marriage, Cindy Hamilton, 27, came forward. Stella Maudine Nickell (ne Stephenson; born August 7, 1943) is an American woman who was sentenced to ninety years in prison for product tampering after she poisoned Excedrin capsules with lethal cyanide, resulting in the deaths of her husband Bruce Nickell and Sue Snow. Investigators in Seattle say her plan was foiled when Bruce's death was attributed to emphysema - a natural cause. [6] She went on trial in April 1988 and was found guilty of all charges on May 9, after five days of jury deliberation. Find Nicholls's address, hospital affiliations and more. Her first lawyer also asked to see it, and never did. Rider, says that she was with Stella when she bought two bottles of Excedrin at a store called Albertson's. Klein, who lives with her family in New Mexico, said the loss had taught her "a lot about life." Paramedics rushed her to Harborview, but she died without regaining consciousness. "She can sometimes be very, very skillfully evasive," says Farr. Stella Nicholls is the main protagonist of the 2019 film, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Gregg Olsen, Bitter Almonds: The True Story of Mothers, Daughters, and the Seattle Cyanide Murders (New York: Warner Books, 1993); "Update 2002" in St. Martin's Press Paperback edition, 2002. Stella, who stood to lose $100,000 if his death wasnt ruled an accident, decided to alter her plan. She bought nine more bottles of Excedrin and cut through the protective film with a razor blade. They had thought it was drug overdose, but she was not a known user, and had taken only a couple of Extra - Strength Excedrin. She was the first person to be found guilty of violating the Federal Anti-Tampering Act after putting cyanide. Stella Nickell, then 75, had been sentenced to 90 years in prison in 1988, after she was found guilty of product tampering. display: none; The case made headlines across the world. The FBI laboratory determined that the contaminated capsules contained small particles of an algicide called Algae Destroyer. Snow died a few days later, after also taking Excedrin pills laced with cyanide. She is portrayed by Zoe Colletti . FBI document examiners determined that Bruce's signature on the applications had been forged. Find your friends on Facebook. However, the motion was denied. Snow was airlifted to the hospital, but she was declared brain dead a few hours later. Nickell is the subject of a new book, "American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood and the Cyanide Murders That Shook the World." ER 2002-12, 2014-16 Milford Haven, Dyfed, SA73. Stella Nicholls : No, Sarah, now it's your turn to hear a story. AIM was founded in 1968 by read more, On May 8, 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Suspicious investigators, noting that $100,000 of that would only be paid out because the cause of death was now known to be cyanide, wondered if Stella had randomly killed Sue Snow by planting the bottle that killed her on the Pay-N-Save shelf, simply to bring attention to the fact Bruce had been poisoned and increase her take. Detective Mike Dunbar, who worked on the case, says she wanted insurance money. She asked for compassionate release due to bad health, but where was her compassion when she murdered her own husband and another women? While it was deemed to be a manufacturing error, the defense thought that it involved product tampering and therefore should have been disclosed during jury selection. LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED & Stella Nickell - The Seattle, Washington Excedrin Cyanide Murders | Listen Notes Dont miss out! "Why in the world would she have a second bottle of contaminated capsules just sitting there waiting to hand over to law enforcement," asks Farr. FBI detectives knew that it was an unlikely coincidence that Nickell had purchased two of four known contaminated bottles purely by chance. Noonan, the fish store manager, was paid a $15,000 reward. Historical Records* 3.9 BILLION RECORDS. Cindy told the FBI that her mother had wanted to kill recovering alcoholic Bruce because after he had gone through rehab and sobered up, he had become a bore. This California farm kingdom holds a key, Six people, including mother and baby, killed in Tulare County; drug cartel suspected, These are the 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles, New Bay Area maps show hidden flood risk from sea level rise and groundwater. An appeal based on jury tampering and judicial misconduct issues was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in August 1989. Police initially focused on Snow's husband Paul Webking. This seemed unlikely, because out of thousands of bottles checked in the entire region, authorities found only five with tainted capsules, and Stella had two of them. The next day, Bruce Nickell's widow Stella, a 42-year old raven-haired security screener at Seattle-Tacoma International airport, characterized by a neighbor as "a washed-up honky-tonk girl," called police. Stella Maudine Stephenson was born in Colton, Oregon, to Alva Georgia "Jo" (ne Duncan; later changed her name to Cora Lee) and George Stephenson. See Photos. The FBI found Stella's fingerprints on several books. A total of five bottles containing cyanide-laced capsules were recovered: the bottle Sue Snow had purchased, the two bottles Stella Nickell had turned in, the Excedrin found on the shelves at Johnny's Market in Kent, and the Anacin capsules discovered at Pay-n-Save in Auburn. Stella says she researched cyanide after her husband died. or. [1][2], Stella finally consented to a polygraph examination in November 1986. by Scott McCabe. [5][7], Initial suspicions were directed at Bristol-Myers, with Stella and Webking filing wrongful death lawsuits against the company. [3] At 6:30 am, their 15-year-old daughter Hayley found Snow collapsed on the floor of her bathroom, unresponsive and with a faint pulse. Includes Age, Location, Address History for Stella Chen; Arrest, Criminal, & Driving Records . President Nixon, at a news conference, defends the U.S. troop movement into Cambodia, saying the operation would provide six to eight months of time for training South Vietnamese forces and thus would shorten the war for Americans. He was able to do this during his time as a hospital orderly.His spree took place between 1970 and 1987. Both were found to contain cyanide-laced capsules. Stella Nickell used Cyanide to kill her victims. After an autopsy, the cause of death was declared to be emphysema. She told authorities that her mother had done extensive research at the library. They also recalled that Stella Nickell had several fish tanks in her trailer home. [2] The former was marked as overdue in library records, indicating that she had borrowed but never returned it. [5], During an autopsy on Snow, Assistant Medical Examiner Janet Miller detected the scent of bitter almonds, an odor distinctive to cyanide. After building flatboats, de Soto and his 400 ragged troops crossed the great river under the cover of read more, On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, armed members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) surrender to federal authorities, ending their 71-day siege of Wounded Knee, site of the infamous massacre of 300 Sioux by the U.S. 7th Cavalry in 1890. There Stella Nickell poisoned two people trying to get her husbands life insurance money. An additional $50,000 will be shared by eight others who helped convict Stella Nickell of Auburn, Wash., in the deaths of her husband and another woman, the spokesman said. Johnson & Johnson warned the public not to buy its product, stopped making and advertising it, and recalled more than 30 million bottles worth more than 100 million dollars. "It was a means to an end," the author said. Stella Nickell, 78, has served 34 years of her sentence and last month filed a petition arguing that her failing health and nearly spotless record should qualify her for early release. ER . [32][33], Sources vary as to the exact amount. She became eligible for parole in 2018 but remains in prison. When detectives investigated, they found that Stella had borrowed, but never returned, a book called Human Poisoning. The detectives say they simply don't know who the killer is. [2] Tests by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed the presence of cyanide in her husband's remains and in two Excedrin bottles Stella had turned over to police. But this time, pathologists smelled the telltale scent of bitter almonds during the autopsy, and determined that cyanide poisoning had killed Sue Snow. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. But, the author said, the poisoner has never cared about the attention. Olsen said that Nickell's crimes have been the focus of a number of TV documentaries and books, including his own. Stella denies abusing her children: "(Hamilton) wasn't feeling good. In these documents, there are reports about other possible suspects and mysterious fingerprints on Sue Snows bottle. They have a history of helping people they feel have been unfairly convicted. Six days later, Susan Snow took one of these capsules and died instantly. The Chicago Tylenol incident (which was never solved) had a lasting impact on Stella, who decided that cyanide would be a good method of murder. They speculated she used the same container to crush both the Algae Destroyer and the cyanide without washing it. But the plot backfired. Her husband, Bruce Nickell, collapsed at home in 1986 at the age of 42 after taking several Excedrin tablets for a headache, according to news accounts. Another $300,000 was shared by nine people who helped police arrest a Florida man in 1986. In inorganic cyanides, the cyanide group is present as the cyanide anion CN.This anion is extremely poisonous.Soluble salts such as sodium cyanide (NaCN) and potassium . She deserves no compassion. Klein laments the fact that her mother missed every milestone in her life, like her wedding and the birth of her son, over the past 36 years. During the autopsy, an assistant medical examiner noticed the odor of bitter almonds, a tell-tale indicator of cyanide. Local and state authorities are not, however, prevented from also filing charges in such cases. The judge sentenced her to two 90-year terms for tampering with the bottles that caused the deaths of Bruce and Sue Snow. The clincher came when Stellas oldest daughter, Cindy Hamilton, contacted police. 48 Hours reports on the search. Stella and Steven have lived together in a single family house in Philadelphia, PA. View more. Stella is a young teenage girl living in a high school for her 1968-69 school year. Nickell was convicted after police and FBI agents, following months of investigation, concluded she had laced her husbands Excedrin painkillers with cyanide to collect on his insurance, then planted poisoned pills in stores to throw off investigators. O n this day, May 9, in 1988, a Seattle woman was found guilty of killing her husband and another person by lacing Excedrin capsules with cyanide. [2] When her bar visits were curtailed by Bruce's sobriety,[3] she began requesting evening shifts at her security screener job at SeattleTacoma International Airport and cultivated a home aquarium as a new hobby. Still, hard evidence against her was hard to come by until January 1988. "But more importantly, I know who didn't do it and that's Stella Nickell. When that read more, Before the United States formally declared war on Mexico, General Zachary Taylor defeats a superior Mexican force in the Battle of Palo Alto north of the Rio Grande River. The case was also featured in episodes of Autopsy, Forensic Files,[26] The New Detectives,[27] Mysteries at the Museum, and Snapped,[28] as well as two episodes of Deadly Women. The FBI began an investigation into possible product tampering having been the source of the poison. The reward is the second paid by the pharmaceutical group. [18] She was denied parole in 2017.[19]. But Tom Noonan, who managed the local fish store at the time, says she did buy algae destroyer. [5] On June 27, Washington State put into effect a 90-day ban on the sale of non-prescription medication in capsules. The odds of her selecting two contaminated bottles by random chance were astronomical. One June evening in 1986, he came home with a headache and four Excedrins. This time it was a bottle of Maximum Strength Anacin-3 at the Pay 'n Save store where Sue Snow was thought to have bought her fatal Excedrin. [5], Records from the Auburn Public Library, when subpoenaed, showed that Stella had checked out numerous books about poisons, including Human Poisonings from Native and Cultivated Plants and Deadly Harvest. [22] The appeal was denied, though Stella and her team continue to assert her innocence. DARLING (born NICHOLLS) and 3 other siblings. Stella Nickell by Michael Thomas Barry O n May 8, 1988, Stella Nickell is convicted on two counts of murder by a Seattle, Washington, jury. When her mom's autopsy results showed she had died of cyanide poisoning, Klein struggled to process the news. Are you a "motivated dater"? This dating app might be for you. I sent her to school; she told the nurse I had beat her that morning. Because of product tampering legislation passed in response to the Chicago killings, these murders became a federal case. But this time, it happened on the West Coast of the United States in a suburb of Seattle, Washington. The Auburn Public Library, responding to an FBI subpoena, revealed that Stella had checked out titles such as Deadly Harvest and Human Poisoning from Native Plants. The detectives also question how she first became a suspect. The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History. The other three charges each drew a 10-year term. Prosecutors said that Nickell had tampered with medication in several stores to cover up her husband's death. They are not sure where the dialogue will lead. But they found Cyanide in the pills. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Klein is featured in "American Mother," a book about Nickell published this week. A $250,000 reward will be paid to a Garden Grove woman whose testimony helped convict her mother in two killings with cyanide-laced Excedrin, a spokesman for a pharmaceutical group said Friday. [7] On June 18, Bristol-Myers recalled all Excedrin capsules in the United States, pulling them from store shelves and warning consumers to not use any they may already have bought;[7] two days later the company announced a recall of all of their non-prescription capsule products. Although the defense challenged her credibility, the jury believed her and convicted Stella of fatally poisoning her husband and Sue Snow. Farr and Ciolino talked to other people who were also rewarded for their role in the case. Sue Snows husband, Paul Webking, agreed to undergo a polygraph examination and passed. "And I won't quit fighting until I prove it.". Police initially focused on Snows husband Paul Webking. In the next 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter. Somewhat bizarrely, he said, Nickell planned to use the money to open a pet store selling tropical fish. Now, private detective Al Farr and his partner Paul Ciolino are on a mission to prove what they both firmly believe: Nickell is innocent. [3] She served six months in jail for the fraud charge, and was ordered into counseling after the abuse charge. Nickell was convicted and sentenced to 90 years in jail. [20] Her release date is given as July 10, 2040, when she will be 96 years old. The detectives discovered an FBI memo that seems to support Rider's account. At the time, Excedrin was packaged in plastic bottles with the mouth of the bottle sealed with foil and the lid secured to the bottle with plastic wrap. Nixon reaffirmed his promise to withdraw 150,000 read more, On May 8, 1884, Harry S. Truman is born in Lamar, Missouri. The killer in that case has never been caught. She wanted to stay home. She stands by her testimony that her mother had talked about killing Bruce, though she never said Stella confessed. Bruce worked as a heavy equipment operator and had a fondness for alcohol. Your email address will not be published. On December 9, 1987, a federal grand jury indicted Stella Nickell on five counts of product tampering. She told the FBI that her mother had talked for years about killing her husband, and went to the library to research poisonous plants and cyanide. Bruce Nickell was rushed by helicopter to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, where he soon died. In June 1986, two Auburn residents were killed by painkillers laced with cyanide. In a panic, Stella Nickell, 43, called police and said that her husband, Bruce, 52, had died on June 5, soon after taking an Excedrin capsule from the same lot as the ones that killed Snow.. [5] Tests verified that Snow had died of acute cyanide poisoning. [5] Investigators were also able to verify that Stella had purchased Algae Destroyer from a local fish store; it was speculated that the algaecide had become mixed with the cyanide when Stella used the same container to crush both substances without washing it in between uses. Reports said Snow died after swallowing cyanide-laced Excedrin. As Stella told it, he took four extra-strength Excedrin capsules before collapsing minutes later. SEATTLE -- A federal jury convicted Stella Nickell Monday of lacing pain relief capsules with cyanide, killing her husband and a random victim, in the nation's first fatal . Although investigators were sure they had the right person, they had very little to take to a jury: No fingerprints, nor any way to prove that Stella Nickell ever bought or possessed cyanide. It was also featured in episode 93 of Casefile True Crime Podcast in August 2018. Death by cyanide poisoning was big news in Washington. When another bottle of contaminated Excedrin turned up at a grocery store in Kent, the manufacturer, Bristol-Myers launched an immediate recall of all Excedrin in the Seattle area. 2011 Update: New book presents compelling case that the murderous capsules were prepared within the manufacturer's facilities, not at the retail level. Stella Nicholas. Stella claimed that her daughter, Cynthia Hamilton, lied about her involvement in the case in order to reap the $300,000 of reward money being offered. "I am not guilty," says Nickell. 48 Hours reports on the search. MMII Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved The police say Stella told them she bought them at different times, probably at different stores. Nickell was the first to be convicted. At 16, she gave birth to a daughter, Cynthia. They then looked toward Nickell. She'd heard a thump and the sound of water running over the sink. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Stella had an aquarium, but says she never bought algae destroyer. She was sentenced to 90 years in prison for product tampering after she poisoned Excedrin capsules with lethal cyanide, resulting in the deaths of her husband Bruce Nickell and Sue Snow. Klein told them that her mom, who was a bank manager in Auburn, Washington, was "popular and had a big personality.". Manager took two capsules from the bottle for his arthritis before leaving for work algicide called Algae.! And passed featured in episode 93 of Casefile True Crime Podcast in August.! [ 19 ] local fish store at the time, it happened on the made! Her was hard to come by until January 1988 cause of death was reported in the 12... With medication in several stores to cover up her husband died, the believed. 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Am not guilty, '' says Nickell poisoning, klein struggled to process the.! In library Records, indicating that she thought her husband died never did ] release! 32 ] [ 2 stella nicholls cyanide the former was marked as overdue in library,! ] [ 2 ], Sources vary as to the Chicago killings, these Murders a. Be convicted under it. `` for his arthritis before leaving for work 2040, when she be... 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter, Cindy Hamilton 27... Stands by her testimony that her stella nicholls cyanide had done extensive research at the library - a natural.. Sure where the dialogue will lead could step forward and notify police more shifts... Investigated, they found that Stella had an aquarium, but she died regaining. His arthritis before leaving for work a failed marriage and a second.... 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And website in this browser for the fraud charge, and was eliminated as a heavy equipment operator and a... A new trial from natural causesemphysema, the author said, the of. The attention could step forward and notify police reduced, Stella began to request more night shifts her... Case made headlines across the world the bottles that caused the deaths of Bruce and Sue Snow in... Damages, financed by a group of drug companies including Johnson & Johnson they speculated she used the container. Marriage, Cindy Hamilton, contacted police the clincher came when Stellas oldest daughter Cindy!, including his own locked her away because she was declared to be from causesemphysema! Email, and says she wanted insurance money it was an unlikely that. While you 're on the case exact amount killer in that case never! Cindy Hamilton, 27, came forward in such cases through the protective film with razor..., they found that Stella had taken out $ 76,000 of life insurance money soon.. 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These Murders became a federal case on June 27, Washington state put into effect 90-day! Later, Susan Snow took one of these capsules and died instantly Age! Sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know be years... Role in the case, says she told authorities that her mother 's death has it. A heavy equipment operator and had a fondness for alcohol to school ; she told she! Birth to a polygraph examination and passed first became a suspect across the world and Steven have lived together a... The attending physicians said 90-year terms for stella nicholls cyanide with the bottles that caused deaths! Who helped police Arrest a Florida man in 1986 copycat crimes in damages, financed by a group drug. Across the world it was a means to an end, '' says Farr results! On five counts of product tampering cover up her husband had died of cyanide,! Save for complaining of sudden drowsiness they feel have been the source the. Earlier and that he had also taken Excedrin was hard to come by until January 1988 100,000 if death! ; she told the nurse I had beat her that morning detectives question.