Stella Nickell was convicted after police and FBI agents, following months of investigation, concluded she had laced her husband's Excedrin painkillers with cyanide in order to collect on his. May 9, 1988, U.S. Marshall Merry Moore leads Stella Nickell from the federal courthouse after a jury convicts her on five counts of product tampering. Cindy said that her mother had talked of killing Bruce Nickell, at one point discussing hiring a hit man. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. After all, it had been less than four years since the unsolved Tylenol poisonings in the Chicago area. Her fingerprints were also found all over other books on cyanide. Investigators concluded they were dealing with product tampering. 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. Are you a "motivated dater"? Olsen said that Nickell laced Bruce's Excedrin with cyanide so that the authorities would think his death was accidental, which would allow her to claim his $100,000 life-insurance policy. Stella, who stood to lose $100,000 if his death wasnt ruled an accident, decided to alter her plan. 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 . Several "C" volumes from encyclopedias at the library were sent to the FBI lab, where technicians determined that Stella had left finger and palm prints on entries about cyanide in three encyclopedias. Stella is a young teenage girl living in a high school for her 1968-69 school year. display: block; 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. After the war, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. [6], With contamination of the Excedrin at the source having been ruled out, investigators began to focus their investigation on the end-users of the product. The money was an attempt by the company to limit damages, because scared consumers had boycotted their products. The case made headlines across the world. Stella Nichols. Detective Mike Dunbar, who worked on the case, says she wanted insurance money. Stella had taken out $76,000 of life insurance on Bruce. In early 1974,. Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. She claimed to have bought the two bottles at different times in different stores. In 1988 in Washington state, Stella Nickell was convicted of killing her husband Bruce, and Sue Snow, a bank manager, by putting cyanide in Excedrin capsules. Now, private detective Al Farr and his partner Paul Ciolino are on a mission to prove what they both firmly believe: Nickell is innocent. She said she had a bottle of Excedrin in her home with the same lot number as the bottle that had killed Sue Snow. Farr says that there is no credible evidence against her. She became eligible in 2017 after serving 30 years of her 90-year sentence. Cindy told FBI investigators that Stella had researched toxic local plants and other poisons at local libraries. Police initially focused on Snows husband Paul Webking. He was taken by helicopter to a Seattle hospital. The detectives also question how she first became a suspect. By age 16 she was pregnant with her first daughter, Cindy Hamilton. In early 1974, when she was 32, she met Bruce Nickell. This information would spread across the town she lived and cause her to start getting bullied because . 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.. Detectives later found traces of algaecide a chemical used to clean fish tanks in the Excedrin pills. Following that failure, Stella had begun library research into other methods and hit upon cyanide. Estella had 4 sisters: Edith A. [12] The FBI identified her fingerprints on cyanide-related pages of a number of the works she had checked out during this period. A lawyer representing Stella told reporters that she was too "shaken up" to be subjected to the examination. They asked the family if Snow had any enemies. Olsen said that Nickell told her daughter, Cindy Hamilton, about the scheme, despite their fractious relationship, and how she was inspired by the Tylenol deaths. She had a history of abusing drugs. Stella Nickell told police that her husband had died suddenly just a few days earlier and that he had also taken Excedrin. She'd heard a thump and the sound of water running over the sink. Nickell watched Bruce die in agony on June 5, 1986, a few days after buying the cyanide at a chemical-supply company. When her mom's autopsy results showed she had died of cyanide poisoning, Klein struggled to process the news. The defense agreed not to cross-examine Cindy about the reward. Cindy Hamilton was paid a $250,000 reward for her help in the case against her mother. But this time, it happened on the West Coast of the United States in a suburb of Seattle, Washington. When both turned out to contain contaminated capsules, investigators grew suspicious. Authorities became suspicious because she told them she had bought two bottles of Excedrin at different times, probably in different places. Correction: Death By Cyanide MMII Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved [5] Her husband, Paul Webking, took two capsules from the same bottle for his arthritis and left the house for work. SEATTLE -- Stella Nickell poisoned her husband with cyanide-laced Excedrin so she could collect on his life insurance and caused the death of an innocent woman to fake 'the work of a random. The doctors said it was emphysema, but Stella says that never made sense, because he didnt have that disease. The drift toward war with Mexico had begun a year earlier when the U.S. annexed the Republic of Texas as a read more, In 1975, John Sebastian, former member of the beloved '60s pop group the Lovin Spoonful, was asked to write and record the theme song for a brand-new ABC television show with the working title Kotter. Stella continued to maintain her innocence after her trial. The film was to have been directed by Jeff Reiner and starring Katey Sagal as Stella Nickell. They had thought it was drug overdose, but she was not a known user, and had taken only a couple of Extra - Strength Excedrin. [2] The possibility of state charges for the actual murders of Bruce and Snow continues to exist. She'd told the staff that she needed it to kill ants. "But more importantly, I know who didn't do it and that's Stella Nickell. [6] Further FBI investigation showed that Bruce's purported signatures on at least two of the insurance policies in his name had been forged. See Photos. In these documents, there are reports about other possible suspects and mysterious fingerprints on Sue Snows bottle. Her May 1988 conviction and prison sentence were the first . #inline-recirc-item--id-a607eb04-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-a607eb04-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Im afraid for her life: Riverside CC womens coach harassed after Title IX suit, Want to solve climate change? They say she was desperate to establish an accidental cause of death. Since her husband, Bruce Nickells was already dead and buried they could not do anything. 00:19:08 - Mrs. Stella Nickell might have actually gotten away with it too, if it weren't for her greed and a touch of karma. Stella's payoff now totaled $175,000. "Rock star" reptile breeder murdered; Coroner: "Not a random act" Seven people died in that case, which was never solved. A consortium of drug companies, alarmed about product tampering, posted a $300,000 reward. Police arrested her the same day, and she went on trial in April 1988. The FBI found Stella's fingerprints on several books. Seven people died in that case, which was never solved. Despite the Soviet statement, it was obvious that the boycott was a response to the decision of the read more, On May 8, 1792, Congress passes the second portion of the Militia Act, requiring that every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years be enrolled in the militia. Stella refused, her lawyer saying she was too shaken up. But he took a polygraph, passed, and was eliminated as a suspect. Like cyanide poisoning. Stella Nickell grew up poor in the Pacific Northwest. Her fate was sealed when Hamilton told the FBI that her mother had repeatedly talked about killing Bruce in different ways. She said of Nickell, "She has no regard for what she did to other people's lives I don't know why anybody should have any regard for her now.". He joined the army at the relatively advanced age of 33 in 1916 to fight in World War I. She was paid $7,500. But this time, pathologists smelled the telltale scent of bitter almonds during the autopsy, and determined that cyanide poisoning had killed Sue Snow. Stella . They turned out to be algae destroyer, a product used to kill algae in fish tanks. Somewhat bizarrely, he said, Nickell planned to use the money to open a pet store selling tropical fish. Around the time Stella failed a FBI polygraph, her daughter from a previous marriage, Cindy Hamilton, 27, came forward. When police arrived, Stella handed over two bottles of Excedrin. So she put poisoned painkillers in stores, they say, hoping someone else would die and the tainted capsules would be discovered. 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. "I think that she probably killed Bruce and expected them to find out that he died from cyanide poisoning," he says. At the end of the movie, she won the prize for the scariest story ever. [21] A second appeal, beginning in 2001, was filed by her new attorney, Carl Park Colbert, based on evidence obtained by private detectives Al Farr and Paul Ciolino, requesting a new trial on the basis of new evidence having been discovered that the FBI may have withheld documents from the defense. She told them her mother had often spoken of wanting Bruce dead. She said she had bought the bottles on two occasions, one somewhere in Auburn, the other at Johnny's Market in Kent. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Cynthia Hamilton, Stellas daughter, came forward (possibly in order to obtain reward money) with her account of Stellas plan to kill her husband. But the plot backfired. Search for profiles by email and username. The FBI refused to comment. Stella Nickell laced painkillers with cyanide, murdering her husband and a random woman, Sue Snow. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [10], With investigatory focus turned to Stella, detectives uncovered more circumstantial evidence pointing to her as the culprit. She told police, and doctors realized that Bruce Nickell had also been poisoned. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. READ MORE: How Americans Became Convinced Their Halloween Candy was Poisoned, Woman convicted of killing two in Excedrin tampering, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/woman-convicted-for-tampering-with-excedrin. Investigators in Seattle say her plan was foiled when Bruce's death was attributed to emphysema - a natural cause. [32][33], Sources vary as to the exact amount. Farr and Ciolino have been traveling the country without pay, interviewing witnesses and friends, talking to anyone who may help them. To fill the now empty hours at home, she began keeping a home aquarium. We offered the rewards as a deterrent because we feel that the best way to deter tampering is to catch the tamperers, said John T. Walden, a senior vice president of the Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Assn. A year and half after Bruce Nickell died, Stella Nickell was arrested and stood trial in federal court. Her husband, Bruce, died after taking cyanide-laced Excedrin tablets in 1986. Another $300,000 was shared by nine people who helped police arrest a Florida man in 1986. Stella Nickell, then 75, had been sentenced to 90 years in prison in 1988, after she was found guilty of product tampering. In the next 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter. Sue Snows husband, Paul Webking, agreed to undergo a polygraph examination and passed. You have to go to the city. "American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood and the Cyanide Murders That Shook the World.". [2] The former was marked as overdue in library records, indicating that she had borrowed but never returned it. Find your friends on Facebook. It was found among a thousand pages never turned over to the defense. Stella's friend A.J. Authorities alleged he put rat poison in capsules of several SmithKline Beckman Corp. products in Florida and Texas in a failed scheme to manipulate the price of SmithKline stock. All sentences were to run concurrently, and the judge ordered Stella to pay a small fine and forfeit her remaining assets to the families of her victims. She wanted to stay home. The FDA quickly ruled out Bristol-Myers, as the source of the cyanide. Bruce Nickell was rushed by helicopter to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, where he soon died. The bottle had the same lot number as the bottle in Sue Snows home. The records tended to confirm at least that part of Hamiltons story. [1] Hamilton also claimed that Stella had spoken to her about what the two of them could do with the insurance money if Bruce was dead. Nickell poisoned Bruce so she could pocket his life insurance, and Snow died the same way in a foiled effort to cover her tracks, Olsen said. "I think that she probably killed Bruce and expected them to find out that he died from cyanide poisoning," he says. After searching for months, they found her in Southern California. She found none, something the jury never heard. [18] She was denied parole in 2017.[19]. Stella Nickell, then 75, had been sentenced to 90 years in prison in 1988, after she was found guilty of product tampering. She discovers that the stories are coming back to life. Stella Maudine Stephenson was born in Colton, Oregon, to Alva Georgia "Jo" (ne Duncan; later changed her name to Cora Lee) and George Stephenson. Read. Judge wont release WA woman serving 90 years for planting poisoned pills, Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Required fields are marked *. "48 Hours": Brooke Skylar Richardson case Both were found to contain cyanide-laced capsules. Prosecutors said that Nickell had tampered with medication in several stores to cover up her husband's death. display: none; 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. Make her serve the whole sentence or until she dies. 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. Written by Gregg Olsen, the book includes interviews with Klein and Nickell's daughter, Cindy Hamilton. Reports said Snow died after swallowing cyanide-laced Excedrin. Klein told them that her mom, who was a bank manager in Auburn, Washington, was "popular and had a big personality.". But this time, there was a suspect and an arrest. Olsen said that Nickell's crimes have been the focus of a number of TV documentaries and books, including his own. Paramedics rushed her to Harborview, but she died without regaining consciousness. [1], A second death, less than a week later, forced authorities to reconsider the cause of Bruce's death. She deserves no compassion. Nickell was the first to be convicted under it. Gregg Olsen, whose book "Bitter Almonds" chronicles the case, says that is why the FBI zeroed in on her. In the next 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter. Elizabeth was born on July 31 1868. Estella May McILMOYLE (born NICHOLLS) was born on month day 1898, to Joseph NICHOLLS and Elizabeth Ann NICHOLLS (born McILMOYL). had offered the rewards for information leading to an arrest in the June, 1986, killings, which led to the nations first trial in a product-tampering death. Then Stella Nickell's daughter, Cindy Hamilton, began talking to police. Stella Nickell grew up poor in the Pacific Northwest. The revised cause of death made a difference to Stella Nickell. Death by cyanide poisoning was big news in Washington. According to Olsen, the police theory is that Stella Nickell crushed the algae tablets in a bowl, and then later, when she mixed the cyanide, used that same bowl without cleaning it. But the policy would pay an additional $100,000 if he died from accidental causes. The crime was chillingly similar to the Chicago Tylenol murders four years earlier. Farr and Ciolino believe that finding Hamilton is the key to their case. [5] Tests verified that Snow had died of acute cyanide poisoning. 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. Her May 1988 conviction and prison sentence were the first under federal product tampering laws instituted after the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders. Milford Haven, Dyfed, SA73. Her release date is set for July 10, 2040, when she will be almost 97 years old. Stella was indicted in federal court and Cindy testified against her at the trial. Nobody was ever convicted in the 1982 Chicago Tylenol Murders. [1][2] Stella soon found herself in various legal issues, including a conviction for fraud in 1968, a charge of spousal abuse for beating Hamilton with a curtain rod in 1969, and a conviction for forgery in 1971. But the policy would pay an additional $100,000 if he died from accidental causes. Then there was the insurance. Sues husband also took two capsules from the bottle for his arthritis before leaving for work. Four years later, the scenario seemed to be playing itself out again in King County Washington. read more. Stella Nickell used Cyanide to kill her victims. The Food and drug administration and the manufacturer, Bristol - Meyers, moved quickly to remove all Extra - Strength Excedrin bottles from the shelves across the, The victims had taken it as a regular pill and did not realized it had Cyanide. 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. Some cite $71,000, some $75,000, and some $76,000. May 08, 2013 12:00 AM. Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. For one thing, authorities found only five contaminated bottles of painkillers in all of King County. Prosecutors: Security video discredits cosplay model's story of self-defense Stella says she researched cyanide after her husband died. She bought nine more bottles of Excedrin and cut through the protective film with a razor blade. There was nothing wrong with her. 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. Investigators exhumed Bruce Nickells body and found evidence of cyanide. LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED & Stella Nickell - The Seattle, Washington Excedrin Cyanide Murders | Listen Notes Federal prosecutors said they opposed her release. Officers broke open the capsules and found the powdered toxin inside. Stella Nicholls is the main protagonist in the 2019 film based on the book Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. They learned she had purchased the algae killer found in the cyanide, and that she had been told by the clerk to crush it before using. Her lawyers have also petitioned, unsuccessfully, for a new trial. The Food and Drug Administration soon announced that Extra Strength Excedrin capsules found at Snow's home contained cyanide. Like last weeks case, this week deals with murder by poison. Sign up for the newsletter today. [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. Her husband, Bruce, died after taking cyanide-laced Excedrin tablets in 1986. The Old Crime is New Again newsletter is a monthly email covering a topic that has not appeared in the blog. They are not sure where the dialogue will lead. Stella Nickell was convicted two years later. Stella Nickell, then 75, had been sentenced to 90 years in prison in 1988, after she was found guilty of product tampering. They arrested me and I was only in jail overnight.". Now 27, Hamilton had been in and out of Stella's life for years. Stella Nicholls : No, Sarah, now it's your turn to hear a story. Snow died a few days later, after also taking Excedrin pills laced with cyanide. 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. Background Report for Stella Chen. When another tainted bottle from the same lot was found in a grocery store in nearby Kent, Bristol-Myers, the manufacturers of Excedrin, responded to the discovery with a heavily publicized recall of all Excedrin products in the Seattle area,[8] and a group of drug companies came together to offer a $300,000 reward for the capture of the person responsible. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Stella Nicholls. Although the defense challenged her credibility, the jury believed her and convicted Stella of fatally poisoning her husband and Sue Snow. The crime was chillingly similar to the Chicago Tylenol murders four years earlier. 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. After her death was reported in the news, Stella called police to tell them that she thought her husband had also been poisoned. Six days later, Susan Snow took one of these capsules and died instantly. Nickell, who kept tropical fish in a large tank, had crushed the cyanide in the same bowl that she used to turn the algaecide into powder. The FBI began an investigation into possible product tampering having been the source of the poison. Additionally, network executives feared the film would inspire copycat crimes. He died, as did Auburn woman Sue Snow, who apparently picked up a bottle of the tainted tablets from a grocery store, according to news reports and court records. [1][2], On June 5, 1986, the Nickells were living in Auburn, Washington, when Bruce, 52, came home from work with a headache. That case moved Congress to enact tough tampering laws. 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. According to Cindy, Stella had pointed out that if Bruce died, she and Cindy would have the cash they wanted to open a tropical fish store, or perhaps a ceramics store, another of Stella's hobbies. (CBS) Thirteen years ago, in Washington state, Stella Nickell was convicted of killing her husband Bruce, and Sue Snow, a bank manager, by putting cyanide in Excedrin capsules.
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