The reward money came from a drug manufacturer's trade association. The convicted killer stood before a parole board in 2017, while Klein watched the proceedings on closed-circuit TV. Nearly two weeks later, she heard about Sue Snow. "48 Hours": Brooke Skylar Richardson case Now 27, Hamilton had been in and out of Stella's life for years. This information would spread across the town she lived and cause her to start getting bullied because . 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. 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. A sweep of grocery and pharmacy shelves in King County produced another tainted bottle from Johnny's Market in Kent, and the lot number of the bottle recovered from Sue Snow's home was publicized. She told police, and doctors realized that Bruce Nickell had also been poisoned. In the unlikely event she is paroled, at age 73, she could still face state murder charges, which have never been filed. [4], Stella met Bruce Nickell in 1974. Stella Nicholls was presumably born in the early 1950s, and when Stella was young, her mother would leave her for an unknown reason. Snows suspicious death triggered an autopsy. When she saw a news report about a woman dying from Excedrin capsules filled with cyanide, she called the police. When police arrived, Stella handed over two bottles of Excedrin. Farr and Ciolino have been traveling the country without pay, interviewing witnesses and friends, talking to anyone who may help them. She will be eligible for parole in 2017. 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. 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 too was taken to Harborview Hospital by helicopter, where she also died. "She can sometimes be very, very skillfully evasive," says Farr. Sue Snow collapsed in her bathroom of her home in the Seattle, Washington, suburb of Auburn. Trending News Stella Nicholls : They locked her away because she was different. Comments can only be made on article within the first 3 days of publication. They then looked toward Nickell. 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. She also planted other bottles of cyanide-tainted Excedrin in local stores to. Webking did so, but Stella, who had started drinking heavily,[2] declined. Stella was indicted in federal court and Cindy testified against her at the trial. Trusted by millions of genealogists since 2003 Trusted information source for millions of people worldwide Although the defense challenged her credibility, the jury believed her and convicted Stella of fatally poisoning her husband and Sue Snow. "But more importantly, I know who didn't do it and that's Stella Nickell. The Seattle cyanide poisonings are the subject of several true-crime television episodes and at least one book Gregg Olsens Bitter Almonds, published in 2013. View this record View. Ramn Morales : If you're serious about being a writer, it's not going to happen here. He was able to do this during his time as a hospital orderly.His spree took place between 1970 and 1987. They asked the family if Snow had any enemies. Her husband, Bruce, died after taking cyanide-laced Excedrin tablets in 1986. She had a history of abusing drugs. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Whites hosting gig came about, in read more, On May 8, 1541, south of present-day Memphis, Tennessee, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River, one of the first European explorers to ever do so. Stella Nicholls is the main protagonist of the 2019 film, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Cindy subsequently received $250,000 of the $300,000 drug industry award. Coryn I. Nicholls (Mayerson) is a Physician Assistant in Walnut Creek, CA. See Photos. 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. Stella Nickell grew up poor in the Pacific Northwest. }, First published on June 4, 2001 / 12:09 PM. [9] On June 24, a cyanide-contaminated bottle of Anacin-3 was found at the same store where Snow had bought her contaminated Excedrin. She had a history of abusing drugs. On the basis of their new findings, Stella's legal team today filed a request for a new trial. Stella Nickell is convicted on two counts of murder by a Seattle, Washington, jury. [2] Further tests showed that the substance was an algaecide used in home aquariums, sold under the brand name Algae Destroyer. But police investigators and the federal government still firmly believe she is guilty. 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. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine during World War II. [23], After the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders, new FDA regulations went into effect which made it a federal crimerather than just a state or local crimeto tamper with consumer products. One June evening in 1986, he came home with a headache and four Excedrins. She later moved to Southern California where she married and had another daughter. Joanna R Nicholls. "I started reaing books to find out what plants I might have on the property that would be a danger to kids and pets," Stella says. Prosecutors said Stella Nickell put cyanide in capsules of Extra-Strength Excedrin and gave them to her husband. Hamilton eventually collected $250,000 of that money. display: none; In June 1986, two Auburn residents were killed by painkillers laced with cyanide. [2] The former was marked as overdue in library records, indicating that she had borrowed but never returned it. With Snow dead, Stella could step forward and notify police. The Bureau of Prisons could ask for Nickells release, the judge said, but has not done so. Explore historical records and family tree profiles about Stella Nicholls on MyHeritage, the world's family history network. 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. Hayley Klein was transfixed by the woman who fatally poisoned her mother, Sue Snow. Noonan, the fish store manager, was paid a $15,000 reward. Under her husband's insurance policy, which paid out more for accidental death, she stood to receive an extra $100,000. She was the first person to be found guilty of violating the Federal Anti-Tampering Act after putting cyanide in Excedrin capsules in an effort to kill her husband. She found none, something the jury never heard. But Tom Noonan, who managed the local fish store at the time, says she did buy algae destroyer. [29][30] The murders are discussed in the Jodi Picoult novel House Rules, published in 2010. "Mom's eyes were open and her fingers were bent and locked up," Klein said. "It's entirely possible that the real killer is walking around somewhere out there," says Farr. [32][33], Sources vary as to the exact amount. Bruce's insurance paid an extra hundred thousand dollars if he died by accident, including poisoning. [5] On June 27, Washington State put into effect a 90-day ban on the sale of non-prescription medication in capsules. The Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Assn. Another $300,000 was shared by nine people who helped police arrest a Florida man in 1986. [1] In the course of their ten-year marriage, Bruce entered a drug rehab and gave up drinking, which Stella reportedly resented as she later felt he had "turned into a boring man". Stella Nicholls : No, Sarah, now it's your turn to hear a story. They were married two years later. Stella Nicholl. Nickell was convicted and sentenced to 90 years in jail. The detectives also question how she first became a suspect. When emergency personnel arrived, she told them that Bruce had taken Excedrin capsules and fallen unconscious. [5][7], Initial suspicions were directed at Bristol-Myers, with Stella and Webking filing wrongful death lawsuits against the company. ", Klein has watched all three of Nickell's parole hearings, where she's petitioned for release on "compassionate grounds." [10], With investigatory focus turned to Stella, detectives uncovered more circumstantial evidence pointing to her as the culprit. Your email address will not be published. Prosecutors: Security video discredits cosplay model's story of self-defense The same amount is offered in the 1982 Chicago-area deaths of seven people, who also were killed with tainted Tylenol capsules, he said. Police arrested her the same day, and she went on trial in April 1988. But the plot backfired. "All she wanted was a tropical-fish store.". Then there was the insurance. Judge wont release WA woman serving 90 years for planting poisoned pills, Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. 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. She told them that she thought that he'd been poisoned, too. In the next 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter. as well as other partner offers and accept our. She said she had a bottle of Excedrin in her home with the same lot number as the bottle that had killed Sue Snow. Cynthia Hamilton, 30, the Nickells daughter who now lives in Garden Grove, testified that her mother repeatedly talked about ways to kill her husband, Bruce Nickell, who was 52 when he died. [2] The case was referenced in an episode of In Plain Sight titled "Kill Pill", which aired November 23, 2018 on the Investigation Discovery channel. The money was an attempt by the company to limit damages, because scared consumers had boycotted their products. [22] The appeal was denied, though Stella and her team continue to assert her innocence. 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. Instead of partying with Stella, long a regular fixture on the Auburn-Kent tavern circuit, he chose to stay home watching television or talking CB lingo on his citizen's band radio. He was taken by helicopter to a Seattle hospital. Olsen told Insider that Snow was a random victim who "paid for Stella's greed with her life." [5] According to Stella, he took four extra-strength Excedrin capsules from a bottle in their home for his headache and collapsed minutes later. 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. But he took a polygraph, passed, and was eliminated as a suspect. Additionally, network executives feared the film would inspire copycat crimes. 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. Stella . LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED & Stella Nickell - The Seattle, Washington Excedrin Cyanide Murders | Listen Notes Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. The doctors said it was emphysema, but Stella says that never made sense, because he didn't have that disease. On June 5, Bruce came home from work with a headache. Her May 1988 conviction and prison sentence were the first under federal product tampering laws instituted after the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders. At 16, she gave birth to a daughter, Cynthia. Other evidence pointed to Stella. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { by Scott McCabe. Stella Nickell is convicted on two counts of murder by a Seattle, Washington, jury. [7] His death initially was ruled to be by natural causes, with attending physicians citing emphysema. They also recalled that Stella Nickell had several fish tanks in her trailer home. Farr and Ciolino believe that finding Hamilton is the key to their case. 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. 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. Nickell was given two 90-year sentences for the murders of her husband and Susan Snow. Her lawyers have also petitioned, unsuccessfully, for a new trial. Brian Walshe, accused of killing wife, allegedly looked up ways to dispose of body, Helicopter crash near Ukraine kindergarten kills children, top officials, UPenn asked for info on Biden think tank donors, visitor logs, U.S. lawyer who died in Mexico was "victim of a brutal crime," family says, Matt Schlapp sued by former Herschel Walker aide alleging sexual battery, 200 millionaires say inequality is "eating the world alive". With Snow dead, Stella could step forward and notify police. The reward is the second paid by the pharmaceutical group. As the investigation continued, the FBI lab found an important clue: green crystals mixed in with the cyanide. Following that failure, Stella had begun library research into other methods and hit upon cyanide. Stella Nickell grew up poor in the Pacific Northwest. She refused to help the defense team. FBI detectives knew that it was an unlikely coincidence that Nickell had purchased two of four known contaminated bottles purely by chance. He joined the army at the relatively advanced age of 33 in 1916 to fight in World War I. The police say Stella told them she bought them at different times, probably at different stores. FBI working to identify unknown victims of serial killer But U.S. District Judge James Robart on Thursday found that Nickell, who has already twice been denied parole, doesnt qualify for compassionate relief. After all, it had been less than four years since the unsolved Tylenol poisonings in the Chicago area. Nickell watched Bruce die in agony on June 5, 1986, a few days after buying the cyanide at a chemical-supply company. Both were found to contain cyanide-laced capsules. Stella refused, her lawyer saying she was too shaken up. She was the first person to be found guilty of violating the Federal Anti-Tampering Act after putting cyanide. The government says all required documents were handed over. At age 16, following the birth of her first daughter, Cynthia Hamilton, Stella moved to Southern California, where she married and had another daughter. [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. She is portrayed by Zoe Colletti . [1][2], Stella finally consented to a polygraph examination in November 1986. Detectives later found traces of algaecide a chemical used to clean fish tanks in the Excedrin pills. She also planted other bottles of cyanide-tainted Excedrin in local stores to divert suspicion, authorities said. This, in turn, brought in the FBI. One June evening in 1986, he came home with a headache and four Excedrins. That case moved Congress to enact tough tampering laws. "And I won't quit fighting until I prove it.". She became eligible for parole in 2018 but remains in prison. [7], Both Stella and Webking were asked to take polygraph examinations. She added that "as negative as it is, I have chosen to learn from it and not become bitter. [18] She was denied parole in 2017.[19]. On December 9, 1987, a federal grand jury indicted Stella Nickell on five counts of product tampering. She told Farr that she is not sure her mother is really guilty. On June 24th, a fifth bottle of cyanide-laced pills appeared on retail shelves in South King County. Joseph was born on July 27 1873. Rewards authorized for two other drug-tampering cases remain unpaid. Nickell was the first to be convicted. Let's remember when Stella Nickell was convicted of tampering with Excedrin, on this day in 1988 (May 9) | by Chris Burlingame | Journal of Precipitation | Medium Write Sign up Sign In 500. Six days later, on June 11, just after 6:30 a.m., 15-year-old Hayley Snow found her mother, bank manager Sue Snow, 40, collapsed in the bathroom with a faint pulse. 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. 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. They exhumed her husband's body and determined that he too, had been poisoned. 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. 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. Klein was 15 when she found her 40-year-old mother lying on the bathroom floor in June 1986. [6] She went on trial in April 1988 and was found guilty of all charges on May 9, after five days of jury deliberation. Prosecutors said Stella Nickell put cyanide in capsules of Extra-Strength Excedrin and gave them to her husband. Bruce was a heavy equipment operator with a drinking habit, which suited her lifestyle,[3] and the two were married in 1976. Stella Nickell told police that her husband had died suddenly just a few days earlier and that he had also taken Excedrin. That case moved Congress to enact tough tampering laws. [20] Her release date is given as July 10, 2040, when she will be 96 years old. [6] Concrete evidence proving that she had ever purchased or used cyanide was lacking, and despite their relative certainty that she had orchestrated the poisonings as either an elaborate cover-up for an insurance-motivated murder of her husband or a desperate attempt to force her husband's death to be ruled an accident to increase her insurance payout, they were unable to build a strong case supporting arrest. Correction: Death By Cyanide The company was incorporated in California eighteen years ago and is no longer active. The killer in that case has never been caught. She said that she acted in self-defense as a victim of domestic violence. [7], A murder by cyanide was sensational news in Washington State. A more recent but undated photo of Stella Nickell. "She didn't want notoriety," Olsen said. When investigators came to Nickells home to pick up the Excedrin bottle, she told them that there were two bottles and that she had purchased them on different days at different places. Paramedics rushed her to Harborview, but she died without regaining consciousness. "I couldn't take it in," she said. display: block; read more. She claimed Stella admitted to researching poisons and told her of an unsuccessful attempt to poison Bruce with foxglove. Reports said Snow died after swallowing cyanide-laced Excedrin. Authorities became suspicious because she told them she had bought two bottles of Excedrin at different times, probably in different places. In the face of the publicity blitz, Stella Nickell came forward on June 19. On May 8, 1864, Yankee troops arrive at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, to find the Rebels already there. Stella's friend A.J. Investigators concluded they were dealing with product tampering. [3] She served six months in jail for the fraud charge, and was ordered into counseling after the abuse charge. Stella Nickell has spent more than a decade in prison for poisoning her husband. Stella had taken out $76,000 of life insurance on Bruce. After the war, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. A lawyer representing Stella told reporters that she was too "shaken up" to be subjected to the examination. Now, private detective Al Farr and his partner Paul Ciolino are on a mission to prove what they both firmly believe: Nickell is innocent. So she put poisoned painkillers in stores, they say, hoping someone else would die and the tainted capsules would be discovered. The son of a farmer, Truman could not afford to go to college. America immediately thought of the unsolved 1982 Chicago Tylenol product-tampering murders in which seven people died. [5], During an autopsy on Snow, Assistant Medical Examiner Janet Miller detected the scent of bitter almonds, an odor distinctive to cyanide. Cynthia Hamilton, Stellas daughter, came forward (possibly in order to obtain reward money) with her account of Stellas plan to kill her husband. She showed them the bottle. 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. They have a history of helping people they feel have been unfairly convicted. Stella also alleges that the evidence actually points to another person as the killer, and that the testimony about various smaller details in the case, such as the store owner who testified about her having purchased Algae Destroyer, was influenced by promises of payment. After her death was reported in the news, Stella called police to tell them that she thought her husband had also been poisoned. Four years later, the scenario seemed to be playing itself out again in King County Washington. 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. [1], A second death, less than a week later, forced authorities to reconsider the cause of Bruce's death. Stella met Bruce Nickell in 1974. 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. Ramn Morales : Hospitals have records. She was the first person to be found guilty of violating the Federal Anti-Tampering Act after putting cyanide in Excedrin capsules in an effort to kill her husband. Stella Nickell, then 75, had been sentenced to 90 years in prison in 1988, after she was found guilty of product tampering. Find out in Part II, Retracing The Case. Cindy Hamilton was paid a $250,000 reward for her help in the case against her mother. The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History. [6][note 1] Bruce died shortly thereafter at Harborview Medical Center, where treatment had failed to revive him. Reports said Snow died after swallowing cyanide-laced Excedrin. She told authorities that her mother had done extensive research at the library. (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. Then Stella Nickell's daughter, Cindy Hamilton, began talking to police. She asked for compassionate release due to bad health, but where was her compassion when she murdered her own husband and another women? But Tom Noonan, manager of the local fish store, says she did buy algae destroyer. She told authorities that her husband had died suddenly after taking Excedrin. "And I won't quit fighting until I prove it.". This Carote cookware set is $150 off at Walmart, Nearly 40% of Americans skipped medical care in 2022 over cost, 2023 Sling TV deal: Stream live TV and sports for just $20 a month, Chris Evert announces she's "cancer-free" more than 1 year after diagnosis, Valentine's Day 2023 gift guide: Best Valentine's Day gifts for your boyfriend, Best flower delivery services for Valentine's Day, Walmart is practically giving away this set of The Pioneer Woman slow cookers for $24, No jail time for bowhunting couple in Nebraska poaching case, 13-year-old girl leads Nebraska troopers on 100 mph chase, Party City files for bankruptcy protection amid rising prices, Israel's top court orders Netanyahu to sack a senior cabinet member, Never-before-seen photos and details about accused Idaho killer, "48 Hours": Brooke Skylar Richardson case, FBI working to identify unknown victims of serial killer, "Rock star" reptile breeder murdered; Coroner: "Not a random act", Prosecutors: Security video discredits cosplay model's story of self-defense. Written by Gregg Olsen, the book includes interviews with Klein and Nickell's daughter, Cindy Hamilton. MMII Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved And she is completely capable of murdering again at 78 yrs old. Her May 1988 conviction and prison sentence were the first . Farr and Ciolino say that is not true. The Chicago Tylenol case had resulted not only in the 1983 Federal Anti-Tampering Law under which she was charged, but FDA requirements that products be packaged with tamper-resistant technology such as blister-packs, bottle mouth seal covers, shrink wrap bottle covers, visible seals that must be broken to open the bottle, and taped box ends. 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. Stella also had more than her share of legal troubles. The case made headlines across the world. Search for birth, death, marriage, divorce, US Census, and military records. Bruce Nickell was rushed by helicopter to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, where he soon died. The FBI laboratory determined that the contaminated capsules contained small particles of an algicide called Algae Destroyer.