The FBI found Stella's fingerprints on several books. [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. 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 had taken out a total of about $76,000[11][note 2] in insurance coverage on her husband's life, with an additional payout of $100,000 if his death was accidental. 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. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Stella appealed her conviction but none of her appeals succeeded. After the war, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. 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. The Old Crime is New Again newsletter is a monthly email covering a topic that has not appeared in the blog. 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. That case moved Congress to enact tough tampering laws. She became eligible for parole in 2018 but remains in prison. "The case brought the whole pharmaceutical industry to its knees," Olsen said. During the autopsy, an assistant medical examiner noticed the odor of bitter almonds, a tell-tale indicator of cyanide. It was also featured in episode 93 of Casefile True Crime Podcast in August 2018. The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History. "It was a means to an end," the author said. 4 Stella J Nicholls. She told police, and doctors realized that Bruce Nickell had also been poisoned. For one thing, authorities found only five contaminated bottles of painkillers in all of King County. Cindy said that her mother had talked of killing Bruce Nickell, at one point discussing hiring a hit man. Stella, who stood to lose $100,000 if his death wasnt ruled an accident, decided to alter her plan. Sue Snows husband, Paul Webking, agreed to undergo a polygraph examination and passed. Stella Nickell grew up poor in the Pacific Northwest. This, in turn, brought in the FBI. Stella Nicholls is the main protagonist in the 2019 film based on the book Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Investigators verified that Stella had bought Algae Destroyer from a local aquarium supply store. She told authorities that her husband had died suddenly after taking Excedrin. [20] Her release date is given as July 10, 2040, when she will be 96 years old. Like last weeks case, this week deals with murder by poison. Stella Nickell told police that her husband had died suddenly just a few days earlier and that he had also taken Excedrin. Stella Nicholls : They locked her away because she was different. Her husband, heavy-equipment operator Bruce Nickell, 52, was in distress in their single-wide trailer home just off Lake Moneysmith Road in the town of Auburn. They turned out to be algae destroyer, a product used to kill algae in fish tanks. According to Stellas daughter from a previous marriage, Stella had begun planning Bruces murder almost from the honeymoon. [1], In January 1987, Stella's now-grown daughter, Cynthia Hamilton, approached police with information: her mother had spoken to her repeatedly about wanting Bruce dead, having grown bored with him after he quit drinking. Stella Maudine Stephenson was born in Colton, Oregon, to Alva Georgia "Jo" (ne Duncan; later changed her name to Cora Lee) and George Stephenson. She is evil. At 16, she gave birth to a daughter, Cynthia. In June 1986, two Auburn residents were killed by painkillers laced with cyanide. Stella Nickell is convicted on two counts of murder by a Seattle, Washington, jury. 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. Like cyanide poisoning. Police arrested her the same day, and she went on trial in April 1988. They also found cyanide in two bottles of Excedrin capsules Stella turned over to the police. Some cite $71,000, some $75,000, and some $76,000. Cindy subsequently received $250,000 of the $300,000 drug industry award. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [25], Seattle author Gregg Olsen wrote about the Nickell case in his 1993 book Bitter Almonds: The True Story of Mothers, Daughters and the Seattle Cyanide Murders. as well as other partner offers and accept our. But he took a polygraph, passed, and was eliminated as a suspect. She had a history of abusing drugs. A federal judge has denied a plea for compassionate release from prison by an Auburn woman whos serving 90 years for planting poisoned pills that killed two and prompted national recalls of over-the-counter painkillers. Nickell was the first to be convicted under it. Find out in Part II, Retracing The Case. 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. This information would spread across the town she lived and cause her to start getting bullied because . Bruce Nickell was rushed by helicopter to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, where he soon died. Stella met Bruce Nickell in 1974. 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. 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. 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. Her lawyers have also petitioned, unsuccessfully, for a new trial. 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. Stella resented Bruces newfound sobriety because it deprived her of their visits to bars. As Stella told it, he took four extra-strength Excedrin capsules before collapsing minutes later. 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. At age 16, following the birth of her first daughter, Cynthia Hamilton, Stella moved to Southern California, where she married and had another daughter. Background Report for Stella Chen. Her May 1988 conviction and prison sentence were the first . 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. 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. Hamilton eventually collected $250,000 of that money. by Scott McCabe. They arrested me and I was only in jail overnight.". [5] According to Stella, he took four extra-strength Excedrin capsules from a bottle in their home for his headache and collapsed minutes later. "And I won't quit fighting until I prove it.". They had thought it was drug overdose, but she was not a known user, and had taken only a couple of Extra - Strength Excedrin. 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. Ramn Morales : Hospitals have records. The clincher came when Stellas oldest daughter, Cindy Hamilton, contacted police. Strength Excedrin is a safe medication. Donald Harvey (April 15, 1952 - March 30, 2017) was an American serial killer who claimed to have murdered 87 people, though official estimates are between 37 and 57 victims. You have to go to the city. 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. Stella had taken out $76,000 of life insurance on Bruce. But U.S.. The association authorized a $200,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the 1986 death of Diane Elsroth of Yonkers, N.Y., who took cyanide-laced Tylenol, he said. The reward money came from a drug manufacturer's trade association. [4], Stella met Bruce Nickell in 1974. Investigators found it remarkable that of only five tainted bottles out of the 15,000 that had been screened, Stella Nickell had turned in two of them, saying she had purchased them two weeks apart at separate locations. Nickell says her husband walked out on the deck to watch the birds, and suddenly collapsed. Rider was never called to testify. As any songwriter would, Sebastian first tried working that title into his read more, On May 8, 1963, with the release of Dr. No, North American moviegoers get their first lookdown the barrel of a gunat the super-spy James Bond (codename: 007), the immortal character created by Ian Fleming in his now-famous series of novels and portrayed onscreen by the read more, Claiming that its athletes will not be safe from protests and possible physical attacks, the Soviet Union announces that it will not compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Because of product tampering legislation passed in response to the Chicago killings, these murders became a federal case. She even searched Stella's home for algae destroyer. She is portrayed by Zoe Colletti . One June evening in 1986, he came home with a headache and four Excedrins. Stella . Olsen said that Nickell's crimes have been the focus of a number of TV documentaries and books, including his own. Although the defense challenged her credibility, the jury believed her and convicted Stella of fatally poisoning her husband and Sue Snow. The same amount is offered in the 1982 Chicago-area deaths of seven people, who also were killed with tainted Tylenol capsules, he said. 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. "And I won't quit fighting until I prove it.". Stella's neighbor, Sandy Scott, became a spy for the FBI. Stella says she researched cyanide after her husband died. The convicted killer stood before a parole board in 2017, while Klein watched the proceedings on closed-circuit TV. [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. display: none; The police say Stella told them she bought them at different times, probably at different stores. A lawyer representing Stella told reporters that she was too "shaken up" to be subjected to the examination. For 19 months, Farr and Ciolino have been traveling the country without pay, interviewing witnesses and friends, talking to anyone who may help them re-open this case. Social Profiles. But this time, there was a suspect and an arrest. [1][2], On June 5, 1986, the Nickells were living in Auburn, Washington, when Bruce, 52, came home from work with a headache. She claimed to have bought the two bottles at different times in different stores. He died in the hospital, but doctors did not detect the cyanide and ascribed the death to emphysema. Grant hoped to control the strategic read more, On May 8, 2010, 88-year-old actress Betty White, known for her former roles on The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, becomes the oldest person to host the long-running, late-night TV sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). The Bureau of Prisons could ask for Nickells release, the judge said, but has not done so. 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. Stella Nickell is convicted on two counts of murder by a Seattle, Washington, jury. Prosecutors: Security video discredits cosplay model's story of self-defense "I am not guilty," says Nickell. "My belief is that the polygraph was a ruse to try and coerce a confession out of her," says Stella's new lawyer, Carl Colbert. Gregg Olsen, whose book "Bitter Almonds" chronicles the case, says that is why the FBI zeroed in on her. Local and state authorities are not, however, prevented from also filing charges in such cases. 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. The bottle had the same lot number as the bottle in Sue Snows home. 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. Stella had an aquarium, but says she never bought algae destroyer. 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. [29][30] The murders are discussed in the Jodi Picoult novel House Rules, published in 2010. Bruce worked as a heavy equipment operator and had a fondness for alcohol. The eight who will also share in the reward in the Nickell case are: Thomas Noonan of Auburn, Wash., $15,000; Bonnie Anderson of Federal Way, Wash., $10,000; Denise Button of Seattle, $7,500; Sandra Scott of Auburn, $7,500; Katy Parker of Auburn, $2,500; Gerald McIntyre of Kent, Wash., $2,500; Lynn Force, of Seattle, $2,500; and Melinda Denton, also of Seattle, $2,500. Hayley Klein was transfixed by the woman who fatally poisoned her mother, Sue Snow. Stay up to date with what you want to know. On December 9, 1987, a federal grand jury indicted Stella Nickell on five counts of product tampering. In the unlikely event she is paroled, at age 73, she could still face state murder charges, which have never been filed. 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