stella nicholls cyanide

On the basis of their new findings, Stella's legal team today filed a request for a new trial. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. 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." Olsen told Insider that Snow was a random victim who "paid for Stella's greed with her life." was to be made about the Nickell case to air on USA Network, but it was cancelled shortly before production began. Prosecutors said that Nickell had tampered with medication in several stores to cover up her husband's death. During the autopsy, an assistant medical examiner noticed the odor of bitter almonds, a tell-tale indicator of cyanide. I sent her to school; she told the nurse I had beat her that morning. After the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-6), Ulysses S. Grants Army of the Potomac marched south in the drive to take Richmond. A few years later, though, she had a change of heart. As Stella told it, he took four extra-strength Excedrin capsules before collapsing minutes later. When detectives investigated, they found that Stella had borrowed, but never returned, a book called Human Poisoning. [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. The money was an attempt by the company to limit damages, because scared consumers had boycotted their products. Nickell never admitted to the crimes, but during her first appeal for early release, she finally took responsibility for murdering Bruce. 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. [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". Judge wont release WA woman serving 90 years for planting poisoned pills, Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. In early 1974, when she was 32, she met Bruce Nickell. Stellas lawyer said nothing about the reward because a deal was made. Still, hard evidence against her was hard to come by until January 1988. The reward is the second paid by the pharmaceutical group. Stella Nickell had three life insurance policies on her husband. She is a citizen of Mill Valley and the daughter of Roy Nicholls. 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. Examination showed that Bruces signatures on at least two of the policies in his name were forgeries. [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. display: none; MMII Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved A year later, Stella put cyanide in an Excedrin capsule that Bruce later took for a headache. 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. Around the time Stella failed a FBI polygraph, her daughter from a previous marriage, Cindy Hamilton, 27, came forward. The Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Assn. To Nickell's frustration, the autopsy failed to pick up on the poison. Nickell was the first to be convicted. Find Nicholls's address, hospital affiliations and more. Farr and Ciolino say that is not true. 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. 4 Stella J Nicholls. They then looked toward Nickell. In return, the prosecution agreed not to reveal that Cindy said she came forward when she heard her mother failed a polygraph. Stella had two of them. Gregg Olsen's, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, "Case 93: Sue Snow and Bruce Nickell - Casefile: True Crime Podcast", "Killing Her Husband Wasn't Enough for Stella Nickell; to Make Her Point, She Poisoned a Stranger", "Mystery Involving Failed Mother-Daughter Relationship, Product Tampering and Murder, CBS", "Poisoned Painkiller Panic: The Snow-Nickell Cyanide Murders", "Poisoned Excedrin Suspected in 2D Seattle Death", "Ninety-year prison term in tampering deaths", United States Food and Drug Administration, "Husband of cyanide poisoning victim questioned", "Woman is Held in Deaths from Excedrin Laced with Cyanide", "Woman Guilty of Killing 2 With Poisoned Excedrin", "Woman Guilty of Killing 2 in Poisoned Excedrin Case", "Possibility of Mistrial Raised In Product-Tampering Case", "Stella Nickell, serving 90 years for planting poisoned pills, killing 2, seeks release from prison", "AUBURN WOMAN SERVING 90-YEAR TERM SEEKS NEW TRIAL IN HUSBAND-POISONING CASE", "The Federal Anti Tampering Act: Criminal Offense To Tamper With Consumer Products", "Nickell gets 90 years for cyanide murders", "TV film canceled after drug maker objects", "USA Network Pulls Movie After Advertiser Protests", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stella_Nickell&oldid=1130965489, People convicted of murder by Washington (state), Articles with dead external links from November 2021, Articles with permanently dead external links, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Pages using infobox criminal with motive parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 January 2023, at 21:57. [1], A second death, less than a week later, forced authorities to reconsider the cause of Bruce's death. Stella is not perfect: She once served four months in jail for check fraud. The FBI found Stella's fingerprints on several books. "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. Later, however, he entered rehab and gave up the bottle. This information would spread across the town she lived and cause her to start getting bullied because . In 1986, the Nickells lived in Auburn, Washington, a suburb south of Seattle not far from SEA-TAC airport. Stella Nickell was found guilty in federal court not of murder but of product tampering on May 9, 1988, and was sentenced to 90 years. Prosecutors said Stella Nickell put cyanide in capsules of Extra-Strength Excedrin and gave them to her husband. ER 2002-12, 2014-16 Milford Haven, Dyfed, SA73. A subsequent test of the deceased Bruce Nickell's blood sample showed that he, like Sue Snow, had died of cyanide poisoning. The poisonings resulted in widespread public anxiety, as they came just five years after seven people died in Chicago from poisoned Tylenol capsules, leading to the product-tampering law under which Nickell was convicted. The police say Stella told them she bought them at different times, probably at different stores. Paramedics rushed her to Harborview, but she died without regaining consciousness. Other evidence pointed to Stella. Stella Nickell is convicted on two counts of murder by a Seattle, Washington, jury. "I couldn't take it in," she said. Webking did so, but Stella, who had started drinking heavily,[2] declined. In the next 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter. In early 1974, when she was 32, she met Bruce Nickell. Noonan, the fish store manager, was paid a $15,000 reward. Stella had an aquarium, but says she never bought algae destroyer. Gregg Olsen, whose book "Bitter Almonds" chronicles the case, says that is why the FBI zeroed in on her. [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. Rushed to Harborview Medical Center, Bruce did not respond to doctors efforts to revive him. They arrested me and I was only in jail overnight.". Stella refused, her lawyer saying she was too shaken up. Farr says that there is no credible evidence against her. The son of a farmer, Truman could not afford to go to college. Stella also had more than her share of legal troubles. [4], Stella met Bruce Nickell in 1974. 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. 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. Bristol-Myers and the industry were following in the footsteps of Johnson & Johnson, whose swift reaction to the 1982 Tylenol case has been held up as a model of corporate responsibility and good public relations. See Photos. Stella was indicted in federal court and Cindy testified against her at the trial. Four years later, the scenario seemed to be playing itself out again in King County Washington. But why would she bring the poisoning to police attention in the first place? But the plot backfired. Detective Mike Dunbar, who worked on the case, says she wanted insurance money. display: none; Stella is a young teenage girl living in a high school for her 1968-69 school year. [29][30] The murders are discussed in the Jodi Picoult novel House Rules, published in 2010. [2] She was also known to have, even before Snow's death, repeatedly disputed doctors' ruling that her husband had died of natural causes. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. On June 11, Sue Snow, a 40-year-old bank manager, took two Excedrin capsules for an early-morning headache. But, Klein told Insider, Nickell didn't mention her mother. The detectives say they simply don't know who the killer is. Stella Nicholl. Her May 1988 conviction and prison sentence were the first under federal product tampering laws instituted after the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders. The government says all required documents were handed over. The FBI began an investigation into possible product tampering having been the source of the poison. On May 8, 1864, Yankee troops arrive at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, to find the Rebels already there. Stella Nicholls. Search for profiles by email and username. She added that "as negative as it is, I have chosen to learn from it and not become bitter. "She didn't want notoriety," Olsen said. 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. Rider was never called to testify. Check Writing Quality. Another memo mentions that Stella's two Excedrin bottles came from one store, Albertsons. With Snow dead, Stella could step forward and notify police. Correction: Death By Cyanide The judge sentenced her to two 90-year terms for tampering with the bottles that caused the deaths of Bruce and Sue Snow. [9] Investigators' suspicions began to turn to Stella when they discovered that she claimed that the two contaminated Excedrin bottles that she had turned over to police had been purchased at different times and different locations. They also posted a $100,000 reward. Sue Snows husband, Paul Webking, agreed to undergo a polygraph examination and passed. "American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood and the Cyanide Murders That Shook the World.". "48 Hours": Brooke Skylar Richardson case 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. Both were found to contain cyanide-laced capsules. Background Report for Stella Chen. 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. (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. FBI detectives knew that it was an unlikely coincidence that Nickell had purchased two of four known contaminated bottles purely by chance. He was taken by helicopter to a Seattle hospital. She told them her mother had often spoken of wanting Bruce dead. 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. For one thing, authorities found only five contaminated bottles of painkillers in all of King County. 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. 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. Seven people died in that case, which was never solved. Bruce Nickell was rushed by helicopter to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, where he soon died. The media was riveted because of its similarity to the notorious Chicago "Tylenol murders," less than four years earlier, when seven people died in fall 1982 after taking cyanide-tainted Tylenol pills. [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. 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. [13], On December 9, 1987, Stella was indicted by a federal grand jury on five counts of product tampering, including two which resulted in the deaths of Bruce and Snow,[6][14] and arrested the same day. [10], With investigatory focus turned to Stella, detectives uncovered more circumstantial evidence pointing to her as the culprit. But in 1986, when two Seattle-area people died after ingesting Excedrin laced with cyanide, Stella Nickell was nabbed for the. A more recent but undated photo of Stella Nickell. Trending News Yakima police looking for suspects in Sunday shooting that left teen injured, Special education spending, oversight top priorities for WA lawmakers, Yakima County's mental health tax may help fund crisis responders, mental health court, Boys roundup: Rivera, Perez help Toppenish survive Wapato's upset bid, Deputies say intoxicants a factor in North Wenas road head-on crash, MultiCare completes acquisition of Memorial hospital in Yakima, Girls roundup: Milanez hits seven 3-pointers to spark Mustangs, Yakima medical student to appear on 'Good Morning America' on Jan. 20. Investigators exhumed Bruce Nickells body and found evidence of cyanide. The company was incorporated in California eighteen years ago and is no longer active. Other occupants: Joanna R Nicholls. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Nickell took advantage of the panic created by Snow's death and asked police to consider Bruce's case as part of their investigation. She told authorities that her mother had done extensive research at the library. But this time, it happened on the West Coast of the United States in a suburb of Seattle, Washington. Paramedics found her unconscious and gasping for breath. Paramedics found her unconscious and gasping for breath. Her husband, Bruce, died after taking cyanide-laced Excedrin tablets in . Bruce's insurance paid an extra hundred thousand dollars if he died by accident, including poisoning. Police initially focused on Snow's husband Paul Webking. But the policy would pay an additional $100,000 if he died from accidental causes. 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.. Joanna R Nicholls. Snows suspicious death triggered an autopsy. Nickell hatched another plot within a week. Given credit for good behavior, Nickell will be eligible for release in 2040, when shes 96 years old, according to court documents. When Cindy was 9, Stella was charged with hitting her with a curtain rod, bruising her legs. 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. It's a notorious case out of Auburn a woman convicted of lacing Excedrin painkillers with cyanide that killed two people in 1986, including her husband. One June evening in 1986, he came home with a headache and four Excedrins. Nickell says her husband walked out on the deck to watch the birds, and suddenly collapsed. How Americans Became Convinced Their Halloween Candy was Poisoned. Explore historical records and family tree profiles about Stella Nicholls on MyHeritage, the world's family history network. Now some top sleuths are trying to prove her innocence. She claimed Stella admitted to researching poisons and told her of an unsuccessful attempt to poison Bruce with foxglove. This has led some to speculate that she may have initially conspired with her mother against her stepfather, then testified against her mother for the reward after her mother failed an FBI polygraph. AIM was founded in 1968 by read more, On May 8, 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day.