In the early morning of September 29, 1982, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman of Elk Grove Village outside of Chicago, Illinois, woke up with a sore throat and a runny nose. Not the most concerning of symptoms, but Mary told her parents and they gave her a single Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule.
Within seconds of taking the capsule, Mary’s father heard her coughing and then the sound of something hitting the floor, the Chicago Tribune reported. He called Mary’s name but received no response, so he went to the bathroom door and found her lying on the floor. Her eyes were fixed and dilated, her breathing was shallow, and she seemed to be suffocating.
Paramedics tried and failed to help her, so she was rushed to Alexian Brothers Medical Center. By the time they arrived, Mary was in full cardiac arrest. Doctors installed a pacemaker and called a priest.
Shortly before 10 a.m., Mary died.
“I remember just a very happy-go-lucky person. I remember her crooked teeth because she was always smiling,” Mary’s childhood friend Sharon Hogg told the Tribune. “She was just a very warm and loving person. I was certainly drawn to her because, I think, as kids we kind of have a radar for good people.”
