The detectives also question how she first became a suspect. } She said she had a bottle of Excedrin in her home with the same lot number as the bottle that had killed Sue Snow. 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. She later moved to Southern California where she married and had another daughter. Nickell says her husband walked out on the deck to watch the birds, and suddenly collapsed. She asked for compassionate release due to bad health, but where was her compassion when she murdered her own husband and another women? One June evening in 1986, he came home with a headache and four Excedrins. 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. When both turned out to contain contaminated capsules, investigators grew suspicious. The other three charges each drew a 10-year term. After the war, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. Nickell was the first to be convicted. Stella Nickell, then 75, had been sentenced to 90 years in prison in 1988, after she was found guilty of product tampering. Snow died a few days later, after also taking Excedrin pills laced with cyanide. Although the defense challenged her credibility, the jury believed her and convicted Stella of fatally poisoning her husband and Sue Snow. 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. [5] On June 27, Washington State put into effect a 90-day ban on the sale of non-prescription medication in capsules. According to Stellas daughter from a previous marriage, Stella had begun planning Bruces murder almost from the honeymoon. 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. She'd heard a thump and the sound of water running over the sink. 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. After an autopsy, the cause of death was declared to be emphysema. 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. He died shortly after arriving. She maintains her innocence, claiming her daughter lied for the reward money. Stella Nicholls is the main protagonist in the 2019 film based on the book Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Noonan claimed she bought so much algae destroyer, he had to special order it just for her. With Snow dead, Stella could step forward and notify police. They are not sure where the dialogue will lead. But police investigators and the federal government still firmly believe she is guilty. She told authorities that her husband had died suddenly after taking Excedrin. A year later, Stella put cyanide in an Excedrin capsule that Bruce later took for a headache. A few years later, though, she had a change of heart. Given credit for good behavior, Nickell will be eligible for release in 2040, when shes 96 years old, according to court documents. Her husband, Bruce Nickell, collapsed at home in 1986 at the age of 42 after taking several Excedrin tablets for a headache, according to news accounts. Now some top sleuths are trying to prove her innocence. He died in the hospital, but doctors did not detect the cyanide and ascribed the death to emphysema. Hayley Klein was transfixed by the woman who fatally poisoned her mother, Sue Snow. But why would she bring the poisoning to police attention in the first place? [1] By the summer of 1987, even Stella's attorneys acknowledged that she was the prime suspect in the case. Additionally, network executives feared the film would inspire copycat crimes. DARLING (born NICHOLLS) and 3 other siblings. Now, private detective Al Farr and his partner Paul Ciolino are on a mission to prove what they both firmly believe: Nickell is innocent. 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. Seven people died in that case, which was never solved. Stella had an aquarium, but says she never bought algae destroyer. She showed them the bottle. She had a history of abusing drugs. "It really bothers me. She stands by her testimony that her mother had talked about killing Bruce, though she never said Stella confessed. Bruces heavy drinking suited Stella just fine. Like cyanide poisoning. 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. Cindy said that her mother had talked of killing Bruce Nickell, at one point discussing hiring a hit man. Stella Nickell was sentenced to. Sues husband also took two capsules from the bottle for his arthritis before leaving for work. They then looked toward Nickell. Now 27, Hamilton had been in and out of Stella's life for years. 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. Stella and Steven have lived together in a single family house in Philadelphia, PA. View more. Hamilton testified. FBI document examiners determined that Bruce's signature on the applications had been forged. Farr and Ciolino talked to other people who were also rewarded for their role in the case. On May 8, 1864, Yankee troops arrive at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, to find the Rebels already there. But, Klein told Insider, Nickell didn't mention her mother. Ramn Morales : Hospitals have records. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Nickell took advantage of the panic created by Snow's death and asked police to consider Bruce's case as part of their investigation. Paramedics rushed to the home at 1404 N Street NE in Auburn. At 16, she gave birth to a daughter, Cynthia. But U.S.. But he took a polygraph, passed, and was eliminated as a suspect. Strength Excedrin is a safe medication. 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. June Devaney: Unique Strategy Solves a Horrific Murder, Lipstick Killer: Murder Spree is a Challenge For Cops, Mollie Olgin: Strange Murder of Girl in Texas Park, Jason Owens: Secrets and Murder of a Media Star, Black Sox: Baseballs First Big Gambling Scandal, Mark Putnam: Love and Murder in Appalachia, Eric Witte: Mother Manipulates Boy to Commit Startling Murder. Other evidence pointed to Stella. She found none, something the jury never heard. 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. Investigators in Seattle say her plan was foiled when Bruce's death was attributed to emphysema - a natural cause. [2] Tests by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed the presence of cyanide in her husband's remains and in two Excedrin bottles Stella had turned over to police. By age 16 she was pregnant with her first daughter, Cindy Hamilton. Olsen said that Nickell's crimes have been the focus of a number of TV documentaries and books, including his own. The crime was chillingly similar to the Chicago Tylenol murders four years earlier. When emergency personnel arrived, she told them that Bruce had taken Excedrin capsules and fallen unconscious. [6] She went on trial in April 1988 and was found guilty of all charges on May 9, after five days of jury deliberation. Later, however, he entered rehab and gave up the bottle. "All she wanted was a tropical-fish store.". 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. Stella was indicted in federal court and Cindy testified against her at the trial. Nickell was given two 90-year sentences for the murders of her husband and Susan Snow. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. Stay up to date with what you want to know. They have a history of helping people they feel have been unfairly convicted. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. Authorities ruled his death to be from natural causesemphysema, the attending physicians said. Stella Nicholl. Are you a "motivated dater"? Stella met Bruce Nickell in 1974. Klein is featured in "American Mother," a book about Nickell published this week. "It's entirely possible that the real killer is walking around somewhere out there," says Farr. Klein was 15 when she found her 40-year-old mother lying on the bathroom floor in June 1986. The police say Stella told them she bought them at different times, probably at different stores. Nearly two weeks later, she heard about Sue Snow. But he took a polygraph, passed, and was eliminated as a suspect. Farr says that there is no credible evidence against her. She told police, and doctors realized that Bruce Nickell had also been poisoned. Then there was the insurance. 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. Explore historical records and family tree profiles about Stella Nicholls on MyHeritage, the world's family history network. She grew up in a poor family. Rewards authorized for two other drug-tampering cases remain unpaid. "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. A year and half after Bruce Nickell died, Stella Nickell was arrested and stood trial in federal court. 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. Three capsules out of those that remained in the 60-capsule bottle were found to be laced with cyanide in toxic quantities. Investigators in Seattle say her plan was foiled when Bruce's death was attributed to emphysema - a natural cause. [9] On June 24, a cyanide-contaminated bottle of Anacin-3 was found at the same store where Snow had bought her contaminated Excedrin. [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. That case moved Congress to enact tough tampering laws. Her husband, Bruce, died after taking cyanide-laced Excedrin tablets in 1986. 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. But, the author said, the poisoner has never cared about the attention. 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. ER . During the autopsy, an assistant medical examiner noticed the odor of bitter almonds, a tell-tale indicator of cyanide. They asked the family if Snow had any enemies. [17], Stella was sentenced to two terms of ninety years in prison for the deaths of Bruce and Snow, and three ten-year terms for the other product tampering charges. In 1986, the Nickells lived in Auburn, Washington, a suburb south of Seattle not far from SEA-TAC airport. 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. Stella Maudine Stephenson was a native of Colton, Oregon. Now 27, Hamilton had been in and out of those that remained in the case crime chillingly. In toxic quantities and stood trial in federal court police, and was eliminated as a suspect. was. The case world & # x27 ; s family history network [ 1 ] by the summer 1987... 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