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Chicago Cyanide Murders: A Case Study in Cellular Respiration
PART 1: BACKGROUND
In September of 1982, Mary Kellerman gave her 12 year old daughter a painkiller when she awoke during the night complaining of a sore throat. At 7 am the next morning, her daughter was found collapsed on the bathroom floor, and later pronounced dead.
Adam Janus, a postal worker in another Chicago suburb also died unexpectedly, though originally it was thought he had suffered from a heart attack. While his family gathered to mourn their loss, his brother and sister became ill and later died.
In the days that followed, three more unexplained deaths occurred in nearby Chicago suburbs. Investigators found that all of the victims had taken extra strength Tylenol hours before their death. They suspected that someone had tampered with the medication.
Symptoms exhibited by each of the victims included:
weakness, dizziness, sleepiness flushed, bright red, skin tone headache shortness of breath and rapid breathing vomiting confusion and disorientation
Questions:
- In your opinion, are the seven deaths connected. What additional information would you need to determine if they are connected?
- If poison is suspected in the deaths, how would you proceed with the investigation?
PART 2: AUTOPSY REPORT
The medical examiner concluded that each of the victims had died of hypoxia. Hypoxia means that the person suffered from a lack of oxygen, or they were suffocated. The reason for the hypoxia is not always clear at the first examination.
The medical examiner also showed the tissue samples from the heart, lungs, and liver showed massive cell death. On further investigation, it was shown that the tissues had major mitochondrial damage.
Even though the victims died of hypoxia, their level of oxygen in their blood was approximately 110 mm Hg. The normal range is 75-100 mm Hg.
- Recall your knowledge of the function of organelles. What function of the cells was interrupted in these patients?
- While poison is the main suspect in the case, what are other ways a person could die of hypoxia?
- Analyze the oxygen levels of the victims. Were the levels higher or lower than normal? How can you reconcile this observation with the cause of death being hypoxia?
Inside the mitochondrion, there are several layers of membranes. In fact, these membranes resemble the membrane that surrounds the cell. It has a bilayer of phospholipids and embedded proteins.
The passing of the electrons allows ATP (energy) to be generated. At the end, the electron is given to oxygen. This process is continuous in cells, with ATP constantly being generated and oxygen being used as the final electron acceptor.
Cyanide inhibits a protein involved in the passing of electrons. The electron stops at the end of the chain and cannot be passed to oxygen. The whole chain grinds to a halt and no ATP can be made.
- On the model of mitochondrion, place an X on the spot you think cyanide is inhibiting.
What is the relationship between the respiration and oxygen?
- Cyanide is an extremely fast acting poison. In fact, it was developed as a suicide pill (called L- pill) during World War II so that British and American spies could avoid being captured alive. Given what you know about ATP and cellular respiration; explain why cyanide is so fast acting.
- Given what you know about cyanide poisoning, do you think that giving a person oxygen would be an effective treatment? Why or why not?
