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Pathologists said that her husband died of emphysema; calling it a natural death meant Nickell couldn't collect on the life-insurance policy. [2] The former was marked as overdue in library records, indicating that she had borrowed but never returned it. Bruces heavy drinking suited Stella just fine. She is played by Zoe Colletti. She found none, something the jury never heard. ", Klein has watched all three of Nickell's parole hearings, where she's petitioned for release on "compassionate grounds." She told them her mother had often spoken of wanting Bruce dead. When emergency personnel arrived, she told them that Bruce had taken Excedrin capsules and fallen unconscious. 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[9], Examination of the contaminated bottles by the FBI Crime Lab found that, in addition to containing cyanide powder, the poisoned capsules also contained flecks of an unknown green substance. But he took a polygraph, passed, and was eliminated as a suspect. 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. After the war, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. [5], In response to the publicity, Stella came forward on June 19. [31], The 2000 TV film Who Killed Sue Snow? "I think that she probably killed Bruce and expected them to find out that he died from cyanide poisoning," he says. Bruce was a heavy equipment operator with a drinking habit, which suited her lifestyle,[3] and the two were married in 1976. Read. Dont miss out! See Photos. Nearly two weeks later, she heard about Sue Snow. She claimed to have bought the two bottles at different times in different stores. 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. Stella Nicholls is the daughter of Roy . Nickell took a lie detector test and failed. View more. Nickell was the first to be convicted under it. They were married two years later. She laced some of the pills with cyanide, just as she'd done before, and placed the bottles on the shelves of random stores in the area. Records show agents found five contaminated bottles of medicine during a search of Auburn-area grocery stores and pharmacies, prompting widespread recalls of over-the-counter analgesics in the Northwest and elsewhere as health officials and the FBI sought to uncover the source of the poison. Required fields are marked *. She is portrayed by Zoe Colletti . [2] The possibility of state charges for the actual murders of Bruce and Snow continues to exist. Manufacturer Bristol-Myers initiated a nationwide recall of Extra Strength Excedrin capsules, and immediately stopped making the product. At 16, she gave birth to a daughter, Cynthia. In these documents, there are reports about other possible suspects and mysterious fingerprints on Sue Snows bottle. Four years later, the scenario seemed to be playing itself out again in King County Washington. She asked for compassionate release due to bad health, but where was her compassion when she murdered her own husband and another women? [5] Tests verified that Snow had died of acute cyanide poisoning. She became eligible for parole in 2018 but remains in prison. Nickell says her husband walked out on the deck to watch the birds, and suddenly collapsed. Estella had 4 sisters: Edith A. Stella had an aquarium, but says she never bought algae destroyer. But this time, pathologists smelled the telltale scent of bitter almonds during the autopsy, and determined that cyanide poisoning had killed Sue Snow. Still, hard evidence against her was hard to come by until January 1988. In the next 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. [2] She was also known to have, even before Snow's death, repeatedly disputed doctors' ruling that her husband had died of natural causes. Stella . Investigators in Seattle say her plan was foiled when Bruce's death was attributed to emphysema - a natural cause. [5][7], Initial suspicions were directed at Bristol-Myers, with Stella and Webking filing wrongful death lawsuits against the company. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The case made headlines across the world. Both were found to contain cyanide-laced capsules. Nickell was the first to be convicted. Stella Maudine Stephenson was a native of Colton, Oregon. Stella had an aquarium, but says she never bought algae destroyer. Then there was the insurance. After her death was reported in the news, Stella called police to tell them that she thought her husband had also been poisoned. [6][note 1] Bruce died shortly thereafter at Harborview Medical Center, where treatment had failed to revive him. They then looked toward Nickell. Stella Nickell Fast forward to 1986. "But more importantly, I know who didn't do it and that's Stella Nickell. According to Stellas daughter from a previous marriage, Stella had begun planning Bruces murder almost from the honeymoon. Police initially focused on Snows husband Paul Webking. The deaths sparked a nationwide tampering scare and prompted Excedrin manufacturer Bristol-Myers Co. to recall its over-the-counter capsule medications. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Sign up for notifications from Insider! [1] By the summer of 1987, even Stella's attorneys acknowledged that she was the prime suspect in the case. We offered the rewards as a deterrent because we feel that the best way to deter tampering is to catch the tamperers, said John T. Walden, a senior vice president of the Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Assn. [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". Like last weeks case, this week deals with murder by poison. These included convictions for fraud and forgery and a charge of beating Cindy with a curtain rod. Nickell took advantage of the panic created by Snow's death and asked police to consider Bruce's case as part of their investigation. 44 year old Stella Nickell, of Auburn, Washington, had been absolutely miserable with her life. I sent her to school; she told the nurse I had beat her that morning. The reward money came from a drug manufacturer's trade association. Death by cyanide poisoning was big news in Washington. [2] When her bar visits were curtailed by Bruce's sobriety,[3] she began requesting evening shifts at her security screener job at SeattleTacoma International Airport and cultivated a home aquarium as a new hobby. Six days later, Susan Snow took one of these capsules and died instantly. She became eligible in 2017 after serving 30 years of her 90-year sentence. In the face of the publicity blitz, Stella Nickell came forward on June 19. The teen called 911. Stella Nickell laced painkillers with cyanide, murdering her husband and a random woman, Sue Snow. Snow died a few days later, after also taking Excedrin pills laced with cyanide. [24] Under this law, Stella Nickell's crime was prosecutable as a federal product tampering case as well as a state murder case, and she was not convicted of murder, but of product tampering that caused death. 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. During the autopsy, an assistant medical examiner noticed the odor of bitter almonds, a tell-tale indicator of cyanide. Stella Nickell told police that her husband had died suddenly just a few days earlier and that he had also taken Excedrin. Other occupants: Joanna R Nicholls. When both turned out to contain contaminated capsules, investigators grew suspicious. "48 Hours": Brooke Skylar Richardson case The Old Crime is New Again newsletter is a monthly email covering a topic that has not appeared in the blog. Olsen said that Nickell laced Bruce's Excedrin with cyanide so that the authorities would think his death was accidental, which would allow her to claim his $100,000 life-insurance policy. Stella Maudine Stephenson was born in Colton, Oregon, to Alva Georgia "Jo" (ne Duncan; later changed her name to Cora Lee) and George Stephenson. Noonan, the fish store manager, was paid a $15,000 reward. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. They have a history of helping people they feel have been unfairly convicted. Police arrested her the same day, and she went on trial in April 1988. Stella refused, her lawyer saying she was too shaken up. She'd told the staff that she needed it to kill ants. [6] She went on trial in April 1988 and was found guilty of all charges on May 9, after five days of jury deliberation. A $250,000 reward will be paid to a Garden Grove woman whose testimony helped convict her mother in two killings with cyanide-laced Excedrin, a spokesman for a pharmaceutical group said Friday. 2011 Update: New book presents compelling case that the murderous capsules were prepared within the manufacturer's facilities, not at the retail level. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. A year and half after Bruce Nickell died, Stella Nickell was arrested and stood trial in federal court. But the policy would pay an additional $100,000 if he died from accidental causes. A total of five bottles containing cyanide-laced capsules were recovered: the bottle Sue Snow had purchased, the two bottles Stella Nickell had turned in, the Excedrin found on the shelves at Johnny's Market in Kent, and the Anacin capsules discovered at Pay-n-Save in Auburn. "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. She deserves no compassion. The FBI found Stella's fingerprints on several books. There Stella Nickell poisoned two people trying to get her husbands life insurance money. Olsen said that Nickell's crimes have been the focus of a number of TV documentaries and books, including his own. 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