Forensic Files - Season 2, Episode 9 - Something's Fishy - Full Episode | Forensic Files

Narrator: IT WAS A TYPICAL WEDNESDAY MORNING IN THE SNOW HOUSEHOLD. SUE SNOW WAS PREPARING FOR
ANOTHER LONG DAY AS VICE-PRESIDENT AT A LOCAL BANK. MORNING, MOM. MORNING, HAYLEY.
HOW YOU DOING? Narrator: AND HER DAUGHTER HAYLEY WAS RUNNING A LITTLE LATE, RUSHING TO TAKE A QUICK
SHOWER BEFORE HEADING OFF TO SCHOOL. WELL, I HOPE YOU KNOW IT. I KNOW IT. Narrator: OVER THE SOUNDS OF
THE RUNNING WATER, HAYLEY COULDN'T HEAR WHEN HER MOTHER COLLAPSED. [ LOUD THUD ]
MOMMY? Narrator: IT WAS A TRAGEDY, THEN A MEDICAL MYSTERY -- ONE WHICH SENT SHOCK WAVES
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. OH, GOD. MAMA. Narrator: SUSAN SNOW WAS A SUCCESSFUL BANKING EXECUTIVE AND
THE MOTHER OF TWO YOUNG DAUGHTERS. SHE HAD RECENTLY REMARRIED AND WAS WELL KNOWN IN THE SMALL
SUBURB OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. SHE WAS VERY WELL LIKED. SHE LIKED TO FLIRT, I THINK,
WITH MEN, AND PROBABLY USED IT TO HER ADVANTAGE. SHE WAS IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY,
AND I THINK THAT SHE HAD A LOT OF CLIENTS THAT DEALT WITH HER BANK BECAUSE THEY LIKED SUE SNOW
AND LIKED DEALING WITH SUE SNOW. Narrator: SUE SNOW WAS ONLY 40 YEARS OLD AND IN PERFECT
HEALTH ON THE DAY SHE COLLAPSED. I REALIZED SOMETHING WAS WRONG. HER EYES WERE OPEN AND THEY WERE
ROLLED SORT OF BACK AND HER FINGERS WERE VERY STIFF. AND SHE LOOKED TERRIFIED. SHE LOOKED VERY SCARED.
Narrator: SUE SNOW WAS RUSHED TO A NEARBY HOSPITAL, UNCONSCIOUS AND NEAR DEATH. SHE DIED SHORTLY AFTER ARRIVAL.
DR. CORRINE FLIGNER PERFORMED THE AUTOPSY, ATTEMPTING TO IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF DEATH.
THE INITIAL PART OF THE AUTOPSY REVEALED WHAT WE WOULD CALL NO ANATOMIC CAUSE OF DEATH.
THAT MEANS THAT THERE WASN'T A DEFINITE PATHOLOGIC FINDING THAT COULD EXPLAIN MS. SNOW'S DEATH.
Narrator: BUT DR. FLIGNER'S ASSISTANT IN THE AUTOPSY ROOM NOTICED A TINY CLUE. IT WASN'T ANYTHING SHE COULD
SEE. IT WAS SOMETHING SHE THOUGHT SHE SMELLED. WHEN JANET MILLER OPENED SUE SNOW'S CHEST CAVITY, SHE
NOTICED THE FAINT SMELL OF BITTER ALMONDS. IT WAS A CLUE THAT CYANIDE WAS PRESENT, AND A CLUE THAT, UNDER
DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, MIGHT HAVE GONE UNDETECTED. IT'S JUST SUCH A DISTINCT ODOR.
IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND YOU SMELL SKUNK. THAT'S A VERY DISTINCT ODOR, AND
YOU SAY, "OH, A SKUNK WAS NEAR HERE. SOMETHING HAPPENED NEAR HERE INVOLVING A SKUNK."
IT JUST LEAVES AN IMPRESSION IN YOUR BRAIN THAT YOU DON'T FORGET. Narrator: NOW WITH THE
SUSPICION OF CYANIDE POISONING, SUE SNOW'S BLOOD SAMPLE WAS SENT FOR A SPECIAL TEST -- ONE NOT
USUALLY PERFORMED IN A ROUTINE AUTOPSY. AN ACID SOLUTION SEPARATED THE BLOOD FROM ANY POSSIBLE CYANIDE
MOLECULES. AFTER MIXING, THE TEST TUBE WAS SEALED WITH A SPECIAL REACTIVE PAPER AND THEN HEATED.
THE PAPER ON THE VIAL TURNED BLUE -- PROOF THAT SUE SNOW HAD BEEN POISONED WITH CYANIDE.
CYANIDE IS ONE OF THE DEADLIEST POISONS BECAUSE IT KILLS THE ENZYMES THAT TRANSPORT OXYGEN
THROUGHOUT THE BODY. DEATH OCCURS WITHIN MINUTES OF INGESTION, LITERALLY STARVING
THE BODY OF OXYGEN. BUT HOW DID SUE SNOW INGEST CYANIDE? IT WAS HER TWIN SISTER, SARAH,
WHO MADE THE INITIAL DISCOVERY. ON THE DAY OF SUE'S FUNERAL, SARAH LOOKED FOR SOME HEADACHE
MEDICATION IN HER SISTER'S KITCHEN AND FOUND SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS. SUE AND I BOTH TOOK EXCEDRIN
TABLETS. WHEN WE GOT THERE, I WENT TO THE KITCHEN TO GET HER EXCEDRIN TO TAKE, AND IT WAS CAPSULES.
AND SHE NEVER TOOK CAPSULES. Narrator: LAB TESTS CONFIRMED SARAH'S WORST FEARS -- CYANIDE
WAS FOUND IN NINE EXCEDRIN CAPSULES IN SUE SNOW'S KITCHEN. SARAH WEBB CAME WITHIN INCHES OF
INGESTING THE TAINTED CAPSULES HERSELF. THE FAMILY SUSPECTED THAT SUE'S NEW HUSBAND, PAUL WEBKING, PUT
THE CYANIDE IN THE EXCEDRIN. HE WAS VERY UPTIGHT AND VERY NERVOUS AND MADE CRUDE JOKES, IT
SEEMS, OCCASIONALLY. AND IT WAS JUST THE WAY HE WAS DEALING WITH THE SITUATION. AND IT JUST RUBBED ME WRONG.
I WAS DEALING WITH IT DIFFERENTLY. Narrator: PAUL WEBKING HAD BEEN MARRIED THREE TIMES BEFORE
AND HAD BEEN MARRIED TO SUE SNOW FOR JUST SIX MONTHS. HE WAS A LONG-HAUL TRUCKER WITH
A HARD, GRUFF DEMEANOR AND WAS NOT AS FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL AS HIS WIFE. SHORTLY BEFORE THEIR MARRIAGE,
SUE DISCOVERED THAT PAUL WAS STILL DATING AN OLD GIRLFRIEND. SUE KNEW ABOUT IT, AND THEY
HAD A LOT OF TROUBLE OVER IT. AND FINALLY HE TOLD SUE, "WELL, I'M NOT GONNA SEE THIS GIRL
ANYMORE. LET'S GET MARRIED." AND THEY GOT MARRIED, AND SIX MONTHS LATER, SHE'S DEAD.
Narrator: PAUL WEBKING ADMITTED THAT IT WAS HIS IDEA TO SWITCH FROM HEADACHE TABLETS TO
CAPSULES BUT SAID HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TAMPERING OF THE CAPSULES. THE MANUFACTURER OF EXCEDRIN
CAPSULES WASN'T TAKING ANY CHANCES. THEY ISSUED AN IMMEDIATE RECALL OF EXTRA-STRENGTH EXCEDRIN FROM
ALL STORE SHELVES. HEALTH OFFICIALS FEARED THAT THE DEATH OF SUE SNOW WAS NOT AN
ISOLATED INCIDENT. IN AUBURN, WASHINGTON, EXTRA-STRENGTH EXCEDRIN CAPSULES ARE BEING PULLED FROM THE STORE
SHELVES. THIS AFTER AUTHORITIES CONFIRMED THAT A CYANIDE-LACED CAPSULE CAUSED THE DEATH LAST WEEK OF A
40-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, SUE SNOW. Narrator: WHEN NEWS REPORTS OF SUE SNOW'S DEATH WERE
BROADCAST THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, ONE SEATTLE VIEWER, STELLA NICKELL, TOOK MORE THAN A
PASSING INTEREST. STELLA NICKELL TOLD POLICE THAT HER HUSBAND HAD TAKEN SOME EXCEDRIN CAPSULES SHORTLY BEFORE
HE DIED. SHE CALLED THE KING COUNTY POLICE AND SAID THAT HER HUSBAND HAD DIED A COUPLE WEEKS EARLIER
AND THAT SHE HAD DISCOVERED THAT HE HAD TAKEN EXCEDRIN FROM THE SAME LOT NUMBER AS THE EXCEDRIN
THAT HAD KILLED SUE SNOW. DO YOU HAVE THOSE CAPSULES? YEAH, SURE DO. MAY I SEE THEM, PLEASE?
Narrator: A POLICE DETECTIVE VISITED STELLA NICKELL'S HOME TO PICK UP THE BOTTLES OF EXCEDRIN
CAPSULES BRUCE NICKELL HAD BEEN USING. STELLA ASKED THAT THE BOTTLES BE TESTED TO DETERMINE WHETHER
CYANIDE WAS PRESENT. IT'S JUST A SHAME ABOUT THAT WOMAN. YES, IT CERTAINLY WAS. WELL, I ASSURE YOU, WE'RE
CHECKING EVERY LEAD. Narrator: SHE ALSO WANTED THE CORONER TO REOPEN HER HUSBAND'S
CASE TO TEST HIS BLOOD SAMPLES FOR CYANIDE -- A TEST WHICH HADN'T BEEN PERFORMED DURING HIS
AUTOPSY. WHEN BRUCE NICKELL'S BLOOD SAMPLE WAS ANALYZED, THE REACTIVE PAPER ON THE VIAL
TURNED BLUE. BRUCE NICKELL DIED OF CYANIDE POISONING. AND CYANIDE-LACED EXCEDRIN
CAPSULES WERE DISCOVERED IN THE TWO BOTTLES FOUND IN HIS HOME. POLICE CONTINUED TO INVESTIGATE
THEIR FIRST SUSPECT, SUE SNOW'S HUSBAND, PAUL WEBKING. HE CAN BE AGGRESSIVE. AND THE FACT THAT HE REMARRIED
SHORTLY AFTER SUE HAD DIED, THAT WAS ANOTHER THING THAT MADE THE FAMILY UNCOMFORTABLE, AND THEY
WANTED TO BLAME HIM FOR WHATEVER HAD HAPPENED. Narrator: WEBKING OFFERED TO TAKE A LIE DETECTOR TEST TO
CLEAR HIS NAME. TO THE SURPRISE OF ALMOST EVERYONE, HE PASSED. THERE WAS ENOUGH CIRCUMSTANTIAL THINGS POINTING
AT PAUL WEBKING THAT I PERSONALLY WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED WHEN HE TOOK A POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION THAT WAS
ADMINISTERED BY THE FBI AND PASSED IT AND WAS ELIMINATED AS A SUSPECT. Narrator: WITH WEBKING NOW
CLEARED, AUTHORITIES FEARED THEY HAD A RANDOM KILLER ON THEIR HANDS, SOME SORT OF
PHARMACEUTICAL TERRORIST. ALL OF THE EXCEDRIN CAPSULES REMOVED FROM STORE SHELVES WERE
ANALYZED WITH AN X-RAY MACHINE. SINCE CYANIDE IS MORE DENSE THAN PAIN RELIEVER, TAINTED CAPSULES
SHOW UP AS DARK AREAS INSIDE THE BOTTLE. TWO MORE BOTTLES OF CYANIDE-LACED PAIN RELIEVER WERE
FOUND ON STORE SHELVES. NEWSPAPERS AND TELEVISION STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD REPORTED THE DISCOVERY OF THE
TAINTED CAPSULES IN SEATTLE. THE FBI FEARED THAT THIS CASE WOULD WIND UP LIKE THE CHICAGO
TYLENOL MURDERS JUST A FEW YEARS EARLIER -- A CASE WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED. Narrator: ALL OF THE TAINTED
EXCEDRIN CAPSULES WERE SENT TO THE FBI LAB IN WASHINGTON, D.C., FOR ANALYSIS. EACH TAINTED CAPSULE CONTAINED
700 MILLIGRAMS OF CYANIDE -- FOUR TIMES MORE THAN A LETHAL DOSE. THE FBI ALSO FOUND SOMETHING
ELSE INSIDE THE CAPSULES -- SOME MYSTERIOUS GREEN CRYSTALS MIXED IN WITH THE CYANIDE.
THE GREEN CRYSTALS WERE ANALYZED USING A MASS SPECTROMETER, A DEVICE WHICH CAN IDENTIFY THE
EXACT CHEMICAL COMPONENTS OF AN UNKNOWN SAMPLE. AFTER THE CRYSTALS WERE LIQUEFIED, A BEAM OF HIGH-ENERGY
ELECTRONS COLLIDED WITH THE MOLECULES, BREAKING THEM DOWN INTO THEIR SMALLEST POSSIBLE
UNITS. THIS PRODUCES A FINGERPRINT OF EVERY IDENTIFIABLE SUBSTANCE IN THE CRYSTALS.
THE GREEN CRYSTALS WERE MADE UP OF FOUR COMMON CHEMICALS -- ATRAZINE, DICHLONE, MONURON, AND
SIMAZINE. TWO OF THESE CHEMICALS ARE USED TO KILL ALGAE IN FISH AQUARIUMS. AN FBI CHEMIST VISITED ALL OF
THE FISH STORES NEAR HIS HOME HOPING TO FIND A COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED ALGAECIDE WITH THE SAME
FOUR COMPOUNDS. DO YOU HAVE ANY ALGAECIDE? SURE. THIS AISLE RIGHT HERE -- OTHER SIDE OF THE BIG FISHTANK.
THANK YOU. Narrator: AFTER LOOKING THROUGH HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTS, ONE ALGAECIDE IN PARTICULAR
CAUGHT HIS EYE. THE PRODUCT WAS CALLED ALGAE DESTROYER AND WAS SOLD IN GREEN, SPECKLED TABLETS.
THE PRODUCT HAD THE SAME FOUR COMPOUNDS IN THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT AS THE GREEN CRYSTALS
FOUND IN THE CYANIDE. THE FBI HAD NO IDEA WHY A FISH ALGAECIDE WOULD BE IN THE CYANIDE BUT REPORTED THIS
DISCOVERY TO SEATTLE AUTHORITIES. ONE OF THE DETECTIVES IN SEATTLE RECALLED AN INTERESTING
COINCIDENCE -- WHEN HE VISITED STELLA NICKELL'S HOME TO PICK UP THE EXCEDRIN CAPSULES, HE
REMEMBERED SEEING AN AQUARIUM PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED IN HER LIVING ROOM. WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT
STELLA NICKELL PLAYED SOME ROLE IN THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND AND IN THE DEATH OF SUE SNOW?
THE FBI VISITED 57 DIFFERENT FISH AND PET STORES NEAR STELLA NICKELL'S HOME, ARMED
WITH A PHOTO MONTAGE, WHICH INCLUDED STELLA'S PICTURE. TOM NOONAN RECOGNIZED STELLA NICKELL'S PHOTOGRAPH AND
RECALLED SELLING HER THE SAME ALGAE DESTROYER PRODUCT. THE FBI WAS MAKING INQUIRIES
IF I'D EVER REMEMBERED SELLING HER A CERTAIN PRODUCT, AND I DID. AND I TOLD THEM, JUST LIKE I
TOLD HER AND ANYBODY ELSE THAT PURCHASED THIS PRODUCT, WHEN THEY WOULD TAKE IT HOME, TO
CRUSH IT UP TO MAKE IT MORE EFFECTIVE, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES, WHEN YOU PUT IT IN THE
AQUARIUM, IT WOULD NOT DISSOLVE. IT WOULD REMAIN RATHER INERT IN THE TANK AND NOT EFFECTIVELY
BREAK DOWN AND KILL THE ALGAE THAT WAS INSIDE THE FISHTANK. I THINK THAT THEY WERE VERY
SUSPICIOUS OF HER, AND THEY KNEW THAT SOMEHOW STELLA AND HER CIRCLE WAS LINKED TO WHAT
HAPPENED TO SUE SNOW AND TO WHAT HAPPENED TO BRUCE. Narrator: BRUCE NICKELL'S LIFE-INSURANCE POLICIES REVEALED
THAT STELLA WOULD RECEIVE $100,000 EXTRA IF THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND WAS ACCIDENTAL.
STELLA EVER SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THEM HAVING ANY MONEY PROBLEMS? WELL, YES, BECAUSE SHE WAS GOING
TO SCHOOL AND NOT WORKING THERE FOR AWHILE. AND IT WAS GETTING PRETTY TIGHT. Narrator: IN FACT, THE
NICKELLS WERE IN SERIOUS FINANCIAL TROUBLE AND HAD RECENTLY RECEIVED A FINAL DELINQUENCY NOTICE ON THEIR HOME
MORTGAGE AND ON SOME OTHER LOANS. JUST FIVE DAYS BEFORE BRUCE NICKELL'S DEATH, STELLA NICKELL WROTE A SERIES OF
LETTERS TO HER CREDITORS. "DEAR SIRS, I KNOW THAT I AM TREMENDOUSLY OVERDUE WITH MY
PAYMENTS. THERE IS A GOOD REASON FOR IT -- I'M HAVING MARITAL PROBLEMS. THEY ARE ABOUT SOLVED.
BRUCE IS NO LONGER INVOLVED. I WILL PAY YOU AT LEAST $500 PER MONTH. STELLA NICKELL."
Narrator: WHEN FBI HANDWRITING EXPERT LEE WAGONER STUDIED THE LIFE-INSURANCE DOCUMENTS, HE NOTICED SOMETHING
SUSPICIOUS -- BRUCE NICKELL'S SIGNATURE ON THE LIFE-INSURANCE APPLICATION DIFFERED FROM HIS
KNOWN SIGNATURE SAMPLES. THE "N" AND "K" WERE DIFFERENT FROM HIS NORMAL SIGNATURE.
THE INITIAL STROKE OF THE "N" BEGINS ABOUT HALFWAY UP THAT "N," WHEREAS BRUCE'S "N" BEGINS
AT THE TOP OF THAT "N." THE FINAL STROKE ON THE SIGNATURE IN QUESTION ENDS UP TURNING TO THE RIGHT, BELOW THE
BASELINE OF WRITING -- IN THE SIGNATURE IN QUESTION. IT DOES NOT IN THE GENUINE SIGNATURES OF BRUCE.
Narrator: BUT IT WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE WAY STELLA NICKELL SIGNED HER NAME. INVESTIGATORS BELIEVED THAT
STELLA FORGED HER HUSBAND'S SIGNATURE ON THE INSURANCE APPLICATIONS. BUT MONEY WASN'T THE ONLY
POSSIBLE MOTIVE. STELLA AND BRUCE NICKELL HAD ALWAYS BEEN A VERY SOCIAL COUPLE, REGULARLY VISITING BARS
AND NIGHT SPOTS WITH FRIENDS. BUT ALL OF THAT CHANGED AFTER BRUCE ENTERED AN ALCOHOLISM
TREATMENT PROGRAM AND STOPPED DRINKING ALTOGETHER. AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, IT GOT TO HER.
IT WASN'T THE LIFE THAT SHE ENVISIONED, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS 42 OR 43 YEARS OLD, SHE
SAW HERSELF AS A HOT BABE STILL. SHE WANTED TO BE SEEN AND GET OUT THERE, AND BRUCE HELD HER
BACK. SHE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN BARS, RUNNING AROUND, FLIRTING WITH DIFFERENT MEN, THAT KIND OF
THING. SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND. SHE DIDN'T PAINT A PICTURE OF BEING REAL DEDICATED TO HER
HUSBAND. Narrator: THE FBI INTERVIEWED CINDY AND TOLD HER ABOUT THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THEY HAD
AGAINST HER MOTHER. CINDY BROKE DOWN. AND SHE SAID, "WELL, YES, MY MOM DID KILL BRUCE.
I KNOW FOR SURE THAT SHE DID BECAUSE WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IT." Narrator: CINDY ALSO TOLD THE
FBI THAT HER MOTHER VISITED THE LIBRARY TO RESEARCH THE SUBJECT OF POISONS. RECORDS AT THE AUBURN PUBLIC
LIBRARY REVEALED THAT STELLA SIGNED OUT A BOOK ENTITLED "DEADLY HARVEST," WHICH LISTS
VARIOUS SOURCES AND METHODS OF POISONING. STELLA'S FINGERPRINTS WERE FOUND ALL OVER THE SECTIONS DEALING
WITH CYANIDE POISONING AND WERE ALSO FOUND ON THE PAGES OF VARIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA DESCRIBING
CYANIDE. INVESTIGATORS NOW HAD ENOUGH CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE TO CHARGE STELLA NICKELL WITH THE
MURDER OF HER HUSBAND. AND THE FBI DISCOVERED WHY STELLA NICKELL MURDERED SUE SNOW, A WOMAN SHE DIDN'T
KNOW. Narrator: BY THE SPRING OF 1986, STELLA NICKELL HAD GROWN TIRED OF HER MONEY PROBLEMS AND
WHAT SHE CONSIDERED TO BE A BORING EXISTENCE WITH HER HUSBAND, BRUCE. SHE HATCHED A PLAN TO MURDER HER
HUSBAND AND COLLECT ON HIS LIFE-INSURANCE POLICIES, WHICH WOULD PAY $100,000 EXTRA IF HIS
DEATH WAS ACCIDENTAL. HER LIBRARY RESEARCH LED HER TO CHOOSE CYANIDE, A HIGHLY TOXIC
SALT. BUT STELLA WAS CARELESS. SHE GROUND THE CYANIDE IN THE SAME BOWL SHE USED EARLIER TO
GRIND THE ALGAECIDE TABLETS FOR HER AQUARIUM. BUT SHE NEGLECTED TO WASH THE BOWL BEFORE GRINDING THE
CYANIDE. SHE NEVER SUSPECTED THAT THE TINY GREEN ALGAECIDE CRYSTALS WOULD MIX WITH THE CYANIDE AND
LEAD TO HER CAPTURE. AFTER PUTTING THE CYANIDE INTO THE HEADACHE CAPSULES, SHE PLACED THE BOTTLE AMONG HER
HUSBAND'S OTHER MEDICATIONS. BRUCE SUFFERED FROM CHRONIC HEADACHES AND TOOK PAIN
RELIEVERS ALMOST EVERY DAY. AFTER BRUCE NICKELL'S DEATH, THE CORONER MISTAKENLY RULED THAT
IT WAS DUE TO NATURAL CAUSES, A MISTAKE WHICH DEPRIVED STELLA OF AN ADDITIONAL $100,000 OF
LIFE-INSURANCE MONEY. STELLA NEEDED AN EXCUSE, SOME REASON TO HAVE HER HUSBAND'S
AUTOPSY TISSUES RE-EXAMINED. SO SHE DECIDED TO POISON SOMEONE ELSE TO CREATE THE IMPRESSION
THAT A CYANIDE MURDERER WAS ON THE LOOSE. SHE PLACED THREE MORE BOTTLES OF CYANIDE-LACED PAIN RELIEVER ON
THE SHELVES OF TWO STORES NEAR HER HOME. SOMEONE IN THE SNOW HOUSEHOLD PURCHASED ONE OF THOSE BOTTLES.
YOU KNOW THAT SISTER OF YOURS DIDN'T GET HOME TILL THIS MORNING. Narrator: SUE SNOW TOOK TWO
CAPSULES FROM THAT BOTTLE ONE MORNING BEFORE WORK... I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA
DO WITH HER. Narrator: ...AND DIED A SHORT TIME LATER. WHEN THE CYANIDE WAS DISCOVERED
DURING SUE SNOW'S AUTOPSY AND TRACED TO THE EXCEDRIN CAPSULES IN HER HOME, STELLA NICKELL HAD
THE EXCUSE SHE NEEDED TO ASK THAT HER HUSBAND'S CASE BE REOPENED. SHE GOT AWAY WITH MURDER ONCE
AND TRIED TO GET AWAY WITH IT A SECOND TIME. WHEN THE FBI IDENTIFIED THE TINY GREEN CRYSTALS IN THE CYANIDE AS
ALGAE DESTROYER AND LOCATED A FISH STORE NEAR STELLA NICKELL'S HOME WHICH SOLD HER THE PRODUCT,
THE LIBRARY BOOKS AND FORGED LIFE-INSURANCE POLICIES SEALED THE CASE AGAINST HER.
THE FBI NEVER FOUND THE CYANIDE, THE ALGAE DESTROYER TABLETS, OR THE BOWL USED TO MIX THE CYANIDE
IN STELLA NICKELL'S HOME. AFTER A 4-WEEK TRIAL, ONE IN WHICH HER OWN DAUGHTER TESTIFIED
AGAINST HER, STELLA NICKELL WAS CONVICTED OF TWO COUNTS OF MURDER AND WAS SENTENCED TO 90
YEARS IN PRISON. IT'S HARD FOR ME TO THINK THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO CAN DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT
WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT WHAT KIND OF REPERCUSSIONS THERE ARE ON OTHER PEOPLE. IT'S JUST AMAZING TO ME THAT
THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT SELFISH -- TO TAKE A LIFE. AND NOT ONLY MY MOTHER'S, BUT HER HUSBAND'S.
I MEAN, THAT'S ALMOST MORE UNIMAGINABLE TO ME THAN HER KILLING A PERFECT STRANGER SUCH
AS MY MOM. BUT THAT SHE WOULD KILL HER OWN HUSBAND FOR THAT. HUSBAND FOR THAT. HUSBAND FOR THAT.
HUSBAND FOR THAT.

Two people in Seattle, Washington died after taking an over-the-counter pain reliever; lab analysis of the pills showed they were tainted with a lethal concentration of cyanide.

Forensic Files is the longest-running true crime series in television history. Evidence and interviews with experts help solve real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world.

Brief Summary

Sue Snow's cyanide poisoning leads to Stella Nickell's arrest for murder after a shocking investigation reveals a deadly plot.

Key points

The Mysterious Death of Sue Snow. Sue Snow collapses unexpectedly, leading to a shocking investigation into her death.
Cyanide Discovery. A faint smell of bitter almonds leads to the discovery of cyanide poisoning.
Stella Nickell's Alibi. Stella Nickell claims her husband died from the same tainted Excedrin capsules.
Stella's Motive Revealed. Stella Nickell's financial troubles and insurance policies provide a motive for murder.
Cindy's Shocking Testimony. Cindy reveals her mother's guilt in the murders, shocking investigators.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I KNOW FOR SURE THAT SHE DID BECAUSE WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IT.

Cindy's confession about her mother's involvement in the murder.

16:14WatchMay 27, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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