James Lewis, the only person convicted in connection with the infamous Tylenol killings in Chicago in the 1980s, has been found dead in his home near Boston.

Lewis, 76, was convicted in 1982 of trying to extort $1 million from Tylenol manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, but he was never charged with the actual killings, WLS reported.

Seven people died in the original poisonings when they took Tylenol-branded acetaminophen capsules that had been laced with potassium cyanide. Several more deaths were reported from later copycat incidents in other places, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Lewis became a suspect in the killings after he sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson claiming responsibility and demanding $1 million to stop. But after his arrest, he denied responsibility, and investigators never found enough evidence linking him to the actual tampering to charge him. He did explain to authorities how he thought the actual killer may have gotten the cyanide into the Tylenol packaging and even gave an interview to WLS explaining the process.

Lewis was convicted on the extortion charge and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released in 1995.

According to WLS, many investigators never believed that Lewis was not responsible for the poisonings and had been looking into building a murder case against him.

Jeremy Margolis, the former assistant US Attorney who prosecuted Lewis on the extortion charge, told the station he was “saddened” to hear Lewis had died.

“Not because he’s dead, but because he didn’t die in prison,” he said.

No cause of death has been released.

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[Featured image: FILE – James Lewis left in 1983/AP Photo and right in 1995/AP Photo/Charles Krupa]