OSU poisonings still unsolved
2 students died after taking pills with strychnine in 1925
In 1925, Charles Huls, an Ohio State University journalism major from Logan, unexpectedly convulsed and died quickly in an excruciating fashion. His death was attributed to a case of tetanus after having a bad tooth pulled. But it was soon discovered to be something more sinister: Homicide by strychnine poisoning.
It wasn't until after a second student died, and four others became ill, that the dots were finally connected. Various initial diagnoses — tetanus, viral meningitis, hysteria, food poisoning — were all wrong. A stomach pumping of the sixth victim found the culprit.
In one of Ohio State's most captivating
mysteries, it was found that all six were poisoned after ingesting quinine pills mixed with strychnine, a toxin that causes convulsions and often leads to asphyxiation. The quinine had been prescribed to relieve symptoms of a common cold and had been given out at a campus dispensary. Whether the toxin had been intentionally added -- or somehow accidentally mixed in -- to the quinine was never determined. No credible suspects emerged.
The randomness of who became ill or who could have been, before all the pills were recalled, terrified the campus community. Investigations proved fruitless.
Two decades ago, The Dispatch asked a forensics psychiatrist known for his work on the 1982 Tylenol cyanide poisonings (also never solved) for an expert opinion. Dr. Park Dietz studied the 1925 case and believed the most probable scenario was that one person was the target with the other poisonings used as a smokescreen. He also said the actual victims were likely not the intended target.
After the episode, Ohio State shut down the student-run dispensary and became the first college in the country to expand its twoyear pharmacy program to a four-year degree, with more training and better oversight. Within a few years, other colleges followed.
Who was, or were, the perpetrator(s)? What was the motive? It's still a mystery.
Contributor Linda Deitch was a Dispatch librarian for 25 years.