# January 1981 Lake Tahoe Kool-Aid/Cyanide poisoning: Any resolution? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-1981-lake-tahoe-kool-aid-cyanide-poisoning-any-resolution/818090 "2018-07-17T15:50:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-1981-lake-tahoe-kool-aid-cyanide-poisoning-any-resolution/818090/1 "2018-07-17T15:50:51Z")
In January 1981, two women, Helga Franks and Anna Russell, were having dinner with their three children, ages 1½ to four years old, during which the three children became seriously ill. An investigation determined that the Kool-Aid the children had been drinking had been laced with cyanide. The adults did not partake in the Kool-Aid, so were not affected. The children made a complete recovery. Subsequent investigations seemed to focus on a chap named Harry Leland Leach, who was thought to have been the tamperer. Was Leach ever brought to trial, and if so, what were the results? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-1981-lake-tahoe-kool-aid-cyanide-poisoning-any-resolution/818090/2 "2018-07-17T16:01:00Z")
[Arrested, and eventually found not guilty.](https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/06/us/suspect-in-casino-case-freed.html). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-1981-lake-tahoe-kool-aid-cyanide-poisoning-any-resolution/818090/3 "2018-07-18T14:02:00Z")
Thanks. The full article is behind a pay wall, so it’s not clear from the preview whether he–or anybody else–was ever a suspect in the Kool-Aid tampering. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-1981-lake-tahoe-kool-aid-cyanide-poisoning-any-resolution/818090/4 "2018-07-18T16:28:08Z")
Actually, that story was about Leach’s attempted extortion of a casino in Tahoe. From an Associated Press article date 1/7/1981: > [@](#): > > And South Lake Tahoe police said they had little faith in what appeared to be a link between the poisonings and an extortion attempt earlier in the year against Caesars Tahoe. > > \ > > Leach was arrested in early November and found mentally incompetent to stand trial in Douglas County, Nev. He was committed to a mental institution at Sparks, Nev., Dec. 12. > > [South Lake Tahoe police Capt. Dean] Shelton said police were very doubtful that Leach actually was connected with the poisoned Kool-Aid mix. He noted that Leach had been in custody since early November and the soft drink poisonings did not occur until Dec. 28. The letters were dated Nov. 28 but postmarked Jan. 4. > > Shelton said the letters contained information that was common knowledge from news reports and that said Leach could have sent the letters to somebody in San Jose for mailing. I couldn’t find any news articles indicating any further developments.