Stella Nickell

Stella Maudine Nickell (née Stephenson; born August 7, 1943) is an American woman who was sentenced to 90 years in prison for product tampering after she poisoned Excedrin capsules with lethal cyanide, resulting in the deaths of her husband, Bruce Nickell, and a stranger, Sue Snow. Her May 1988 conviction and prison sentence were the first under federal product tampering laws instituted after the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders.

Early life Stella Maudine Stephenson was born in Colton, Oregon, to Alva Georgia "Jo" (née Duncan; later changed her name to Cora Lee) and George Stephenson. She grew up in a very poor family. In 1959, following the birth of her first daughter, Cynthia Hamilton, Stella moved to Southern California, where she married and had another daughter. in insurance coverage on her husband, with an additional payout of $100,000 if his death was accidental.

, Stella Nickell was housed at female-only low security/minimum security Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin in California, just east of San Francisco. She will be eligible for release in 2040 with credit given for good behavior, by which time she will be 96 years old. Nickell petitioned for compassionate early release in 2022, stating that her health is failing; this request was denied.

Appeals and subsequent petitions Nickell continued to maintain her innocence after her trial. An appeal based on jury tampering and judicial misconduct issues was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in August 1989. Judge James Robart denied the petition.

FDA regulations After the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders, new FDA regulations went into effect which made it a federal crime—rather than just a state or local crime—to tamper with consumer products. Local and state authorities can still file charges in such cases. The case was referenced in an episode of In Plain Sight titled "Kill Pill", which aired November 23, 2018 on the Investigation Discovery channel.

The 2000 TV film Who Killed Sue Snow? was to be made about the Nickell case to air on USA Network, but was cancelled shortly before production began. One factor was strong objections from advertisers, including Johnson & Johnson, owner of the Tylenol brand of painkillers, which had been affected by the 1982 Chicago case. Additionally, network executives feared the film would inspire copycat crimes. The film would have been directed by Jeff Reiner and starred Katey Sagal as Stella Nickell.

The 2025 Bengali neo-noir investigative thriller, Durgapur Junction, is based on Nickell's case.

In 2025, popular content creator Ray William Johnson featured Nickell on his true crime video series.