Idaho officials identify 1982 suicide victim, seek out potential connection to Tylenol murders

Idaho investigators announced Wednesday they had identified a man who died in a Boise church more than 40 years ago, and they believe he could be connected to the 1982 Tylenol murders in Chicago.The man at the center of the cold case, referred to for years as “Unknown Wanderer,” died by suicide inside Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise on Dec.4, 1982.

The cause of death was determined to be death by cyanide poisoning, according to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.The wanderer case was reopened in 2019 and detectives renewed efforts to identify him, who had no identification on him when he was found.When re-examining the evidence, a detective found an engraved key among the wanderer’s belongings that led him to a residence in Jacksonville, Florida.

Detective Tim Cooper, who works in the sheriff’s cold case unit, was able to identify the man as Dr.Mathew Betkouski.

Betkouski worked in two drugstores and those who knew him said he had a “history of volatility,” according to the sheriff’s office.Boise, Idaho, ADA County Sheriff’s Dept.cold case detective Tim Cooper during a news conference about the Tylenol murders case on Wednesday.KTVBColleagues have recalled Betkouski as having a fascination with the “perfect crime” and with cyanide as a method to kill without detection, the sheriff’s office said.

Cooper also reviewed thousands of documents, including Betkouski’s personal writings.The sheriff’s office believed that Betkouski could have been involved in the 1982 Tylenol poisonings, in which seven people died after taking extra-strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide.There has been no evidence so far connecting Betkouski to the Chicago area where the murders occurred at the time.

Betkouski had lifelong struggles with mental illness, Cooper said at a news conference Wednesday.He came from a prominent Los Angeles family and was a chemist who “struggled to connect with people.” He suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1974, whic...