Idaho detectives tie dead 'Unknown Wanderer' to 1982 Tylenol murders; Chicago skeptical
DNA work identifies a 1982 Boise church suicide victim as chemist Mathew Betkouski, with cyanide and Chicago evidence raising a possible link to the unsolved poisonings that killed seven.
What to know
- Idaho's Ada County Sheriff's Office identified the 1982 Boise church suicide victim, long called the "Unknown Wanderer," as chemist Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski via a key trail, property records and DNA matching a surviving brother.
- Evidence handed to Chicago and Arlington Heights police includes a hand-drawn Chicago map, a homemade sodium cyanide bottle, 1981 photos of Betkouski in Chicago, and colleagues' accounts of him discussing a 'perfect crime' with cyanide.
- Investigators stop short of naming Betkouski a suspect, saying they cannot place him in Chicago during the last week of September 1982 when the Tylenol poisonings killed seven people.
- Illinois and Chicago investigators, who have fielded many false leads over 44 years, have expressed skepticism about the Idaho theory even as they review the new evidence.
“regarding its investigation to determine whether there is a connection to the Tylenol murders investigation, which remains an open cold case”
Chicago Police Department, Law enforcement statement · New York Post ↗ · Sep 22
Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski Deceased chemist identified as the 'Unknown Wanderer'Tim Cooper Ada County Sheriff's Office cold case detectiveMatt Clifford Ada County SheriffIllinois/Chicago investigators Investigators of the original 1982 Tylenol murdersArlington Heights Police Department Original investigating agency for the Tylenol murders
How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideosposts
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Illinois and Chicago investigators voice skepticism about the link
Chicago and Illinois investigators pushed back on the Idaho theory even as Ada County passed its evidence to Chicago and Arlington Heights police departments, who said they continue working the still-open Tylenol case.
“Idaho authorities say they may have solved the Tylenol murders. Illinois investigators say they're wrong.”
— Chicago Tribune, News outlet · source -
first by Chicago Tribune, 4h ago
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I see the Tylenol cyanide poisoning case from 1982 is back in the news. A new suspect, who died of cyanide decades ago, has emerged. https:// apnews.com/article/tylenol-mur ders-idaho-cold-case-chicago-3c314f287670e4b3200d061ac3ad7884 I think of that case every time I break the seal on a jar of something
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Ada County Sheriff's Office identifies the wanderer as chemist Betkouski
An engraved key traced to a Jacksonville, Florida property led detectives to Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski's surviving brother; DNA comparison confirmed the identification, and officials announced a possible but unconfirmed connection to the 1982 Chicago Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people.
“So where this leaves us is: While our office may have identified some possible connection between Dr. Betkouski and the 1982 events, we're not naming him as a suspect and we cannot say he was in Chicago in the final week of September 1982…”
— Detective Tim Cooper, Ada County Sheriff's Office -
1 outlet Idaho officials identify 1982 suicide victim, seek out potential connection to Tylenol murders
first by NBC News, 6h ago
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Investigators detail evidence tying Betkouski to cyanide and Chicago
Officials described a hand-drawn map of Chicago, photos of Betkouski there in 1981, a homemade bottle of sodium cyanide (not the potassium cyanide used in the killings), his firing from Lockheed Martin after allegedly trying to obtain pills "for an experiment," and former colleagues recalling his talk of a "perfect crime" using cyanide.
“This was sodium cyanide. This was not potassium cyanide, as was used in the Chicago-area deaths in 1982.”
— Detective Tim Cooper, Ada County Sheriff's Office -
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https://www. europesays.com/us/1080709/ Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski: Idaho cold case leads detectives to 1982 Tylenol murders with cyanide in Chicago-area #19861451 # chicago # IL # Illinois
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background
Detective Tim Cooper reopens the cold case — Ada County cold case detective Tim Cooper reopened the decades-old "Unknown Wanderer" case in 2019 after prior investigators, including detective Frank Richardson, worked it for years without identifying the man.
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background
Unidentified man found dead in Boise church — A man with no identification was found dead of cyanide poisoning in Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise on Dec. 4, 1982; he carried $1,900 cash, nearly 30 keys, a bolo tie and a note signed with a fake name, and became known as the "Unknown Wanderer."
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Independent UK, 4h ago · also Google News · Nation, ABC News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Yahoo
2 more headlines
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2 outlets ‘Brilliant’ man ID’d in 1982 Idaho cold case had links to Chicago prior to Tylenol murders
first by wgntv.com, 6h ago · also ABC7 Chicago
1 more headline
and 3 smaller pieces