Chemist Identified in Boise Cold Case Linked to 1982 Tylenol Murders
A man who died by suicide in a Boise church in 1982 has been identified as Mathew Betkouski, a scientist some now believe killed seven people in Chicago.
By Samantha Reed ·
Seven people died in September 1982 after swallowing cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in the Chicago area. The incident sparked a national panic and forced a change in how medicines are packaged across the United States. Four decades later, the case remains open. A new development in Idaho has placed a dead scientist at the center of the investigation.
Ada County Cold Case Detective Tim Cooper recently identified the man who died by suicide in a Boise church on December 4, 1982. The victim was Mathew Betkouski. He held a Ph.D. in organic chemistry. For decades, police knew him only as the Unknown Wanderer. Cooper reopened the case in 2019. He found nearly 30 keys in the man's pockets. One key matched a property in Jacksonville, Florida. Property records pointed to Betkouski, who had disappeared in 1982. DNA testing confirmed the identity.
Betkouski worked for Lockheed Martin on a NASA project at White Sands, New Mexico. Investigators found accounts from former coworkers describing conversations he had before the poisonings. One coworker said Betkouski discussed how to poison medicine on pharmacy shelves. She recalled him mentioning potassium cyanide and a medication similar to Tylenol. Police also found cyanide in his belongings. They located a map of the Chicago area. Correspondence from 1981 showed he planned to travel to Chicago the following year.
Dr. Park Dietz is a forensic psychiatrist who consulted on the original Tylenol case. He now believes Betkouski fits the profile of the killer. Dietz told reporters he is convinced Betkouski was responsible. He acknowledged the evidence is circumstantial. He said the Unknown Wanderer was exactly the type of person who would commit the murders.
Cooper says there is no smoking gun. Investigators know Betkouski was alive during the poisonings. They know he traveled in 1982. They know he appeared in Boise shortly after the crimes. They cannot place him in Chicago during the final week of September 1982. Cooper said that missing timeline is the biggest obstacle to linking him to the murders.
Jeremy Margolis is a former federal prosecutor who worked on the original task force. He rejects the Boise theory. He called the idea utter nonsense. Margolis argues that criminal profiles are not evidence. He believes the original investigation identified the right suspect. He has not named who he believes committed the murders.
The dispute has renewed calls for transparency. Investigators requested historical case materials from officials. Most requests were denied because the FBI investigation remains active. Competing theories are difficult to verify without those records. Both sides agree that more files should be released to the public.
Ada County investigators hope people with knowledge of Betkouski's whereabouts before his death will send tips to ACSOtips@adacounty.id.gov.
Source: KIVI-TV · original report published
