Posted: Today 2:08:52 PM EDT
[Last Edit: kc-coyote][Edited]
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Sensational Tylenol Murders breakthrough as Idaho cops say mysterious 'Unknown wanderer' found dead in church in 1982 is doctor likely behind seven poison killings https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16154935/idaho-cold-case-tylenol-murders-chicago-illinois.html A mysterious man who died by suicide in an Idaho church in 1982 has finally been identified - and investigators have suggested he is likely the infamous Tylenol Murderer, who killed seven with cyanide-laced painkillers. The man - who was nicknamed 'the Unknown Wanderer' after his death - was Doctor Mathew Francis Betkouski, Ada County Sheriff's Office said in a press conference in Boise on Wednesday. Betkouski, of California, was found dead beneath a pew at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Idaho city on December 4, 1982, following a confessional service, Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said. He died of cyanide poisoning - the same method used to kill the seven victims of the Tylenol murderers just three months previously, during the final week of September 1982. Betkouski was finally tracked down thanks to one of 30 keys found on his body after his death, which was featured in a famous 1990 episode of Unsolved Mysteries. He was not linked to the Tylenol homicides at the time. ACSO Cold Case Detective Tim Cooper also produced multiple pieces of evidence that link Betkouski to the killings, although he said his office lacked a 'smoking gun' piece of evidence that would allow them to definitively name Betkouski as a suspect. While working as a chemist at the secretive White Sands testing facility in New Mexico, Betkouski is said to have said that tainting capsules with poison would be the perfect way to murder someone. He was fired over a disturbance at a local pharmacy and was someone who had a 'documented fascination' with chemistry and explosives, Cooper said. A woman was killed by cyanide poisoning at the same lab while he worked there and her death remains unsolved. Years after his death, authorities tracked down his family and visited his childhood home, where they uncovered a small bottle of cyanide that was 'likely homemade' and a map of Chicago, Cooper said. The cyanide was of a different variety from the type used in the Tylenol murders in the Windy City. He also made several phone calls to pharmaceutical and chemical supply companies in Pennsylvania just weeks before the Tylenol homicides. Cooper said that police also recovered photos of Betkouski visiting Chicago, and that they were likely taken around December 1981. Detective Cooper also highlighted rumors about Betkouski making a possible confession in the Catholic Church shortly before his suicide. He did not share those rumors and said they had never been verified, amid online chatter that Betkouski may have confessed to the Tylenol Murders shortly before taking his own life. Along with the filled keychain, a typed suicide note and $1,900 were found on Betkouski at the time of his death, according to Clifford. In the note, he said that he wanted the money to be used for his funeral and cremation. It was signed 'Wm. L. Toomey.' Attached File Attached File |
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Interesting fact When I arrived in San Diego awaiting the return of my new command from her 1984 WESTPAC cruise, I was working in the warehouse at 32nd street naval station, we were palletizing donated medicine and food for relief orgs over seas. We were loading up an incredible amount of Tylenol Capsules, I was told it was the last of the Tylenol Capsules in existance. |
Patriots are ordinary men who rise up to do extraordinary things in troubled times.
Pro-abortion is the radical idea that an innocent life is the only one worth taking.
Pro-abortion is the radical idea that an innocent life is the only one worth taking.
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He was fired over a disturbance at a local pharmacy and was someone who had a 'documented fascination' with chemistry and explosives, Cooper said. I was told by a vice president of an oil company, "That people get interested in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering for one of two reasons." 1. Make their own drugs and alcohol 2. Make explosives "The real problem," he continued "was when people were interested in both." |
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Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: I was told by a vice president of an oil company, "That people get interested in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering for one of two reasons." 1. Make their own drugs and alcohol 2. Make explosives "The real problem," he continued "was when people were interested in both." Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: He was fired over a disturbance at a local pharmacy and was someone who had a 'documented fascination' with chemistry and explosives, Cooper said. I was told by a vice president of an oil company, "That people get interested in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering for one of two reasons." 1. Make their own drugs and alcohol 2. Make explosives "The real problem," he continued "was when people were interested in both." I was kicked out of chemistry in HS for trying to make some boom boom  |
Patriots are ordinary men who rise up to do extraordinary things in troubled times.
Pro-abortion is the radical idea that an innocent life is the only one worth taking.
Pro-abortion is the radical idea that an innocent life is the only one worth taking.
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There's been a rash of cold cases in the last couple years where authorities have publicly accused/tried/convicted dead people in the court of public opinion without evidence that is "beyond a reasonable doubt". There was a GD thread sometime in the last year or two about an instance of this and apparently the agency who announced their unilateral decision that a dead guy was guilty had received funding for cold case investigations. The obvious speculation is that they need to show results to secure more funding. I'm pretty much against accusing dead people since they can't defend themselves. If you have rock solid proof that's obviously OK, but all of these similar announcements base their decision on hearsay, circumstantial evidence, or things that can be explained away as chance or coincidence. None have had DNA evidence, newly discovered pictures/videos, deathbed confessions, etc. |
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Originally Posted By colt_thompson: Wasn't there also glass in face cream around the same time? There was definitely panic. I remember visiting my grandparents and everyone in the living room watching TV, some show like 20/20 or 60 Minutes with an extended news investigation. The adults exchanging anecdotal stories about this or that. Not being able to buy Tylenol, throwing it away, the lady at the hair salon having headaches. No internet at the time, so all the anecdotal bullshit was rampant. |
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Originally Posted By thedave1164: I was kicked out of chemistry in HS for trying to make some boom boom Our high school teacher had a laminated sheet explaining how to make many different kinds of boom boom. Of course he didn't give it out and warned people it was a bad idea in general and an especially bad idea to perform in school, and that making anything in large quantities was insane. A week or so before the summer recess that sheet would sometimes be accidentally left next to a copier. |
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Originally Posted By mcantu: This is the reason so many bottles have a foil seal now. Before this, none had one It was needed regardless. Remember all those grocery store surveillance videos of people during Covid opening cartons of ice cream, licking it and then putting them back? |
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Originally Posted By kc-coyote: Sensational Tylenol Murders breakthrough as Idaho cops say mysterious 'Unknown wanderer' found dead in church in 1982 is doctor likely behind seven poison killings https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16154935/idaho-cold-case-tylenol-murders-chicago-illinois.html A mysterious man who died by suicide in an Idaho church in 1982 has finally been identified - and investigators have suggested he is likely the infamous Tylenol Murderer, who killed seven with cyanide-laced painkillers. The man - who was nicknamed 'the Unknown Wanderer' after his death - was Doctor Mathew Francis Betkouski, Ada County Sheriff's Office said in a press conference in Boise on Wednesday. Betkouski, of California, was found dead beneath a pew at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Idaho city on December 4, 1982, following a confessional service, Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said. He died of cyanide poisoning - the same method used to kill the seven victims of the Tylenol murderers just three months previously, during the final week of September 1982. Betkouski was finally tracked down thanks to one of 30 keys found on his body after his death, which was featured in a famous 1990 episode of Unsolved Mysteries. He was not linked to the Tylenol homicides at the time. ACSO Cold Case Detective Tim Cooper also produced multiple pieces of evidence that link Betkouski to the killings, although he said his office lacked a 'smoking gun' piece of evidence that would allow them to definitively name Betkouski as a suspect. While working as a chemist at the secretive White Sands testing facility in New Mexico, Betkouski is said to have said that tainting capsules with poison would be the perfect way to murder someone. He was fired over a disturbance at a local pharmacy and was someone who had a 'documented fascination' with chemistry and explosives, Cooper said. A woman was killed by cyanide poisoning at the same lab while he worked there and her death remains unsolved. Years after his death, authorities tracked down his family and visited his childhood home, where they uncovered a small bottle of cyanide that was 'likely homemade' and a map of Chicago, Cooper said. The cyanide was of a different variety from the type used in the Tylenol murders in the Windy City. He also made several phone calls to pharmaceutical and chemical supply companies in Pennsylvania just weeks before the Tylenol homicides. Cooper said that police also recovered photos of Betkouski visiting Chicago, and that they were likely taken around December 1981. Detective Cooper also highlighted rumors about Betkouski making a possible confession in the Catholic Church shortly before his suicide. He did not share those rumors and said they had never been verified, amid online chatter that Betkouski may have confessed to the Tylenol Murders shortly before taking his own life. Along with the filled keychain, a typed suicide note and $1,900 were found on Betkouski at the time of his death, according to Clifford. In the note, he said that he wanted the money to be used for his funeral and cremation. It was signed 'Wm. L. Toomey.' https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26697/Screenshot_2026-09-23_110816_png-3831716.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26697/Screenshot_2026-09-23_110841_png-3831717.JPG That's odd |
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"Mitch the almost dead democrat bitch"
2026, the bigger better democrat election fraud
"Mitch the almost dead democrat bitch"
2026, the bigger better democrat election fraud
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Originally Posted By KokopelliGolfer: That sounds familiar. I wonder if that was a CSI episode? I think there was a CSI episode where someone poisoned someone else by putting poison under the cap of a water bottle and then did the same to a bunch of bottles in random stores. |
Vidi Vici Veni
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Originally Posted By chase237: “likely” the guy and “no smoking gun” sounds more like yeah theres a chance he did it so lets clear the books on this one. I guess for a 1982 case, fine call it solved. Doubt they could convict if still breathing on a few flimsy pieces of evidence but who knows. I noticed that too. Everything they found is “likely”, or similar but not the same. Still, I know it’s hard to find solid proof for something like this. Just an observation. I remember the case well, I was in high school at the time. Everyone was afraid to take any over-the-counter meds (aspirin, cold medicine, or anything else) or they might end up dead. 😵 |
The early bird gets the worm, but the early worm gets eaten first.
| I remember this - I was 6 or 7 and we were watching the evening news. Mom and maw maw panicked and freaked out. I was sitting by dad on the couch. He leaned over and whispered I’m going to make you take Tylenol if you don’t keep your room clean. He didn’t believe in wasting a crisis. |
| My former father-in-law was a chief mechanic on the packaging lines at Bristol-Meyers back then. They made Excedrin and Bufferin and stopped production immediately. He had to work crazy overtime rearranging the plant and installing shrink wrapping machines and machines that sealed the bottles. |
"One day, your body will become your priority whether by choice or by consequence" - PK
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Originally Posted By chase237: “likely” the guy and “no smoking gun” sounds more like yeah theres a chance he did it so lets clear the books on this one. I guess for a 1982 case, fine call it solved. Doubt they could convict if still breathing on a few flimsy pieces of evidence but who knows. Yeah sure. Call me very skeptical on this one... |
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Originally Posted By Morgan321: There's been a rash of cold cases in the last couple years where authorities have publicly accused/tried/convicted dead people in the court of public opinion without evidence that is "beyond a reasonable doubt". There was a GD thread sometime in the last year or two about an instance of this and apparently the agency who announced their unilateral decision that a dead guy was guilty had received funding for cold case investigations. The obvious speculation is that they need to show results to secure more funding. I'm pretty much against accusing dead people since they can't defend themselves. If you have rock solid proof that's obviously OK, but all of these similar announcements base their decision on hearsay, circumstantial evidence, or things that can be explained away as chance or coincidence. None have had DNA evidence, newly discovered pictures/videos, deathbed confessions, etc. 💯 |
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Originally Posted By Countersniperkitty: That is how I remember it as well. Originally Posted By Countersniperkitty: Originally Posted By Orion10182011: I swear I saw a documentary where a husband killed his wife with laced Tylenol then stocked the local pharmacy(s) with several bottles to try and get away with it...  That is how I remember it as well. Stella Nickell? Linky |
"I would live this war one day at a time, and I promised myself that if I survived, I would find a small farm somewhere in the Pennsylvania countryside and spend the remainder of my life in quiet and peace.” - Richard Winters
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Originally Posted By Chaingun: What were the 3 Janus doing where they each required a Tylenol pill. That's odd Originally Posted By Chaingun: Originally Posted By kc-coyote: Sensational Tylenol Murders breakthrough as Idaho cops say mysterious 'Unknown wanderer' found dead in church in 1982 is doctor likely behind seven poison killings https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16154935/idaho-cold-case-tylenol-murders-chicago-illinois.html A mysterious man who died by suicide in an Idaho church in 1982 has finally been identified - and investigators have suggested he is likely the infamous Tylenol Murderer, who killed seven with cyanide-laced painkillers. The man - who was nicknamed 'the Unknown Wanderer' after his death - was Doctor Mathew Francis Betkouski, Ada County Sheriff's Office said in a press conference in Boise on Wednesday. Betkouski, of California, was found dead beneath a pew at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Idaho city on December 4, 1982, following a confessional service, Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said. He died of cyanide poisoning - the same method used to kill the seven victims of the Tylenol murderers just three months previously, during the final week of September 1982. Betkouski was finally tracked down thanks to one of 30 keys found on his body after his death, which was featured in a famous 1990 episode of Unsolved Mysteries. He was not linked to the Tylenol homicides at the time. ACSO Cold Case Detective Tim Cooper also produced multiple pieces of evidence that link Betkouski to the killings, although he said his office lacked a 'smoking gun' piece of evidence that would allow them to definitively name Betkouski as a suspect. While working as a chemist at the secretive White Sands testing facility in New Mexico, Betkouski is said to have said that tainting capsules with poison would be the perfect way to murder someone. He was fired over a disturbance at a local pharmacy and was someone who had a 'documented fascination' with chemistry and explosives, Cooper said. A woman was killed by cyanide poisoning at the same lab while he worked there and her death remains unsolved. Years after his death, authorities tracked down his family and visited his childhood home, where they uncovered a small bottle of cyanide that was 'likely homemade' and a map of Chicago, Cooper said. The cyanide was of a different variety from the type used in the Tylenol murders in the Windy City. He also made several phone calls to pharmaceutical and chemical supply companies in Pennsylvania just weeks before the Tylenol homicides. Cooper said that police also recovered photos of Betkouski visiting Chicago, and that they were likely taken around December 1981. Detective Cooper also highlighted rumors about Betkouski making a possible confession in the Catholic Church shortly before his suicide. He did not share those rumors and said they had never been verified, amid online chatter that Betkouski may have confessed to the Tylenol Murders shortly before taking his own life. Along with the filled keychain, a typed suicide note and $1,900 were found on Betkouski at the time of his death, according to Clifford. In the note, he said that he wanted the money to be used for his funeral and cremation. It was signed 'Wm. L. Toomey.' https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26697/Screenshot_2026-09-23_110816_png-3831716.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26697/Screenshot_2026-09-23_110841_png-3831717.JPG That's odd I was listening to a podcast talking about the poisonings. This was a year or more ago so I’m a little fuzzy on the details but one of the Janus brothers bought a tainted bottle and took it back to his place. He took some and was hospitalized and died. They didn’t immediately know what killed him so fast. The family met back at his house after all of them being at the hospital and in mourning. One of his brothers and his sister in law had a headache and took some of the poisoned Tylenol he had brought home. They were both then hospitalized and died and this is what led investigators to realizing it was the Tylenol. A straight up tragedy. |
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Originally Posted By JHMC79: I was listening to a podcast talking about the poisonings. This was a year or more ago so I'm a little fuzzy on the details but one of the Janus brothers bought a tainted bottle and took it back to his place. He took some and was hospitalized and died. They didn't immediately know what killed him so fast. The family met at his house after all of them being at the hospital and in mourning. One of his brothers and his sister in law had a headache and took some of the poisoned Tylenol he had brought home. They were both then hospitalized and died and this is what led investigators to realizing it was the Tylenol. A straight up tragedy. Originally Posted By JHMC79: Originally Posted By Chaingun: Originally Posted By kc-coyote: Sensational Tylenol Murders breakthrough as Idaho cops say mysterious 'Unknown wanderer' found dead in church in 1982 is doctor likely behind seven poison killings https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16154935/idaho-cold-case-tylenol-murders-chicago-illinois.html A mysterious man who died by suicide in an Idaho church in 1982 has finally been identified - and investigators have suggested he is likely the infamous Tylenol Murderer, who killed seven with cyanide-laced painkillers. The man - who was nicknamed 'the Unknown Wanderer' after his death - was Doctor Mathew Francis Betkouski, Ada County Sheriff's Office said in a press conference in Boise on Wednesday. Betkouski, of California, was found dead beneath a pew at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Idaho city on December 4, 1982, following a confessional service, Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said. He died of cyanide poisoning - the same method used to kill the seven victims of the Tylenol murderers just three months previously, during the final week of September 1982. Betkouski was finally tracked down thanks to one of 30 keys found on his body after his death, which was featured in a famous 1990 episode of Unsolved Mysteries. He was not linked to the Tylenol homicides at the time. ACSO Cold Case Detective Tim Cooper also produced multiple pieces of evidence that link Betkouski to the killings, although he said his office lacked a 'smoking gun' piece of evidence that would allow them to definitively name Betkouski as a suspect. While working as a chemist at the secretive White Sands testing facility in New Mexico, Betkouski is said to have said that tainting capsules with poison would be the perfect way to murder someone. He was fired over a disturbance at a local pharmacy and was someone who had a 'documented fascination' with chemistry and explosives, Cooper said. A woman was killed by cyanide poisoning at the same lab while he worked there and her death remains unsolved. Years after his death, authorities tracked down his family and visited his childhood home, where they uncovered a small bottle of cyanide that was 'likely homemade' and a map of Chicago, Cooper said. The cyanide was of a different variety from the type used in the Tylenol murders in the Windy City. He also made several phone calls to pharmaceutical and chemical supply companies in Pennsylvania just weeks before the Tylenol homicides. Cooper said that police also recovered photos of Betkouski visiting Chicago, and that they were likely taken around December 1981. Detective Cooper also highlighted rumors about Betkouski making a possible confession in the Catholic Church shortly before his suicide. He did not share those rumors and said they had never been verified, amid online chatter that Betkouski may have confessed to the Tylenol Murders shortly before taking his own life. Along with the filled keychain, a typed suicide note and $1,900 were found on Betkouski at the time of his death, according to Clifford. In the note, he said that he wanted the money to be used for his funeral and cremation. It was signed 'Wm. L. Toomey.' https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26697/Screenshot_2026-09-23_110816_png-3831716.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/26697/Screenshot_2026-09-23_110841_png-3831717.JPG That's odd I was listening to a podcast talking about the poisonings. This was a year or more ago so I'm a little fuzzy on the details but one of the Janus brothers bought a tainted bottle and took it back to his place. He took some and was hospitalized and died. They didn't immediately know what killed him so fast. The family met at his house after all of them being at the hospital and in mourning. One of his brothers and his sister in law had a headache and took some of the poisoned Tylenol he had brought home. They were both then hospitalized and died and this is what led investigators to realizing it was the Tylenol. A straight up tragedy. 
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Originally Posted By Whamo: My former father-in-law was a chief mechanic on the packaging lines at Bristol-Meyers back then. They made Excedrin and Bufferin and stopped production immediately. He had to work crazy overtime rearranging the plant and installing shrink wrapping machines and machines that sealed the bottles. And that was the start of safety covers, i remember as everything was pulled from shelfs until this was done... |