Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski: Idaho cold case leads detectives to 1982 Tylenol murders with cyanide in Chicago-area - ABC7 Chicago

Idaho's Ada County Sheriff's Office has identified Dr. Matthew Betkouski, a chemist previously known as the "Unknown Wanderer," as a man warranting further scrutiny in the 1982 Chicago-area Tylenol murders.
Betkouski, who had a history of mental illness, died by suicide inside a Catholic church in Boise, Idaho, in December 1982, and investigators say co-workers later recalled troubling statements he had made during his career.
According to Detective Tim Cooper, Betkouski allegedly discussed "the perfect crime" and cyanide while working for a Jacksonville fragrance company, and later commented on how poison could be introduced into over-the-counter capsules while employed at Lockheed Martin in New Mexico in early 1982.
The Tylenol poisonings killed seven people across the Chicago area within 24 hours in September 1982, including a 12-year-old child and three members of a single Arlington Heights family, prompting the recall of millions of bottles.
Investigators placed Betkouski in Chicago in late 1981 but found no evidence he was in the area during the September 1982 killings; Cooper said he cannot place the suspect at the scene but also cannot dismiss his statements and actions.
James Lewis was previously imprisoned on an extortion charge tied to the case but was never identified as the killer; the Chicago and Arlington Heights police departments have received Ada County's investigative file and are reviewing it.