Idaho cold case may be tied to unsolved 1982 Tylenol murders, authorities say

Key Points:

• Authorities have identified Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski, who died by cyanide poisoning over 40 years ago, as a possible suspect in the 1982 Chicago-area "Tylenol murders" that involved cyanide-laced painkillers and led to child safety caps on medicines.
• Betkouski was found dead in an Idaho church and buried anonymously; investigators used an engraved key, photos, and DNA testing to confirm his identity and linked him to the poisonings through his history working in drugstores and fascination with "perfect crimes."
• Cyanide was found in Betkouski’s desk, though it differed chemically from the poison used in the Tylenol murders, and although he never lived in Illinois, he visited the Chicago area a year before the killings.
• Chicago police are coordinating with Idaho authorities to assess the connection, but no charges have been filed, and the case remains open; previously, James Lewis was suspected but never charged and died in 2023 after serving time for extortion related to the case.
• The Tylenol murders remain unsolved, but this new investigation into Betkouski’s potential involvement has revived interest in the cold case decades after the poisonings shocked the nation.