Ada County Sheriff’s Office Detective Tim Cooper in a news conference Wednesday identified Mathew Francis Betkouski, a Lockheed Martin organic chemist who worked on NASA-related projects, as the man who poisoned himself with cyanide in Sacred Heart Catholic Church and was buried without a name. The case was reopened in 2019 because a church member had asked about its progress.
The chaos and uncertainty began in the greater Chicago area in the fall of 1982, when 12-year-old Mary Kellerman died in the hospital after consuming Tylenol capsules. Six more people, all below the age of 35 and also living in the Chicago area, died the same way.
Investigators discovered the capsules were laced with a lethal dose of cyanide, leading to a widespread recall of Tylenol and immediate removal of the medication across shelves nationwide.
Referred to as the “Unknown Wanderer” before his identification, Betkouski had a documented fascination with chemistry and explosives. His odd behavior increased following a brain injury in 1974 from falling off a tall fence, Cooper said, adding that though plagued with mental illness, Betkouski was a brilliant man who struggled to connect with people.
It’s kinda funny how many of these cases are just due to shitty policing. In hindsight, it’s really clear what he was up to.
While working in the area of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Betkouski attempted to obtain capsules of some kind in March of 1982. Police were called to a pharmacy and escorted him home, Cooper said. That’s when they discovered he was taking unauthorized material from his lab at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico and later found cyanide in his room. Co-workers said Betkouski would often discuss how cyanide could be used in “the perfect crime.”
He also made frequent calls to chemical supply and pharmaceutical companies in Pennsylvania in the weeks before the Tylenol homicides.
