> Tylenol murders solved, Boise man identified

TBB

Damn I was a young man back then but I sure remember when it happened.

Was it Trump's fault?

Overview of the 1982 Murders

The Incident: In September and October 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules that had been laced with lethal doses of potassium cyanide.

The Victims: The dead included three members of one family (Adam Janus, his brother Stanley, and his sister-in-law Theresa), a 12-year-old girl (Mary Kellerman), and three others.

The Investigation: No one has ever been charged or convicted of the murders. James W. Lewis served time for sending an extortion letter to manufacturer Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million to "stop the killing," but investigators concluded he was not the killer. Lewis died in 2023.

Recent 2026 Cold Case Development

The "Unknown Wanderer": In September 2026, the Ada County Sheriff's Office in Idaho identified a December 1982 suicide victim—previously known as the "Unknown Wanderer" who died from cyanide in a Boise church—as Dr. Matthew Francis Betkouski, an organic chemist.

The Chicago Link: Investigators revealed that Betkouski had visited the Chicago area the year before the murders and had been fired from a job in early 1982 after a dispute at a pharmacy while trying to obtain capsules for an experiment.

Current Status: While authorities have stopped short of officially declaring Betkouski a suspect in the Chicago killings, law enforcement is actively examining whether his background and interest in cyanide connect him to the unsolved 1982 murders