Idaho Identifies 1982 'Unknown Wanderer,' Shares Cyanide Evidence With Chicago
Ada County investigators on Sept. 23, 2026 identified the 1982 "Unknown Wanderer" found dead in a Boise church as Dr. Matthew Francis Betkouski and shared a homemade cyanide bottle and other Chicago-linked items with Chicago police.[1]
Investigators say Betkouski had lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and his belongings included a hand-drawn map of Chicago and photos of him in the Chicago area, items now sent to Chicago police as possible evidence.[1]
The body was discovered Dec. 4, 1982 inside Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise, where the man remained unidentified until DNA testing led Ada County to his name this week.[1]
Ada County investigators said they cannot place Betkouski in Chicago during the late-September 1982 Tylenol poisonings and they are not naming him a suspect, but they have shared the materials to assist Chicago's probe.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On December 4, 1982, an unidentified man later dubbed the 'Unknown Wanderer' was found dead in Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise, Idaho.
- On September 23, 2026, Ada County investigators identified him via DNA as Dr. Matthew Francis Betkouski, who had lived in Jacksonville, Florida.
- Betkouski's belongings included a hand-drawn map of Chicago, photos of him in the Chicago area and a bottle of homemade cyanide, which have been shared with Chicago police as possible evidence in the 1982 Tylenol murder investigation.
- Investigators say they cannot place Betkouski in Chicago during the late September 1982 Tylenol poisonings and are not naming him a suspect.
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