Note: A previous report on the Tylenol murders can be found in the player above.
Idaho authorities are expected to reveal a possible connection between a cold case and the 1982 Tylenol murders that gripped the Chicago area on Wednesday.
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office said it will share new information about an unidentified man who died in a Boise church in 1982 and became known as “the Unknown Wanderer.” The mystery has remained one of Idaho’s longest unsolved cold cases.
A news conference planned for 10 a.m. Mountain Time will include representatives from the television series “Unsolved Mysteries,” which featured the “Unknown Wanderer” case in 1990, as well as a cold case detective and the Ada County sheriff.
Authorities have not shared details about the potential connection to the Tylenol murders ahead of the announcement.
The Tylenol murders were seven fatal poisonings that terrorized the Chicago area and have remained unsolved more than 40 years later. The victims died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide.
In addition to sparking a panic across the Chicago area and the nation, the murders forever changed the way medications are packaged, prompting the introduction of tamper-evident pill containers. James W. Lewis, the main suspect in the case, died in 2023.
According to thedoenetwork.org, the man known as the “Unknown Wanderer” was discovered under a pew at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise on Dec. 4, 1982.
Investigators determined he had died by suicide after ingesting cyanide. A type-written note and $1,900 were located with the body. The note described the man’s wishes for the money to be used for his funeral and cremation, and that the remaining funds be donated to the church.
The note was signed with the alias “Wm. L. Toomey.”
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