Mathew Francis Betkouski:1943-1982, Tylenol Poisoner?
Mathew Francis Betkouski went unidentified in death for just over 4 decades. He went unidentified in death longer than he had been alive. Mathew was found deceased in Sacred Heart Church in Boise, Idaho on October 31st, 1982. All Souls Day is a day to remember those who have died that we love and miss. It is also Halloween and the day before All Saints Day. It is a very significant day to kill oneself in a church.
Mathew's mother was Apollonia Frances Schneider Betkouski and his father was Marcellian Richard “Jim” Betkouski. Mathew had an older brother named Mark. The family lived in Los Angeles, California according to the 1950 Census.
Mathew went to Notre Dame High School and Loyola Marymount University. He earned a doctorate and worked as a chemist.
When you grow up Catholic and studious, you can sometimes get addicted to achievement. You want to get all your Sacraments. You want to get good grades and all the degrees. You measure success by those things. Sometimes you measure success by your accomplishments in life like marriage, a good job, a nice house and car. These things become your self worth. Those things are nice but you are still very worthy without them.
In 1974, Dr. Mathew Betkouski suffered a traumatic brain injury. His friends and family said he became paranoid and distant after the injury.
The late 1970’s brought more sadness. His mother, Apollonia, passed away in 1979.
In 1981, Mathew and his wife, Marianne, divorced. I did not find much information about their marriage or the divorce. But, we all know that very few divorces are harmonious.
Around that time he was reportedly fired for taking chemicals from his workplace.
In May of 1982, he was working at a NASA facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. In his spare time, he had worked on an invention. It was a new type of lock. He was still working out the kinks on the invention he said. A newspaper article about his and other inventions at the convention in Pennsylvania was published. Mathew found the article to be embarrassing.
The same day that the article was published, Mathew’s father passed away. All of those stressful events seem to have taken a toll on Mathew. His older brother, Mark, lost touch with Mathew after that.
Investigators in Idaho have reported that around this time, someone in Las Cruces, died from cyanide poisoning. Was that person known to Mathew? Was it a work colleague?
In September of 1982, seven people died from Tylenol that had been tampered with in the Chicago area. Cyanide was determined to be the poison added to those bottles. We do not know that it was Mathew Betkouski who tampered with those bottles. Nothing has been proven. But, investigators in Idaho think that he may have been involved. If he poisoned the person in Las Cruces, did he do this Chicago poisoning as a way to muddy the waters into the Las Cruces poisoning investigation?
Tylenol responded to the poisoning quickly and recalled millions of bottles from shelves. It was a terrifying time. Packaging changed forever. Before this, most medicine bottles were easy to open. After these poisonings, medicines came in "tamper evident" packaging. One could now easily tell if the bottle had been opened before. It makes good sense and it is surprising that it took such a terrible incident to improve packaging standards.
On October 31st 1982, just 7 days after his birthday, Mathew died by cyanide poisoning in a Boise, Idaho church. He was found half under the pew. To me, it looks like he was probably kneeling when he took the cyanide. The kneeler was in the down position. (In Catholic Churches there are structures to kneel on during Mass that fold up and away when one is walking through the pews.)
Did he kill himself because he felt guilty? Was he just depressed? Had he run out of ways to feel a sense of accomplishment?
Catholics believe it is a sin to commit suicide. They believe that the act will exclude you from heaven. If Mathew was a believer, then his suicide was a very difficult decision. Perhaps he did it in church to try to show that he was penitent even though he was going to take the poison. Perhaps he felt comfort there. Perhaps he felt close to his mother and father there.
Mathew had no identification on him when he committed suicide. For more than four decades people had no idea who he was. He was very recently identified in September of 2026.
Was he the Tylenol poisoner? Perhaps. Several circumstantial things point to the possibility.
I was very drawn to this news story. I remember when Tylenol disappeared overnight from the shelves. I was a child but it left a big impression on me. I was also drawn to this story because I am a big advocate for suicide prevention and greater access to mental health help.
Mathew Francis Betkouski lived in a time where seeking out help for anxiety and depression was taboo. It was a career killer. Today getting help is not as stigmatized but there is still a long way to go. If only he had gotten some help.
If he was the poisoner, and he had sought help before the tampering, seven people in Chicago might still be alive.
I know a great many people find comfort in their faith. But, growing up Catholic can be a very stifling and rigid way to grow up.
Mathew was definitely struggling with something there in that church in Boise.
Mark Betkouski died without knowing where his brother went and what happened to him.
May they Rest In Peace.
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