Submission + - California scientist emerges as possible Tylenol murders suspect (sfgate.com)
schwit1 writes: A man found dead in a church halfway across the country may have suddenly unlocked the key — quite literally — to one of America’s most famous unsolved crimes.
But although he had a successful career, working at one point for Lockheed Martin on a NASA-related project in New Mexico, Betkouski had a reputation for making unsettling comments. Former coworkers told Cooper that Betkouski spoke of how to commit a “perfect crime,” had a “history of volatility" and referenced cyanide as an ideal way to kill without detection. He also mentioned putting poison in over-the-counter medication, an especially worrisome comment coming from someone who had worked in multiple drugstores.
“It was said that Dr. Betkouski attempted to obtain some type of pills or capsules from a pharmacy in the Las Cruces area,” Cooper said at a press conference last week. “He said this would be for an experiment. For reasons not fully understood, Dr. Betkouski created a disturbance at the location and the police were summoned.”
Less than three months before Betkouski killed himself, a national terror was unfolding in Chicago. In late September 1982, seven people took over-the-counter Tylenol for their usual aches and pains. The capsules had been opened and filled with potassium cyanide, killing the people who took them.
But although he had a successful career, working at one point for Lockheed Martin on a NASA-related project in New Mexico, Betkouski had a reputation for making unsettling comments. Former coworkers told Cooper that Betkouski spoke of how to commit a “perfect crime,” had a “history of volatility" and referenced cyanide as an ideal way to kill without detection. He also mentioned putting poison in over-the-counter medication, an especially worrisome comment coming from someone who had worked in multiple drugstores.
“It was said that Dr. Betkouski attempted to obtain some type of pills or capsules from a pharmacy in the Las Cruces area,” Cooper said at a press conference last week. “He said this would be for an experiment. For reasons not fully understood, Dr. Betkouski created a disturbance at the location and the police were summoned.”
Less than three months before Betkouski killed himself, a national terror was unfolding in Chicago. In late September 1982, seven people took over-the-counter Tylenol for their usual aches and pains. The capsules had been opened and filled with potassium cyanide, killing the people who took them.
