Idaho officials have identified a man who was found dead in a 1982 cold case, according to The Spokesman-Review. The case is known locally as that of the "Unknown Wanderer," and the identification was reported by idahonews.com.
Coverage of the identification has raised the question of whether the man had any connection to the 1982 Tylenol murders, the deaths caused by cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules that drew national attention that same year. WGN-TV reported that the man, described as "brilliant," had links to Chicago before the Tylenol murders occurred.
Not every outlet has drawn the same conclusion. NBC 5 Chicago reported that the man's identity was released with no established tie to the Chicago Tylenol murders. FOX 32 Chicago reported that police in Arlington Heights, Illinois, responded to what it called a "possible connection" between the Idaho cold case and the Tylenol murders.
The accounts differ on whether a link exists, and the material available does not establish one. What is clear is that Idaho authorities have now named the man in the decades-old Boise case, and that his background has drawn the attention of investigators in the Chicago area.
Watch for statements from Idaho officials and from Arlington Heights police clarifying whether the man is considered a person of interest in the Tylenol murders or whether the two cases remain unconnected.
