BOISE, Idaho — Nearly 44 years ago, a man was found dead inside Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise.
He had a suicide note, 19 $100 bills in his pocket and no identification. No one knew his real name.
He died from cyanide poisoning.
Now, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office says investigators and the team behind Unsolved Mysteries have answers about the decades-old mystery.
Investigators are also expected to reveal a possible connection between the Boise cold case and the 1982 Tylenol poisonings in Chicago.
Watch below for the full story on Boise’s “Unknown Wanderer” —
The ‘Unknown Wanderer’ case
The man now known as the “Unknown Wanderer” was found dead next to a pew inside Sacred Heart Catholic Church in December of 1982.
He was carrying 19 $100 bills and a suicide note signed “William Toomey.” Investigators later determined that it was a fake name.
Former Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg spoke with Idaho News 6 about the case several years later.
“The fact that he was well groomed, uh, clothes were nice and neat, he looked like a very professional person, and yet there's just nothing... Nothing found on him," Sonnenberg said. "It's, you know, it just leaves a lot of suspicion of what was going on, why he killed himself.”
Idaho News 6 also interviewed former Boise police detective Frank Richardson, who investigated the case.
“I was good at my job and prided myself on I don’t care what it was, but I would solve it. I didn’t do this one.”
Richardson later died, but the mystery continued for decades.
Now, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office and Unsolved Mysteries say they have identified the man.
Possible Tylenol connection
The sheriff’s office says the new investigation may also reveal a connection between the "Unknown Wanderer" case and the 1982 Tylenol poisonings in Chicago.
Seven people died after taking Tylenol capsules contaminated with cyanide.
READ MORE | 1982 Tylenol murders: What happened and why the case could have a Boise connection
The poisonings happened in September 1982, about two months before the "Unknown Wanderer" was found dead in Boise.
The Tylenol case remains unsolved, but the poisonings led to major changes in the way over-the-counter medications are packaged.
Investigators have not yet explained what connection, if any, they believe exists between the two cases. More details are expected during Wednesday’s news conference.
The "Unknown Wanderer" was cremated and buried in Eagle. His headstone bears the name “William Toomey,” the same name used on the suicide note, but that name could soon change.
Ada County Cold Case Detective Tim Cooper and Sheriff Matt Clifford are expected to speak at Wednesday's press conference, along with forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz and Unsolved Mysteries co-creator and executive producer Terry Dunn Meurer.
Idaho News 6 will livestream the news conference online, on air and on Facebook beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
