Chicago Police Identify Ex-Officer in 1960 Gloria Kowalewicz Murder
Cold-case detectives used DNA, fingerprints and ballistics to link the killing to a former Chicago police officer, ending a 65-year search for answers.
- Chicago Police Department investigators identified former officer Thomas Francis McInerney as the suspected killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz, closing a nearly 66-year-old cold case using DNA and fingerprint evidence from his 1959 job application.
- Gloria Kowalewicz disappeared on November 12, 1960, while walking to mass, sparking a citywide manhunt; investigators preserved a bullet, her coat, and a fingerprint on her purse strap that eventually linked McInerney to the crime.
- Using investigative genetic genealogy, the FBI compared DNA from Gloria's coat against family-tree databases, a process similar to the method used to capture "The Golden State Killer," finally linking crime-scene evidence to McInerney.
- Adam Kowalewicz, Gloria's brother, expressed relief the case is closed but remains frustrated McInerney died in 2006 without facing justice; the Chicago Police Department stated, "McInerney should never have worn the CPD star."
- Federal investigators are checking McInerney's DNA profile against the Combined DNA Index System to determine if he is responsible for other unsolved crimes from that period, the FBI stated it is "pursuing every investigative lead.
44 Articles
44 Articles
Chicago police say DNA ties a former detective to decades-old unsolved
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police say DNA evidence ties one of their former homicide detectives to the decades-old murder of an 8-year-old girl who was abducted as she was walking to church more than 65 years ago.
Child Murder Cold Case From 1960 Now Tied to Chicago Cop
An infamous Chicago cold case has ended with an accusation against a man who once investigated Killings for the city. The Guardian reports that Chicago police have now named formed homicide detective Thomas McInerney as the person who abducted and fatally shot 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz in 1960—more than 65...
Winnipeg Free Press
Chicago police say DNA ties a former detective to decades-old unsolved killing of 8-year-old girl
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police say DNA evidence ties one of their former homicide detectives to the decades-old murder of an 8-year-old girl who was abducted as she was walking to church more than 65 years ago.
8-year-old girl murdered on way to church — 65 years later, cops uncover shocking suspect in cold case
An 8-year-old Illinois girl vanished while walking to church in 1960 and was later found shot to death in a wooded area — sparking a chilling murder mystery that remained unsolved for more than 65 years.Now, a stunning breakthrough in the decades-old cold case has led investigators to a very unlikely suspect: a Chicago police officer who spent nearly 30 years investigating sex crimes and homicides. 'And as far as we’re concerned, he’s a murderer…
Chicago Police Department Solves 65-Year-Old Cold Case: Finds One of Their Own Was the Murderer
The Chicago Police Department has solved a 65-year-old cold case regarding the death of Gloria Kowalewicz, an eight-year-old who was killed was while walking from her house to church on November 12, 1960.
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