A 65-year-old Chicago murder mystery has been solved through modern DNA technology, authorities say — revealing that the man responsible for killing 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz was a police officer who had been expected to protect the community.
Investigators reportedly used DNA information linked to a genetic genealogy website to identify former Chicago homicide detective Thomas Francis McInerney as a suspect in Gloria’s death on Nov. 12, 1960, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The case horrified Chicago when Gloria’s body was discovered in a ravine several miles from her family’s West Englewood residence. She had been shot twice in the head.
Gloria had last been seen leaving home for what was supposed to be a brief walk to a nearby church, where she planned to receive communion.
Her disappearance triggered an enormous search involving Chicago and Illinois law enforcement, along with volunteers from the city’s firefighters, Boy Scouts and veterans organizations, the Tribune reported.
Detectives eventually determined that Gloria had been transported to the wooded area before she was killed. Witnesses also described seeing a young girl with a man, but investigators could not establish the man’s identity or make an arrest.
The breakthrough came earlier this year when FBI investigators used DNA submitted to a family-tree website to link McInerney, who was 24 when the crime occurred, to evidence from the scene, according to the outlet.
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Additional examination of DNA, fingerprints and ballistic evidence led Chicago police to determine that McInerney — an Army veteran who lived near Gloria’s home — was responsible for the child’s killing.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno credited generations of investigators for continuing to pursue the case, telling the Tribune that the department’s work showed, “we don’t forget.”
Bruno said the finding that the suspect had served as a police officer was especially disturbing to those in law enforcement, while stressing that the department would not downplay or avoid that reality.
Gloria’s brother, Adam Kowalewicz, said the identification brought relief after decades of uncertainty. He hoped the news would help his late parents finally “rest.”
At the same time, Kowalewicz expressed anger that McInerney, who died in 2006, never faced legal consequences for his alleged role in Gloria’s death.
“He never paid his dues,” Kowalewicz told the Tribune, adding that he hoped McInerney would answer for his actions before God.
McInerney spent 28 years with the Chicago Police Department before becoming an investigator for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Las Vegas and Reno. He retired in 2004 and was recognized as the Outstanding Federal Defender Investigator in 2003, according to an online obituary.
McInerney was the father of five, including three daughters, and had numerous grandchildren. His family could not be reached for comment.