Chicago Police Say DNA Ties Retired Detective to 1960 Murder of 8-Year-Old Girl

Chicago police say a former homicide detective who spent nearly three decades on the force has been identified through DNA and a preserved fingerprint as the man who killed 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz in 1960, a crime that went unsolved for more than 65 years.

Thomas F. McInerney Jr. joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959, a year before Gloria disappeared. He went on to work as a detective investigating violent crimes and stayed with the department until he retired in 1987. He later worked for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Nevada, retiring again in 2004. He died in 2006 at age 70, never charged in connection with Gloria’s death.

Gloria vanished on Nov. 12, 1960, after leaving her home just before 8 a.m. to walk a few blocks to morning Mass at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Church. Her body was found about four hours later in a ditch at a forest preserve southwest of Chicago. She had been shot.

The killing triggered one of the city’s largest investigations of the era, with police interviewing more than 1,300 people and canvassing hundreds of homes. No one was ever charged, and the case went cold for decades.

Investigators had kept key evidence from the scene, including a bullet, Gloria’s coat and shoes, and a white communion purse that held her prayer book. A fingerprint recovered from the purse’s strap proved crucial once forensic technology caught up.

Working with the FBI and Illinois State Police, Chicago investigators used modern DNA analysis alongside that fingerprint to link the evidence to McInerney.

“McInerney should never have worn the CPD star, and it is devastating to accept that he was never identified and held accountable while he was alive,” Chicago police said in a statement.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is now reviewing other cases that may have involved McInerney, according to The Associated Press.

Police said Gloria’s parents died without ever learning who killed their daughter, but said they hope identifying McInerney brings some measure of closure to those who knew her.