A cold-case murder investigation that spanned more than 65 years has been officially resolved by Chicago authorities who identified a former city homicide detective as the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz.
Advances in forensic technology, specifically DNA extracted through a genetic ancestry website and a carefully preserved fingerprint, allowed investigators to connect Thomas Francis McInerney to the 1960 abduction and slaying, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The Disappearance and Discovery
Gloria vanished on Nov. 12, 1960, after leaving her family’s West Englewood home shortly before 8 a.m. to walk to morning Mass at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Church a few blocks away. The third-grader, who had recently received her First Communion, was wearing a pink-and-brown checkered dress and blue leotard picked out by her mother.
When she failed to return, the disappearance triggered a massive citywide manhunt involving local and state police, firefighters, Boy Scouts, and veterans who interviewed more than 1,300 people and checked hundreds of leads.
Roughly four hours after she left home, a motorist spotted her colorful dress in a ditch at a forest preserve southwest of Chicago. Investigators determined she had been taken to the woods before being shot twice in the head. Police inventoried a bullet, her coat, shoes, and a white communion purse containing her prayer book, lifting a single fingerprint from the purse’s strap.
The Investigation and Suspect Background
Despite the exhaustive initial manhunt, the case languished for decades. At the time of the murder, McInerney was a 24-year-old patrol officer living around the corner from the Kowalewicz family, according to the Chicago Tribune. He had joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959.
For 65 years, the murder of an 8-year-old Chicago girl remained unsolved. Her killer was a police officer who later became a homicide detective. On the morning of November 12, 1960, Gloria Kowalewicz left her family’s home in Chicago’s West Englewood neighborhood to walk just…
McInerney later transitioned into a detective role investigating violent crimes, serving on the force for 28 years until his retirement in 1987. Following his departure from the department, he relocated to Nevada and worked as an investigator for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Las Vegas and Reno until retiring in 2004. He was named Outstanding Federal Defender Investigator in 2003.
McInerney died in 2006 at the age of 70, escaping criminal charges during his lifetime. It remained unclear whether he was ever officially assigned to Gloria’s murder investigation during his tenure on the police force.
Institutional Response and Ongoing Review
The breakthrough came earlier this year when federal and state investigators utilized modern genealogical DNA profiling alongside the preserved fingerprint and ballistics evidence, linking McInerney to the crime scene.
“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,” the Chicago Police Department said in a statement. CPD Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno told the Chicago Tribune that while the discovery was deeply troubling for a noble profession, the department would not shy away from the truth.
Gloria’s brother, Adam Kowalewicz, who was an infant when his sister was killed, expressed mixed feelings upon learning the identity of her killer. He noted that while he was relieved the case was solved for the sake of his deceased parents, he was frustrated that McInerney lived out his life without paying for his crimes.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the FBI are now examining whether McInerney may be linked to other unsolved crimes committed during that era. The FBI stated it is pursuing every available lead regarding potential other victims based on the profiling of child predators and victimology from that period.
