DNA Links Ex-Detective to Girl's 1960 Murder

DNA and Fingerprint Identify Former Officer

DNA and a fingerprint have linked a former Chicago homicide detective to a girl killed after she disappeared walking to church in 1960. Chicago police identified Thomas F. McInerney Jr. as responsible for the death of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz.

McInerney died in 2006, decades before police announced the identification. He was a patrol officer when Gloria was killed and later became a detective.

A Church Walk Ended in an Abduction

Gloria left her West Englewood home for St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church on Nov. 12, 1960. Police said she was abducted before reaching the church; her body was later found in a forest preserve southwest of Chicago.

Investigators interviewed more than 1,300 people and preserved evidence from the case. That evidence included Gloria’s clothing and a fingerprint lifted from the strap of her white communion purse.

Genealogy Work Led to an Employment Record

Testing produced a male DNA profile from evidence on Gloria’s clothing in 2010. The profile did not immediately identify a suspect.

In 2024, the FBI compared the profile with genetic information submitted to family-tree research databases at Chicago police’s request. Investigators said that work identified McInerney.

Police then matched the print from Gloria’s purse to fingerprints on McInerney’s 1959 police job application. The department said the DNA and fingerprint supported the identification, which was made in July.

Investigators Examine Other Unsolved Cases

McInerney became a detective in 1964 and retired from Chicago police in 1987. Whether he ever participated in Gloria’s murder investigation remains unclear.

The FBI said it was pursuing leads in other potentially related unsolved crimes. Gloria’s surviving brother, Adam Kowalewicz, was an infant when she died; McInerney died without being prosecuted in the case.

References: Chicago police find killer in 65-year-old cold case murder of little girl - one of their own | DNA, Fingerprint Link Former CPD Detective To 8-Year-Old Girl’s 1960 Murder: Police