Chicago police say DNA evidence and a fingerprint preserved from the 1960 crime scene have identified former department detective Thomas F. McInerney Jr. as the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz. McInerney died in 2006 and was never charged in her death.
Kowalewicz disappeared on Nov. 12, 1960, while walking to St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Church in Chicago. Her body was found about four hours later in a forest preserve southwest of the city. She had been shot.
Police said evidence retained from the investigation—including a fingerprint recovered from the strap of a purse—was examined with modern forensic methods. Chicago police worked with the FBI and Illinois State Police, according to the department.
McInerney joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959, later served as a detective investigating violent crimes, and retired from the department in 1987. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is working to determine whether he may have been involved in other cases, the Associated Press reported.
The original investigation included interviews with more than 1,300 people, but the case remained unresolved for decades. Police said Kowalewicz’s parents died before learning who killed their daughter. The department said identifying McInerney may provide some closure to people who knew her.
