8-Year-Old Girl’s Murder Solved After 65 Years — Investigators Identify Former Police Detective as Killer

CHICAGO — More than six decades after an eight-year-old girl was abducted and murdered while walking to church, investigators have announced a breakthrough in one of Chicago’s long-unsolved child homicide cases.

New forensic evidence has identified former Chicago police detective Thomas McInerney as the person responsible for the 1960 killing of Gloria Kowalewicz, according to authorities.

McInerney died in 2006 and therefore cannot face criminal prosecution.

A Little Girl Disappears on Her Way to Church

On November 12, 1960, Gloria Kowalewicz was walking to church when she was abducted.

Her body was subsequently discovered in a forest preserve southwest of Chicago. Investigators determined that the child had been fatally shot.

Police collected evidence during the original investigation, including a fingerprint, a bullet and personal belongings. However, the case remained unsolved for decades.

A Breakthrough More Than Six Decades Later

Advances in forensic science eventually allowed investigators to revisit evidence preserved from the original crime scene.

DNA recovered from Gloria’s coat became a crucial lead. Investigators used forensic genetic genealogy to help identify a possible suspect.

Further examination of the available forensic evidence led authorities to Thomas McInerney, a former Chicago homicide detective.

The Suspect Had Worked as a Police Detective

McInerney joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959, approximately one year before Gloria’s murder.

He later worked for federal public defenders in Nevada and died in 2006.

The revelation that a former law enforcement officer had been identified in the killing added a disturbing dimension to the decades-old investigation.

A Family Waited Decades for Answers

The announcement provided long-awaited information about what happened to Gloria, although it came too late for her parents, who died without learning the identity of the person investigators now believe killed their daughter.

Because McInerney is deceased, the case cannot proceed to a criminal trial against him.

The FBI is also examining whether he may have been connected to other previously unsolved crimes.

A 65-Year Mystery Finally Reaches a Breakthrough

The case illustrates how evidence collected generations ago can acquire new significance through modern forensic technology.

For Gloria’s surviving relatives, the announcement answers a question that remained unresolved for most of their lives, even though a courtroom verdict will never be possible.

Source: The Guardian, October 13, 2026. Reporting based on the Chicago Police Department’s cold-case investigation.