Chicago police detective identified as killer in 1960 girl's murder

Investigators in Chicago have identified the killer in the 1960 murder of eight-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz, a case that remained unsolved for over 65 years. Using advanced DNA analysis and forensic genealogy, the FBI and local authorities linked the crime to Thomas Francis McInerney Jr., a former Chicago police detective.

Kowalewicz disappeared on November 12, 1960, while walking to a local church in the West Englewood neighborhood. Her body was discovered hours later in a ditch, having sustained two gunshot wounds to the head. Despite an extensive investigation at the time involving thousands of interviews, the perpetrator was never caught.

McInerney, who was 24 at the time of the murder, went on to serve as a police officer and detective for nearly 30 years. He eventually retired and moved to Las Vegas, where he died in 2006 at the age of 70. The breakthrough in the case came through the comparison of DNA profiles found on the victim's clothing with genealogical data.