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DNA and fingerprint evidence identified Thomas F. McInerney Jr., a former Chicago police detective, as the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz in 1960.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
Chicago police have identified Thomas F. McInerney Jr., a former homicide detective for the Chicago Police Department, as the killer of Gloria Kowalewicz, an 8-year-old girl murdered in 1960. The identification was made possible by DNA technology that did not exist at the time of the crime, combined with a preserved fingerprint.
Gloria Kowalewicz was abducted on Nov. 12, 1960, while walking to morning Mass at St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church on the South Side of Chicago. Police said she was dressed in a pink-and-brown checkered dress and a blue leotard. She never arrived at the church.
Her body was found about two hours later in a forest preserve in Palos Hills, southwest of Chicago. According to CBS Chicago, she had been fatally shot twice in the head and also had bruises to her neck. Contemporary newspaper reports indicated that responding officers found enough blood in the woods to believe she was killed there before her body was left behind.
Investigators collected evidence from the scene, including a bullet, Gloria’s coat, her shoes, and her white communion purse containing her prayer book. Police also lifted a fingerprint from the strap of the purse. Despite a citywide manhunt that involved interviewing more than 1,300 people and questioning more than a dozen under a polygraph, the case remained unsolved for 65 years.
In 2010, investigators built a male DNA profile from traces of semen found on Gloria’s clothes, but this did not lead to an arrest. In 2024, at the request of Chicago police, the FBI compared the DNA with genetic samples submitted to family tree research websites. This process identified McInerney.
According to the Chicago Police Department, investigators then matched McInerney’s fingerprints from his 1959 job application to the fingerprint found on Gloria’s purse strap. "Identification was made through a fingerprint and DNA left behind at the crime scene," the CPD said in a statement.
McInerney was a 24-year-old patrol officer when Gloria was killed and was promoted to detective in 1964. He retired from the Chicago Police Department in 1987 after 28 years on the job. He later worked for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Nevada, where he was named Outstanding Federal Defender Investigator in 2003. McInerney died in 2006 at age 70 in Las Vegas.
The FBI stated that McInerney’s DNA is in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and that the agency is checking whether there might be other victims. "Based on the evidence in the Kowalewicz case, and law enforcement’s profiling of child predators and their victimology, we are pursuing every investigative lead that may bring closure on other potential unsolved crimes that occurred during that time period in our area," the FBI said.
Police have not determined why McInerney targeted Gloria. His parents lived less than a mile from the Kowalewicz family, but police said there is no evidence of previous contact between McInerney and the child.
The resolution of the Kowalewicz case highlights the impact of modern forensic techniques, such as genetic genealogy, on solving historical crimes. It also raises questions about the vetting and oversight of law enforcement personnel, as McInerney served as a detective for decades after the murder. The Chicago Police Department acknowledged the failure to hold him accountable while he was alive, stating, "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."
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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