Former Chicago detective identified as killer in 65-year-old cold case

DNA evidence from genealogy website ties Thomas McInerney to 1960 murder of eight-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz

By LineZotpaper

Published13 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Chicago police said on Monday that newly discovered DNA evidence has tied the 1960 murder of eight-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz to Thomas McInerney, a former homicide detective with the Chicago police department who died 20 years ago, after retiring from the force and later working as an investigator in Nevada.

The Chicago police department (CPD) said in a statement that DNA submitted to a family tree website earlier in 2026 enabled the FBI to link McInerney to the scene of Gloria's murder. Further DNA, fingerprint and ballistic testing then established that McInerney, a US army veteran who lived around the corner from the girl, had killed her, according to the statement. The Chicago Tribune first reported the identification on Sunday.

Gloria was last seen alive on the morning of 12 November 1960 as she walked from her family's home in the West Englewood neighbourhood to a mass at a nearby church. She never reached the service. Someone abducted her on the way and fatally shot her, and within hours her body was found discarded in a ditch at a forest preserve south-west of Chicago, police said.

Officers secured evidence at the scene including a bullet, her coat and a white communion purse with a prayer book inside. Police also lifted a fingerprint from the strap of the purse. A police-headed taskforce interviewed about 1,300 people in connection with the slaying, among them a dozen individuals given lie-detector tests, with volunteers from local firefighters, Boy Scouts and military veterans joining the search. None of that produced a suspect at the time.

McInerney joined the Chicago police force in 1959 and was about to turn 25 at the time of Gloria's murder, according to his obituary, published after his death on 30 August 2006. He was investigating homicides for the CPD when he retired in 1987, then worked as an investigator for the federal public defender's office in Nevada.

The CPD statement expressed hope the news "brings a measure of closure to all who knew Gloria and her story". "McInerney should have never worn the CPD star," it added. "And it is devastating to accept that he was never identified and held accountable while he was alive."

Analysis

Why This Matters

The case shows how genetic genealogy databases continue to resolve decades-old crimes that defeated traditional policing.
That the killer was a serving Chicago detective raises questions about accountability and trust in law enforcement.
Because McInerney died in 2006, no criminal justice outcome is possible, which may leave the victim's family and the public without formal resolution.

Background

Gloria Kowalewicz was abducted and shot on her way to church on 12 November 1960 in Chicago's West Englewood neighbourhood. Despite a large search and a taskforce that interviewed roughly 1,300 people and administered lie-detector tests, police could not identify a suspect at the time. Investigators preserved physical evidence including a bullet, the girl's coat and a communion purse from which a fingerprint was lifted, evidence that later proved decisive when DNA matching techniques improved.

Key Perspectives

[Chicago police department]: The CPD presents the identification as the product of new DNA testing and expresses hope it brings closure, while acknowledging the failure to catch McInerney during his lifetime. [Victim's family and community]: The resolution answers a long-standing question about who killed Gloria, though the fact that the perpetrator died unpunished may temper any sense of justice. [Critics and skeptics]: Some may question how a serving detective avoided detection for decades and note that with McInerney dead, there is no trial, no confession and no way to test the finding in court.

What to Watch

Whether authorities investigate whether McInerney was connected to any other unsolved crimes during his years on the force.
How the FBI and police describe the genetic genealogy methods used, which rely on suspect DNA and family-tree databases.
Any further reporting from the Chicago Tribune on the investigative trail that led to the identification.

Sources

Ex-Chicago detective identified as killing child in 65-year cold case — World news | The Guardian