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Chicago Police used new DNA technology to solve the 65-year-old cold case murder of an 8-year-old girl named Gloria Kowalewicz, revealing that her killer was former Chicago homicide detective Thomas Francis McInerney. Gloria had been found shot in a ravine near her home on November 12, 1960, after being last seen heading to church for communion. Investigators finally linked McInerney to the crime scene through DNA from a genetic ancestry website and additional forensic evidence, despite him dying in 2006. Gloria’s brother expressed relief at identifying his sister's murderer but frustration that McInerney avoided justice during his lifetime.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In November 1960, 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz was murdered in Chicago, her body found shot twice in the head in a ravine miles from her home. The case remained unsolved for over 65 years, despite extensive investigations and searches involving local police, state authorities, firefighters, Boy Scouts, and veterans. Recently, investigators used DNA evidence from a family tree website to identify Thomas Francis McInerney, a former Chicago homicide detective who was 24 at the time of the crime, as Gloria’s killer. The breakthrough allowed Gloria's brother Adam Kowalewicz to express relief that his sister’s murderer had been identified, hoping it would provide closure for their parents who have since passed away.
Written for “Cold Case Detective Killer” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 73125 · logged 2026-10-12
The cold-case murder of an 8-year-old Chicago girl that remained a mystery for over 65 years was finally cracked with the help of new DNA technology — and her killer turned out to be one of the very people who was supposed to protect her, a cop.
asserted
who → remain → her
New DNA evidence gathered from a genetic ancestry website led Chicago Police Department investigators to suspect former Chicago homicide detective Thomas Francis McInerney was responsible for the death of little Gloria Kowalewicz on Nov. 12, 1960, the Chicago Tribune reported.
asserted
Tribune → gather → Nov.
Gloria’s murder shocked the Windy City more than six decades ago after her body was found in a ravine miles from her family’s West Englewood home.
asserted
body → shock → home
She had been shot twice in the head.
asserted
She → shoot → head
The little girl was last seen starting off from home on a short walk to a nearby church in order to receive communion.
asserted
girl → see → communion
The shocking murder ignited a massive manhunt for the killer by local and state police, as well as volunteer help from local firefighters, Boy Scouts and veterans, the Tribune reported.
asserted
Tribune → ignite → firefighters
Investigators made some progress – deducing that Gloria hadn’t been killed until she was taken to nearby woods and collecting eyewitness reports of a little girl seen with a young man, but they hadn’t been able to identify a suspect.
The investigation was finally broken open earlier this year, the outlet reported,after the FBI was able to connect McInerney, who was 24 at the time, to the crime scene thanks to DNA submitted to a family tree website.
asserted
who → make → website
Further testing of DNA, fingerprints and ballistics led the department to conclude that McInerney, an Army veteran who lived around the corner from Gloria, was responsible for the little girl’s death.
asserted
who → lead → death
“The fact that he was a police officer is deeply troubling to all of us that have made a career out of this most noble profession,” Bruno told the outlet.
asserted
Bruno → make → outlet
“But at the same time, it’s not something we’re going to minimize or shy away from.”
asserted
we → ’ → time
Gloria’s brother Adam Kowalewicz said that he was relieved that his sister’s killer had been identified, and had hoped it would allow his parents, who have since passed, to “rest.”
asserted
who → say → ?
Still, Kowalewicz is frustrated that McInerney, who died in 2006, was able to escape justice for his actions.
asserted
who → frustrate → actions
“He never paid his dues,” Kowalewicz told the Tribune.
asserted
Kowalewicz → pay → Tribune
“You hope he’s going to pay his dues with the good lord.”
asserted
he → hope → lord
McInerney was on the Chicago police force for 28 years and then worked for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in both Las Vegas and Reno as an investigator until retiring in 2004, according to an online obituary.
uncertain
McInerney → work → obituary
He was named Outstanding Federal Defender Investigator in 2003.
asserted
He → name → 2003
Family for McInerney, who was a dad of five — including three daughters — and grandfather of many, could not be reached for comment.
uncertain
who → include → comment
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