Gloria Kowalewicz, an 8-year-old Chicago girl, was abducted and shot dead on her way to Mass on 12 November 1960. On 12 October 2026, Chicago police named her killer as Thomas F. McInerney Jr., a patrol officer who later became a homicide detective. He died in 2006, so no one will be prosecuted.
What Happened on 12 November 1960?
Gloria Kowalewicz was abducted during a walk of a few blocks between her home and her church, and was shot twice in the head. She was a third grader who had recently made her First Communion.
She left home just before 8 a.m. on that Saturday morning, heading for Mass at St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church on Chicago’s South Side. She never arrived. Within hours her body was found in a ditch in a forest preserve southwest of the city.
Police recovered a bullet, her coat, her shoes and her white communion purse with her prayer book still inside. Officers lifted a fingerprint from the strap of that purse and preserved it. That single print would matter 65 years later.
The original investigation was not a small one. A Chicago Police Department task force knocked on hundreds of doors, interviewed more than 1,300 people and put more than a dozen of them through polygraph tests. It produced no charges.
How Did Police Identify Her Killer After 65 Years?
Investigative genetic genealogy matched a DNA profile taken from Gloria’s clothing to Thomas F. McInerney Jr., and the preserved fingerprint confirmed it. The decisive work was done between 2010 and 2026, not in the 1960s.
In 2010, forensic testing recovered a male DNA profile from semen preserved on her clothing. The profile was entered into CODIS, the United States national DNA database. It generated leads, but further testing ruled each of them out.
In 2024, Chicago police asked the FBI to apply investigative genetic genealogy to the evidence, comparing the profile against genetic samples people had submitted to family-tree research websites. By July 2026, that comparison had led investigators to McInerney. Detectives then matched the fingerprint from the purse strap to the prints McInerney had given on his 1959 application to join the Chicago Police Department. Police also said records showed he had owned three Colt revolvers of the type used in the killing. The Illinois State Police and the FBI assisted the department’s forensic services division.
The same technique has reopened other long-dead files. It is how the unidentified man known as the Unknown Wanderer was finally given a name in Boise after more than four decades.
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| 12 November 1960 | Gloria Kowalewicz is abducted walking to Mass and is found shot dead within hours. |
| 1960–1961 | Task force interviews more than 1,300 people; no charges follow. |
| 2010 | Testing recovers a male DNA profile from semen on her clothing; CODIS leads are ruled out. |
| 2024 | Chicago police ask the FBI to run investigative genetic genealogy on the profile. |
| July 2026 | Genealogy work leads investigators to Thomas F. McInerney Jr. |
| 12 October 2026 | Chicago police publicly name him as Gloria’s killer. |
Who Was Thomas F. McInerney Jr.?
Thomas F. McInerney Jr. was a Chicago police officer who joined the force in 1959 and retired in 1987 after 28 years. In November 1960 he was a 24-year-old patrol officer working on the city’s West Side.
He was promoted to detective in 1964 and spent the rest of his career investigating violent crime, including homicides. After leaving the Chicago force he moved to Nevada and worked as an investigator for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Reno and Las Vegas, retiring in 2004.
He was an Army veteran and a father of five. His parents lived less than a mile from the Kowalewicz family, but police said he does not appear to have had any prior contact with Gloria. He died in Las Vegas in 2006, aged 70, two decades before he was named.
Why Will No One Be Prosecuted?
No one will be prosecuted because Thomas McInerney died in 2006, twenty years before police identified him. He was never arrested, never charged and never tried, and no court has made any finding against him.
What exists is a police conclusion drawn from forensic evidence, not a criminal conviction. That distinction matters: the identification was announced by the Chicago Police Department, and the ordinary machinery of a trial, a defence and a verdict never ran.
In its statement, the department said McInerney should never have worn the CPD star, and called it devastating that he was never identified and held accountable while he was alive. It noted that Gloria’s parents had died without receiving justice for their daughter. Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno told the Chicago Tribune that the department would not minimise or shy away from the fact that the killer had been one of its own.
Gloria’s brother Adam Kowalewicz, an infant when she was killed, told the Chicago Tribune he was relieved that a name was finally attached to her death, but said the man had never paid for it.
A name without a trial is still more than some families get. Dutch investigators closed the file on Tanja Groen, missing since 1993, without ever finding her.
What Happens to the Cases McInerney Worked?
Two separate reviews are open: prosecutors are checking cases McInerney handled, and the FBI is checking whether he committed other crimes. Neither has published a result.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said it is working to identify cases that may have involved McInerney. He spent 23 years as a detective after his 1964 promotion, so the body of work being examined is substantial, and the office has not said how many files it covers.
Separately, the FBI said it is pursuing every investigative lead that may bring closure on other potential unsolved crimes from that period in the area. No other victim has been publicly linked to McInerney.
Police have not offered a motive for the killing of Gloria Kowalewicz, and they have not suggested one. Decades-old cases can turn on a single piece of preserved physical evidence, as happened when divers located a car that answered what happened to the Martin family after 67 years.
Where the Case Stands as of 15 October 2026
As of 15 October 2026, the killing of Gloria Kowalewicz is identified but not prosecuted, and the reviews around it are unfinished.
- Named killer: Thomas F. McInerney Jr., identified by Chicago police on 12 October 2026.
- Prosecution: None possible; he died in 2006 and faced no charges.
- Motive: Not established or explained by police.
- Other victims: None named; the FBI review is continuing.
- His old cases: Under review by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, with no findings released.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Killed Gloria Kowalewicz?
Chicago police say Thomas F. McInerney Jr. killed her. He was a 24-year-old Chicago patrol officer in November 1960 and was later promoted to detective.
Was Thomas McInerney Ever Charged or Convicted?
No. He died in Las Vegas in 2006, two decades before investigators identified him, so there was no arrest, no trial and no verdict.
Why Did It Take 65 Years to Solve the Case?
The evidence that solved it needed technology that did not exist in 1960. A usable DNA profile was only recovered in 2010, and investigative genetic genealogy was not applied until the FBI was asked to help in 2024.
Did Thomas McInerney Have Other Victims?
None has been publicly identified. The FBI said it is pursuing leads on other potential unsolved crimes from that period in the area, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is reviewing cases he may have been involved in.
