Former Chicago police detective linked by DNA to 8-year-old girl's cold-case murder, police say

A former Chicago homicide detective has been identified as the killer of an 8-year-old girl who disappeared while walking to church in 1960, with authorities now examining other cases that may have involved the officer.

Thomas F. McInerney Jr. joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959, just one year before Gloria Kowalewicz was abducted and murdered. He later became a detective investigating violent crimes and remained with the department until retiring in 1987.

More than 65 years after the killing, Chicago police confirmed to Fox News Digital that advances in DNA technology and a preserved fingerprint helped investigators identify McInerney, who died in 2006 at age 70.

A Chicago Police Department building. Police identified a former department detective as the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz, who was murdered in 1960. (Getty Images)

Gloria disappeared Nov. 12, 1960, after leaving her home shortly before 8 a.m. to attend morning Mass at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Church, just a few blocks away. Her body was discovered roughly four hours later in a ditch at a forest preserve southwest of Chicago. She had been shot and killed.

The murder prompted an extensive investigation, with police interviewing more than 1,300 people and knocking on hundreds of doors. Despite those efforts, the case remained unsolved for decades.

Investigators preserved evidence from the crime scene and surrounding area, including a bullet, Gloria's coat and shoes, and a white communion purse containing her prayer book. A fingerprint was also recovered from the purse's strap.

Staff prepare samples for DNA sequencing at the new offices and laboratories of Othram, a DNA forensics lab, in The Woodlands, Texas, on Nov. 6, 2023. (Michael Wyke/Houston Chronicle)

Working with the FBI and Illinois State Police, investigators used modern forensic technology to link DNA and the preserved fingerprint to McInerney, according to the department.

"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," Chicago police said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office is working to identify other cases that may have involved McInerney, according to The Associated Press.

The Chicago Police Department said DNA evidence and a preserved fingerprint helped investigators identify the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz more than 65 years after her murder. (Talia Sprague/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Police said Gloria's parents died before learning who killed their daughter, but expressed hope that identifying McInerney would bring some closure to those who knew her.

McInerney later worked for the Federal Public Defender's Office in Nevada before retiring in 2004, according to the AP. He died two years later without facing charges in Gloria's murder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.