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

Thomas F. McInerney Jr., a former Chicago police detective, has been identified as the perpetrator in the 1960 murder of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz. Advances in DNA technology and a preserved fingerprint from the crime scene were crucial in linking McInerney, who died in 2006, to the decades-old case. Authorities are now investigating whether McInerney may have been involved in other unsolved cases.

• Former Chicago homicide detective Thomas F. McInerney Jr. identified as the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz.
• Gloria Kowalewicz disappeared and was murdered in 1960 while walking to church.
• Advances in DNA technology and a preserved fingerprint from the crime scene led to the identification.
• McInerney, who joined the police department in 1959 and retired in 1987, died in 2006.
• Authorities are examining other cases that may have involved McInerney.
• Gloria’s parents died without knowing who killed their daughter.