🚨 CHICAGO POLICE DETECTIVE IDENTIFIED AS SUSPECT IN 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL'S 1960 MURDER! DNA EXPOSES SHOCKING 65-YEAR-OLD SECRET!

6 days ago

3 min read

730 BOOM RADIO | CHICAGO NEWS | OCTOBER 14, 2026

CHICAGO, IL — In a stunning development more than six decades in the making, Chicago police have identified one of their own former homicide detectives as the suspected killer of an 8-year-old girl who was abducted while walking to church in 1960.

Thomas F. McInerney Jr., a former Chicago police officer who later became a homicide detective, has been linked through DNA and fingerprint evidence to the murder of little Gloria Kowalewicz.

And here's what makes this case especially disturbing: McInerney was already a Chicago police officer when Gloria was killed!

💔 AN 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL NEVER MADE IT TO CHURCH

On November 12, 1960, Gloria Kowalewicz left her home in Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood to attend morning Mass.

She was walking just a few blocks to church.

But Gloria never arrived.

Approximately four hours after her disappearance, her body was discovered in a forest preserve southwest of Chicago.

The little girl had been shot to death.

Her murder devastated her family and triggered an enormous investigation.

Detectives interviewed more than 1,300 people, knocked on hundreds of doors, and questioned numerous potential suspects.

But despite their efforts, the case remained unsolved for more than 65 years.

🔬 DNA AND A FINGERPRINT FINALLY REVEAL A SUSPECT!

Investigators preserved crucial evidence from the original crime scene, including Gloria's clothing, a bullet, and her white communion purse containing her prayer book.

Decades later, advances in forensic technology allowed investigators to revisit that evidence.

With assistance from the FBI and Illinois State Police, detectives used DNA analysis and investigative genetic genealogy to identify McInerney.

A fingerprint recovered from Gloria's purse strap was also matched to fingerprints McInerney submitted when applying to join the Chicago Police Department in 1959.

THE MAN NOW LINKED TO THE CHILD'S MURDER HAD BEEN WORKING FOR THE VERY POLICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATING HER DEATH!

🚨 HE WENT ON TO BECOME A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE!

McInerney joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959, one year before Gloria's murder.

He later became a detective investigating violent crimes and remained with the department until retiring in 1987.

After leaving Chicago, he worked for the Federal Public Defender's Office in Nevada.

He died in 2006 without ever being charged in Gloria's murder.

Chicago police have expressed outrage that someone now linked to the killing was allowed to serve in law enforcement for decades.

Because McInerney is deceased, he cannot face prosecution, and the forensic findings have not been tested in a criminal trial.

⚖️ COULD THERE BE OTHER VICTIMS?

NOW THIS IS WHERE THE STORY TAKES ANOTHER SERIOUS TURN!

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office is working to identify other cases McInerney may have been involved in.

The FBI is also pursuing leads concerning potentially related unsolved crimes from that period.

Authorities have not established that McInerney committed additional murders.

However, investigators are examining whether his history could provide answers in other cases.

🎙️ LADY RED'S TAKE: NOW WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!

SO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME...

An innocent 8-year-old girl leaves home to go to CHURCH, gets abducted and murdered, and more than 65 YEARS LATER, investigators identify a suspect who was wearing a CHICAGO POLICE BADGE AT THE TIME?

AND THEN HE WENT ON TO BECOME A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE?!

BABY, WHAT?!

This man spent decades working in law enforcement while Gloria's family spent decades wondering who took their little girl away from them!

And the part that really gets me?

HE DIED IN 2006 WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO ANSWER FOR THIS CRIME!

Now, the DNA and fingerprint evidence have reportedly identified him, but a courtroom will never get the opportunity to examine the case against him.

And I have QUESTIONS!

Were there warning signs during his career?

Did he ever investigate cases involving similar crimes?

And could reviewing his old cases help other families finally get answers?

Those questions deserve a thorough investigation, not assumptions.

Because this isn't just a story about forensic technology solving an old mystery.

THIS IS ABOUT AN 8-YEAR-OLD CHILD WHO DESERVED TO GROW UP!

Gloria Kowalewicz should have had the opportunity to live her life, pursue her dreams, and grow old surrounded by family.

Instead, her loved ones spent more than six decades waiting for answers.

And while no investigation can give Gloria her life back, identifying the person police believe was responsible is an important development in her family's search for the truth.