A fingerprint on an 8-year-old’s purse strap and DNA from her clothing point to a young Chicago police officer who later became a homicide detective—and may not have stopped at one victim.
Story Snapshot
- Chicago police named former officer Thomas McInerney Jr. as the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz, based on fingerprint and DNA evidence.
- A fingerprint lifted in 1960 reportedly matched McInerney’s 1959 police job-application prints.
- Investigative genetic genealogy linked preserved DNA from Gloria’s clothing to McInerney’s family line, then to him.
- He was 24, on the force in 1959, and later worked as a homicide detective; he is now deceased.
Two tracks of evidence converge on the same name
Chicago police said two independent forensics routes identified Thomas McInerney Jr. as the person who abducted and killed 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz in 1960. Detectives reported that a carefully preserved fingerprint from Gloria’s purse strap matched McInerney’s prints from his 1959 Chicago Police Department application. Investigators also said modern DNA methods linked biological material from Gloria’s clothing to McInerney through family-tree research and follow-up testing, with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Illinois State Police.
Police said this dual-hit matters. Fingerprints place a hand on the purse. DNA ties a person to the victim’s clothing. Each test uses a different type of evidence and lab process. Together, they make a stronger case than a single clue or a witness memory from decades ago. NBC News quoted the department’s summary: identification was made through a fingerprint and DNA left at the scene. The Associated Press reported both the preserved print and the DNA linkage.
The suspect’s timeline and proximity fit the crime window
Reporters described McInerney as 24 years old in 1960, a new Chicago officer who joined the department in 1959. His parents lived a few blocks from Gloria’s family, placing him near the victim’s neighborhood. He later became a homicide detective and, after leaving Chicago, worked as a federal investigator in Las Vegas, according to the Chicago Tribune’s account of the investigation and family history. Those biographical facts match the place and time of the murder and help explain why police revisited his name once technology advanced.
Cold-case teams often build on details that seemed minor long ago. A fingerprint lift card or a sealed swatch can hold power once lab tools can read them. Investigators credited careful evidence preservation in 1960 and renewed testing decades later. They also cited help from the FBI and Illinois State Police labs, which broadened database access and analytic skill sets beyond one agency.
How genetic genealogy moved the case
Investigative genetic genealogy uses DNA patterns to locate likely relatives in consumer or research databases, then maps family trees to a possible suspect. NBC News reported that the FBI compared DNA from Gloria’s clothing with genetic data associated with family-tree research sites, then worked back to McInerney. The Associated Press said modern forensic technology and outside partners helped tie both DNA and a preserved fingerprint to him. Chicago police later found the job-application print that matched the purse print, which helped lock the identification.
🚨 COLD CASE SHOCKER: DNA & a job file fingerprint have linked former Chicago detective Thomas McInerney Jr.—who died in Las Vegas in 2006—to the 1960 murder of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz. Solved after 65 yrs. 🧬https://t.co/v0zkARPvnn
— 702times (@702times) October 14, 2026
That sequence explains why this clearance arrived 65 years later. Genealogy narrows the field to families. Traditional police work and direct comparisons then focus on one person. When a second, unrelated method—here, the latent print—also points to the same person, the result gets harder to dismiss. This is the direction many cold cases now take: databases first, confirmatory testing next, and records checks to finish the picture.
What investigators are exploring next
Police said they are checking if McInerney’s DNA connects to other unsolved cases. Reporters noted that his career put him near violent crime scenes and victims over years, which prompts a fair question: was Gloria his only victim? Detectives will likely search authorized DNA databases, review old case files, and compare timelines for overlap. Leads are not proof, but the public expects agencies to run every match and follow every file to a clear end point.
One caveat applies. McInerney is deceased, so there will be no trial. That means no courtroom cross-exams, but the public record still shows two separate forms of forensic evidence tying him to the crime. From a common-sense, conservative view, this is how justice should work when a child is murdered and the killer dies: treat the science with care, release what can be released, speak plainly about what the evidence shows, and close the case with respect for the victim’s family.
Sources:
foxnews.com, nbcnews.com, people.com
