Chicago police have identified former homicide detective Thomas McInerney as responsible for the 1960 murder of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz, who was abducted and shot while walking to church. Police said DNA, fingerprint, and ballistic evidence linked McInerney, who died in 2006, to the killing.

The case remained unsolved for more than six decades before investigators identified McInerney using modern forensic technology. He had worked as a homicide detective for decades before retiring, adding a troubling dimension to the case.

Gloria Kowalewicz disappeared on Nov. 12, 1960, after leaving her family's home in Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood to walk to a nearby church. She was found later in a ditch at a forest preserve southwest of Chicago, police said.

Gloria had been fatally shot. Detectives recovered a bullet, her coat and a white communion purse containing a prayer book. Police also recovered a fingerprint from the purse strap, which later helped investigators identify the suspect.

Chicago police launched an extensive investigation, assigning a task force to the case. Detectives interviewed about 1,300 people but failed to identify the killer.

Gloria's parents died without learning who had taken their daughter's life, leaving the family without answers for decades.

DNA evidence eventually helped investigators identify McInerney. According to the Chicago Tribune, genetic information submitted to an ancestry website enabled the FBI to develop a lead connecting him to Gloria's murder.

Investigative genetic genealogy helps investigators identify potential suspects by examining DNA and possible familial connections. In this case, the technique provided a breakthrough in a murder investigation that had remained unsolved for decades.

Further forensic testing strengthened the findings. Authorities used fingerprint comparisons, DNA analysis, and ballistic evidence to link McInerney to the killing. Police identified the fingerprint recovered from Gloria's purse as a key piece of evidence in the investigation.

The combined findings led authorities to conclude that McInerney was responsible for Gloria's murder. However, because he died before the identification was publicly announced, he never faced criminal charges or a trial over the killing.

McInerney joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959, one year before Gloria's murder. He later became a homicide detective and worked for the department until retiring in 1987.

Authorities have not established that McInerney participated in the original investigation into Gloria's death. His career in law enforcement alone does not prove that he interfered with the case.

After retiring from the Chicago Police Department, McInerney worked as an investigator for federal public defender's offices in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada. He left that work in 2004 and died on Aug. 30, 2006, at age 70.

His obituary highlighted his years of public service and professional recognition. However, police did not publicly identify him in connection with Gloria's murder until nearly two decades after his death, making a criminal prosecution impossible.

Gloria's brother, Adam Kowalewicz, told the Chicago Tribune that identifying McInerney brought some measure of relief, although he was frustrated that the former detective would never face trial.

"He never paid his dues," Kowalewicz told the Tribune.

The identification offers Gloria's family long-awaited answers about her death, but it cannot result in a criminal conviction. Although investigators have linked McInerney to the killing, their findings will not be tested in court through a criminal trial.

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