A Print on Her Purse Helped Link a Former Detective to Her 1960 Killing

By Taylor Bennett. Oct 15, 2026

A fingerprint on an 8-year-old girl’s purse helped police identify her killer more than six decades after she disappeared on a walk to church. The man they identified had spent his career in their own department.

Chicago police announced that DNA and the preserved print linked former homicide detective Thomas F. McInerney Jr. to the 1960 killing of Gloria Kowalewicz. He died in 2006, so the identification will not lead to a criminal trial.

Gloria was walking from her West Englewood home to St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church on Nov. 12, 1960. She never reached the church. Her body was later found in a forest preserve southwest of Chicago.

Evidence Kept for Decades

Investigators collected and preserved Gloria’s belongings, including her white communion purse. A fingerprint lifted from its strap remained part of the evidence through years of investigation.

In 2010, testing produced a male DNA profile from evidence on Gloria’s clothing. It did not immediately identify a suspect.

At Chicago police’s request, the FBI began comparing the profile with genetic information from family-tree research databases in 2024. That work pointed to McInerney, police said.

Investigators then compared the print from the purse strap with fingerprints submitted with his 1959 police job application. Police said both the fingerprint and DNA supported the identification, which was made in July and announced in October.

A Police Career After the Killing

McInerney was a patrol officer when Gloria died. He became a detective in 1964 and retired from the department in 1987. It remains unclear whether he ever worked on her case.

The FBI said it was examining other potential unsolved crimes. No other killings have been attributed to him.

Gloria’s brother, Adam Kowalewicz, was an infant when she died. He learned whom police identified as her killer after that man had died.

References: Chicago police find killer in 65-year-old cold case murder of little girl - one of their own | DNA, Fingerprint Link Former CPD Detective To 8-Year-Old Girl’s 1960 Murder: Police