She Carried Her Little White Purse Out The Door In 1960, And A Homicide Detective Brutally Took Her Life Before She Made It To Church That Day

On the morning of November 12th, 1960, Gloria Kowalewicz left her family's home on Chicago's South Side shortly before 8 a.m. to walk three blocks to St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church so she could attend Mass.

She was 8, a third-grader who had recently received her First Communion, and she was carrying a small white purse with her prayer book inside.

Her mom, Esther, helped pick out her outfit that day: a blue leotard paired with a checkered dress that was brown and pink. Esther gave Gloria a kiss and watched the little girl walk away, but she never made it to her destination.

"Somewhere between her home and the church that Saturday morning, Gloria was abducted," the Chicago Police explained in a statement.

Hours after Gloria vanished, a man working for a laundry company stopped to eat lunch 15 miles away from Gloria's house, in the woods of Palos Park.

In a ravine off the side of the road, he noticed a pop of color, which turned out to be Gloria's checkered dress. She was lying in the woods, with bruises on her neck. She had been shot twice in the head.

She didn't have a pulse, and the man rushed to call the police, who determined that Gloria had been killed there due to the amount of blood. Gloria's blue leotard was discovered underneath her, and she was only wearing her underwear.

Investigators collected evidence at the scene and along the highway leading back to the city, including a bullet, Gloria's coat, her shoes, and her white purse. Fingerprints were found on Gloria's bible and purse strap.

Chicago police formed a task force, knocked on hundreds of doors, and interviewed more than 1,300 people. Over a dozen were questioned and given polygraph tests. A couple of witnesses reported seeing Gloria with a man not long after she left home.

Chicago Police Department - pictured above is Thomas McInerney Jr.

65 years went by before Gloria's killer was named. In 2010, forensic testing recovered a male DNA profile from the bodily fluids on Gloria's dress, which ultimately led them to a man named Thomas McInerney Jr., who was a homicide detective with the Chicago Police Department.

Police said the fingerprint on her purse matched prints Thomas submitted when he applied to join the department in 1959, and that DNA evidence also pointed to him. He'd owned three Colt revolvers consistent with the type of gun used to take Gloria's life.

Thomas was 24 and had joined the force a year prior to Gloria's murder. He became a detective in 1964, worked in units investigating violent crimes, and retired in 1987 after 28 years in homicide.

He then moved to Las Vegas and worked as an investigator for the Federal Public Defender's Office, and received an award from them in 2003.

An obituary described him as a decorated Army veteran and Ranger. It detailed that he was excited about the birth of his granddaughter prior to his passing in 2006. He was 70.

Police say they don't know why he did it, and he passed away before he could be charged. Thomas's parents lived less than a mile from Gloria's family in 1960, but investigators haven't found a confirmed connection between him and the girl, and there's no evidence he took part in the original investigation.

"McInerney should never have worn the CPD star, and it is devastating to accept that he was never identified and held accountable while he was alive," the Chicago Police Department said in a statement.

Gloria's parents passed without knowing who killed their daughter. Her younger brother, Adam, who was an infant when she died, told reporters he was relieved the case had been solved but frustrated that Thomas lived out his life without being prosecuted.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office is trying to identify other cases that might involve Thomas, and the FBI is pursuing leads on unsolved crimes from the same period and area.

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