Chicago Cop Identified as Killer of Gloria Kowalewicz, 8, in 1960 Cold Case Chicago police used DNA and a preserved fingerprint to identify former detective Thomas F. McInerney Jr. as the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz in 1960, and an expert fears he may have had other victims. More than 65 years after 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz was abducted, shot and killed while walking to mass, Chicago police say they have identified her killer: Thomas F. McInerney Jr., a Chicago Police Department detective at the time. The department announced that DNA evidence and a preserved fingerprint led to the identification. McInerney died in 2006 at age 70. Just before 8 a.m. on Nov. 12, 1960, Gloria began walking a few blocks from her home to St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Church.Gloria Kowalewicz Body Found DitchShe never arrived. About four hours later, her body was found in a ditch in a forest preserve southwest of Chicago. Her killer left evidence scattered at the scene and along a highway back to Chicago. Investigators found a bullet, Gloria's coat, her shoes, and her little white communion purse that held her prayer book.For decades, the killer was never identified. At the time of the murder, McInerney was a recent addition to the agency and served as a violent crimes detective. He remained with the Chicago Police Department for 28 years before retiring and moving to Las Vegas. The man responsible continued to blend inside the department as the investigation continued.Ultimately, it was a fingerprint lifted off the strap of Gloria's purse that led investigators to McInerney after more than six decades. The DNA and fingerprint evidence was preserved for decades until technology advanced enough to bring answers. As part of the investigation, Chicago police formed a task force. They knocked on hundreds of doors and interviewed more than 1,300 people in the hopes of finding the girl's killer.Fingerprint Evidence Links Killer to CrimeMore than a dozen people were questioned under a polygraph. Chicago Police Department detectives never stopped searching for the girl's killer, according to a statement sent by the agency to Fox News Digital. Through the years, they worked with Illinois State Police and the FBI to continue a quest for answers.Michael Gould, a founding member of the New York Police Department's K-9 unit, told Fox News Digital that using K-9 teams to track the scent of the killer could have been a more effective strategy. But using dogs to investigate crimes was not widely adopted until the mid-1980s, he said. Now, they are routinely used and have cracked a lot of missing person cases. Gould said dogs could have tracked where the person lived and what direction he fled.He added that dogs give law enforcement X-ray vision and allow them to see evidence that is invisible to the naked eye. Gould said it is not that law enforcement was incompetent at the time. They just did not have the sophisticated investigative tools. He also said what makes the case even more horrific is that McInerney may have used his influence as an officer to lure Gloria into his car.K-9 Expert Predicts Other Victims ExistWe teach our children that you should trust law enforcement, and when they leverage that against innocent people, particularly children, it is horrendous, Gould said. He fears McInerney may have had other victims. My prediction there are going to be other victims. I do not think this was a sole act.This, in my view, would have been a planned and intentional act. It is rare that this happens once. The Chicago Police Department said in a prepared statement that McInerney's abhorrent actions not only took the life of an 8-year-old child, but left her parents and all who knew and loved her shattered as they searched for answers.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. Though Gloria's parents have since passed away and were not able to receive justice in their daughter's murder, the department said it hopes this news brings a measure of closure to all who knew Gloria and her story.