DNA and fingerprint identify late Chicago detective as 1960 killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz Chicago police used DNA and a preserved fingerprint to identify former homicide detective Thomas F. McInerney Jr. as the killer of 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz, who was abducted while walking to church in 1960. McInerney died in 2006, and Cook County prosecutors are now reviewing other cases he may have been involved in. Chicago police announced that DNA evidence and a preserved fingerprint tie a former homicide detective to the decades-old murder of an 8-year-old girl who was abducted as she walked to church more than 65 years ago. Thomas F. McInerney Jr. joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959, just one year before Gloria Kowalewicz was killed. He later became a detective investigating violent crimes and remained with the department until retiring in 1987. Gloria left her home shortly before 8 a.m. on Nov. 12, 1960, to attend morning Mass at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Church, just a few blocks away.Gloria Kowalewicz Murder Investigation BeginsShe never made it to the church. Her body was found about four hours later in a ditch at a forest preserve southwest of Chicago. She had been shot and killed. The murder prompted an extensive investigation.Authorities formed a task force, knocked on hundreds of doors, interviewed more than 1,300 people and questioned more than a dozen people under polygraph, police said. Investigators preserved evidence from the crime scene and surrounding area, including a bullet, Gloria's coat and shoes, and a white communion purse containing her prayer book. A fingerprint was also carefully preserved from the purse strap.Modern Forensics Link DNA to McInerneyUsing modern forensic technology and with assistance from the FBI and Illinois State Police, investigators linked DNA found on those items and the preserved fingerprint to McInerney. Chicago police used modern technology to match DNA and fingerprints to the former detective. The forensic technology allows federal and local law enforcement agencies to compare evidence with genetic profiles on genealogical websites.It was previously used to identify the Golden State Killer more than four decades after that case was opened, by identifying DNA from a tissue left in a trash can. The technology has prompted privacy concerns. Chicago police confirmed the identification to Fox News Digital. McInerney died in 2006 at age 70 without facing charges in Gloria's murder.The Cook County State's Attorney's Office, where the murder took place, is making efforts to identify cases that may have involved McInerney, the office said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Tuesday. The FBI said in a statement to The AP that it was pursuing every investigative lead that may bring closure on other potential unsolved crimes that occurred during that time period in our area.Closure Sought for Gloria Kowalewicz FamilyPolice said Gloria's parents died before learning who killed their daughter, but expressed hope that identifying McInerney would bring some closure to those who knew her. 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, Chicago police said in a statement provided to the AP and Fox News Digital.After retiring from the police department in 1987, McInerney worked for the Federal Public Defender's Office in Reno and Las Vegas until he retired in 2004, according to a Chicago Tribune obituary. He died in 2006. The case remained unsolved for more than six decades despite the initial sprawling investigation. The break came only after advances in DNA analysis and fingerprint comparison allowed cold case investigators to revisit the preserved evidence.Gloria was walking just a few blocks from her home to morning Mass when she disappeared. She was found hours later, her body dumped in a forest preserve in southwest Chicago. The identification of McInerney as the killer marks a rare instance in which a police officer has been tied to a notorious unsolved murder from the era in which he served.The review by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office could lead to additional discoveries about unsolved cases connected to the former detective. Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.