U.S.TOP STORY

Ex-Chicago detective named as killer in 1960 cold case

Chicago police say newly found DNA links the 1960 killing of eight-year-old Gloria Kowalewski to Thomas McInerney, a former homicide detective who had been dead twenty years.

On air: Hank Ledger and Dale Bearman on Wake Up, America
Published 5:55 AM ET, Tuesday, October 13, 2026

▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Hank Ledger and Dale Bearman on this story, from Wake Up, America at 5:55 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The Guardian's, the jokes are ours.

At a glance

First reported by The Guardian: “Ex-Chicago detective identified as killing child in 65-year cold case”.
Covered on BBN on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 5:55 AM ET on Wake Up, America, by Hank Ledger and Dale Bearman.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

The GuardianEx-Chicago detective identified as killing child in 65-year cold case

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorChicago police say newly discovered DNA ties the 1960 murder of an eight-year-old girl, Gloria Kowalewski, to one of their own former homicide detectives.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe detective, Thomas McInerney, died in 2006, so authorities named him twenty years after his death and sixty-five years after the crime, according to The Guardian.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorA man sworn to solve cases, and the case sat there for sixty-five years with his name on it.
Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorFamilies wait that long for answers and the institution looks away.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorDNA is the only reason anyone knows now. Her family finally has a name, and that is what matters this morning.

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