8-year-old girl murdered on way to church — 65 years later, cops uncover shocking suspect in cold case

An 8-year-old Illinois girl vanished while walking to church in 1960 and was later found shot to death in a wooded area — sparking a chilling murder mystery that remained unsolved for more than 65 years.

Now, a stunning breakthrough in the decades-old cold case has led investigators to a very unlikely suspect: a Chicago police officer who spent nearly 30 years investigating sex crimes and homicides.

‘And as far as we’re concerned, he’s a murderer who was acting as a police officer.’

On Nov. 12, 1960, Gloria Kowalewicz left her family’s home in Chicago’s West Englewood neighborhood to go to church just three and a half blocks away, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Kowalewicz had just received her first Holy Communion, and a nun at St. Mary of