Crime & JusticeDeveloping
Police tie former Chicago homicide detective to 1960 killing of 8-year-old girl
By Mantle News
Coverage spectrum
Covered by 6 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).
6 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias
Chicago police say a former homicide detective is responsible for the 1960 killing of an 8-year-old girl, a case that had gone unsolved for 65 years. The Guardian reports that police used newly discovered DNA evidence to tie Thomas McInerney, who died in 2006, to the killing. NBC News and the New York Post also report that the suspect was a Chicago homicide detective. Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno said the fact that the killer was a police officer is deeply troubling to the department. TheBlaze reports that the girl vanished while walking to church and was later found shot to death.
Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works
What happened
Key points
Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.
Chicago police say a former homicide detective is tied to the 1960 killing of an 8-year-old girl, a case unsolved for 65 years.
Across the spectrumReported byLeft2Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
- Left
- NBC News, The Guardian
- Right
- New York Post
- Far Right
- TheBlaze
Police say newly discovered DNA evidence linked the killing to the former detective.
One outletThe Guardian· Left
The former detective is named as Thomas McInerney, who died in 2006.
One outletThe Guardian· Left
Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno said it is “deeply troubling” that the killer was a police officer.
One outletNew York Post· Right
The girl vanished in 1960 while walking to church and was later found shot to death.
One outletTheBlaze· Far Right
How each side tells it
Compare views
All four outlets report that a former Chicago homicide detective is tied to the 1960 killing of an 8-year-old girl. Left outlets stress the police solving the cold case, while right outlets stress the shock of an officer as the killer.
the left
2 outlets
Left headlines lead with the police solving the cold case, with NBC News calling the suspect “one of their own” and The Guardian naming the identified former detective plainly.
Chicago police find killer in 65-year-old cold case murder of little girl — one of their own
NBC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines the center
No coverage yet
No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the right
4 outlets
Right headlines dwell on the shock of a police officer as the killer, with TheBlaze, the Far Right outlet, using “shocking” and “chilling” wording, while the New York Post states the identity plainly.
Dehumanizing label“Murderer”Calls a man a murderer in the outlet’s own voice, before any court has tried the case.More neutral: Identified killerDisagree with this highlight? in 65-year-old cold case killing of girl, 8, revealed to be Chicago homicide detective
New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines
The words they chose
Language to notice
Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.
Left0
No loaded words in its own voice.
Center
Has not covered this story.
Right4
Murdererchilling murder mysterystunning breakthroughshocking
In the outlets’ own words
Dehumanizing label
MurdererMore neutral: Identified killer
Calls a man a murderer in the outlet’s own voice, before any court has tried the case.
Murderer in 65-year-old cold case killing of girl, 8, revealed to be Chicago homicide…
Used byNew York Post (Right)
Sensational language
chilling murder mysteryMore neutral: unsolved murder case
The phrase manufactures drama about a case that is described by its facts elsewhere in the same text.
…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.
Used byTheBlaze (Far Right)
Sensational language
stunning breakthroughMore neutral: new development
The phrase adds an evaluation of surprise and impact that the report does not support with detail.
Now, a stunning breakthrough in the decades-old cold case has led investigators to a very unlikely suspect:…
Used byTheBlaze (Far Right)
Sensational language
shockingMore neutral: new
The word adds drama that the facts of the arrest do not need, since the report itself states what police found.
8-year-old girl murdered on way to church — 65 years later, cops uncover shocking suspect in cold case
Used byTheBlaze (Far Right)
See for yourself
Side by side
What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.
From the left
2 outletsLeads with
- police solved the 65-year-old case
- newly discovered DNA evidence
- the suspect was a former police detective
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
- The GuardianLeft
Ex-Chicago detective identified as killing child in 65-year cold case
Police used recently discovered DNA to pin murder of eight-year-old girl on Thomas McInerney, who died in 2006 Chicago police on Monday said they recently used newly discovered DNA evidence to tie the 1960 murder of an eight-year-old girl to one of its own former homicide …
- NBC NewsLeft
Chicago police find killer in 65-year-old cold case murder of little girl — one of their own
The cold case murder of an 8-year-old Chicago girl that bedeviled investigators for 65 years has been solved — and the man tied to the killing was a homicide detective for the city’s police department.
From the center
0 outletsNo center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
From the right
4 outletsLeads with
- a Chicago police officer as the suspect
- the decades-old unsolved murder
- grim details of the girl’s disappearance
See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
- Fox NewsFar Right
Former Chicago police detective linked by DNA to 8-year-old girl's cold-case murder, police say
DNA evidence and a fingerprint linked Thomas F. McInerney Jr., a former Chicago police detective, to the 1960 cold case murder of Gloria Kowalewicz.
- TheBlazeFar Right
8-year-old girl murdered on way to church — 65 years later, cops uncover Sensational language“shocking”The word adds drama that the facts of the arrest do not need, since the report itself states what police found.More neutral: newDisagree with this highlight? 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 Sensational language“chilling murder mystery”The phrase manufactures drama about a case that is described by its facts elsewhere in the same text.More neutral: unsolved murder caseDisagree with this highlight? that remained unsolved for more than 65 years. …
- Breitbart NewsFar Right
Chicago Police Department Solves 65-Year-Old Cold Case: Finds One of Their Own Was the Murderer
The Chicago Police Department has solved a 65-year-old cold case regarding the death of Gloria Kowalewicz, an eight-year-old who was killed was while walking from her house to church on November 12, 1960.
- New York PostRight
Dehumanizing label“Murderer”Calls a man a murderer in the outlet’s own voice, before any court has tried the case.More neutral: Identified killerDisagree with this highlight? in 65-year-old cold case killing of girl, 8, revealed to be Chicago homicide detective
“The fact that he was a police officer is deeply troubling to all of us that have made a career out of this most noble profession,” CPD’s Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno said.
Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?
The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.
Who reported it when
How the coverage built up
Left
18 hr later
Its first report, Oct 12, 4:50 PM EDT
Center
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Right
First to report
New York Post, Oct 11, 10:47 PM EDT
See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
- New York PostRightOct 11, 10:47 PM EDT
- NBC NewsLeftOct 12, 4:50 PM EDT
- The GuardianLeftOct 13, 5:30 AM EDT
- Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 13, 9:51 AM EDT
- TheBlazeFar RightOct 13, 10:15 AM EDT
- Fox NewsFar RightOct 13, 7:55 PM EDT
Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.
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