Florida Arrests 70-Year-Old in 1987 Cold Case After Confession Matched Hidden Evidence
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 15
Florida Arrests 70-Year-Old in 1987 Cold Case After Confession Matched Hidden Evidence
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 15
Summary
Gary Edward Glowacz, 70, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and armed burglary in the 1987 killing of 20-year-old Melissa Ellison in Jacksonville.
July 8 brought the break when Glowacz called authorities to "set things straight," then allegedly admitted entering Ellison’s home to steal and striking her with a wooden log.
Detectives said his account matched nonpublic crime-scene details, including the home’s layout, the log’s location, Ellison’s body position and signs that someone searched under the mattress.
Police also linked him to the area in 1987: databases showed he lived about half a mile away and had been arrested in an unrelated nearby burglary the day Ellison’s body was found.
The case had remained unsolved for nearly four decades after Ellison was found dead in bed while her 13-month-old child was discovered crying on a living-room couch.