Murder of Jaclyn Dowaliby

Jaclyn Marie Dowaliby (May 17, 1981 – September 10, 1988) was an American girl who disappeared from her bedroom during the night in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The murdered child's body was found four days later.

Jaclyn Dowaliby
Born
Jaclyn Marie

(1981-05-17)May 17, 1981
Chicago, Illinois, US
DiedSeptember 10, 1988(1988-09-10) (aged 7)
Illinois, US
Cause of deathHomicide of unreleased etiology
Body discoveredSeptember 14, 1988
Blue Island, Illinois, US

Disappearance

On September 10, 1988, seven-year-old Jaclyn was taken from her home in Midlothian, Illinois, United States, at some point during the night.[1] The next morning, her mother Cynthia Dowaliby reported her as a missing child, possibly an abduction, and said that she "prayed for her return".[2] Police reportedly found a broken window, but it may have been a faked break-in as her adoptive father David Dowaliby later recalled the back door was left open. Search parties were organized, but for four days Jaclyn was nowhere to be found.

Death and legacy

On September 14, 1988, Jaclyn Dowaliby's body was found abandoned at a dump site, located 6 mi (9.7 km) away from her home. Although an autopsy could not reveal when she had been killed, the police suspected that Cynthia and David were involved in the crime. In 1990 they were put on trial for her murder. Cynthia was acquitted but David was convicted on eyewitness testimony which placed him at the scene where her body was found.[3] In October 1991, an appellate court overturned his conviction,[4][5] ruling that there was no more evidence against him than there had been against Cynthia. On November 13, 1991, David Dowaliby was released from prison. Nobody else has been arrested or convicted for her murder.[6]

The Dowaliby case was featured on NBC's Unsolved Mysteries on November 18, 1992.[7] It featured interviews with the Dowalibys, along with the investigators and defense attorneys involved in the case.

In 1996, a television film was released, entitled Gone in the Night. It was based on Jaclyn Dowaliby's disappearance and murder, and starred Kevin Dillon and Shannen Doherty as David and Cynthia. The film ended with the real David and Cynthia in a PSA for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

American Justice did an episode on the case.

See also

References
  1. "Jaclyn Dowaliby cold case reexamined 28 years later". Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  2. Pantelina (2009-07-24), The story of Jaclyn Dowaliby, retrieved 2017-08-23
  3. "David Dowaliby, Center on Wrongful Convictions: Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law". www.law.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  4. Tristan (2015-10-11). "The Case of Jaclyn Dowaliby: An Unreliable Witness and a Wrongly Accused Man". Bizarre and Grotesque. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  5. "UNSOLVED CHILD MURDER : JACLYN DOWALIBY - Protect Your KiDs". www.tapatalk.com. 18 November 2002. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  6. Goudie, Chuck; Tressel, Christine (2016-05-14). "Jaclyn Dowaliby cold case reexamined 28 years later". ABC Eyewitness News. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  7. ""Unsolved Mysteries" Murder: Jaclyn Dowaliby (TV Episode 1992)". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
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