A 70-year-old Florida man was arrested and charged with murder in connection with a 1987 killing, investigators announced Thursday. Gary Edward Glowacz was taken into custody after contacting authorities with information about the case. He was booked into the Duval County Jail on charges of murder and burglary with battery.
According to police, Glowacz contacted the sheriff's office on Wednesday, claiming to have information about the death of 20-year-old Melissa Ellison. Detectives interviewed him before obtaining an arrest warrant. The arrest brings closure to a case that had gone cold nearly four decades ago.
Ellison's body was found on December 28, 1987, at a home on Colejean Road, with injuries consistent with blunt force trauma. Police responded to a report of a deceased person and found Ellison in her bed. Her roommates had checked on her after hearing her toddler crying on the living room couch.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office celebrated the arrest, citing it as proof that homicide cases can be solved even years after they occur. The sheriff noted that the case is a counterexample to the common notion that unsolved homicides within the first 48 hours will remain unsolved.
The arrest is seen as a step towards healing for Ellison's loved ones, although it cannot fill the void left by her death. The sheriff's office thanked several organizations for their work on the investigation, including First Coast Crime Stoppers and the State Attorney's Office.
