A Florida man with a history of convictions has been arrested for a 40-year-old murder case, authorities said, following a call he made to police offering a tip about the killing.
Gary Glowacz, 70, of Middleburg, was taken into custody on July 8 for the 1987 slaying of Melissa Taylor Ellison, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Police have not disclosed the specific details of the tip Glowacz provided.
Ellison, then 20 and the mother of a toddler, was found beaten to death in her Jacksonville home in December 1987. Investigators determined at the time that an intruder had broken into the residence through a window and attacked Ellison with a charred log from her fireplace. Her roommates discovered her body after hearing her 13-month-old daughter crying.
Despite initial investigations and interviews, the case remained unsolved for four decades.
Glowacz, who has prior convictions for cocaine possession in 1989 and 1996, and for burglary in 1998, was interviewed by detectives shortly after his call to the authorities. He was subsequently charged with murder and burglary with battery.
The circumstances surrounding Glowacz's call to police and the rapid nature of his arrest were not immediately detailed by law enforcement officials.