Murder of Jaclyn Dowaliby

Jaclyn Marie Dowaliby was an American girl who disappeared from her bedroom in the middle of the night. Her body was found five days later. Disappearance: On September 10, 1988, seven-year-old Jaclyn was taken from her home in Midlothian, Illinois at some point during the night. The next morning, her mother Cynthia Dowaliby reported her as a missing child, possibly an abduction, and claimed that she "prayed for her return". Police reportedly found a broken window, but it may have been a phony entry area as her adoptive father David Dowaliby later recalled the back door was left open. Search parties were organised, but for five days Jaclyn was nowhere to be found. Death and legacy: On September 14, 1988, Dowaliby's body was found abandoned at a dump site six miles away from her home. Even though an autopsy couldn't 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. In October 1991, an appellate court overturned his conviction, 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. In popular culture: In 1996, a television film was released, entitled Gone in the Night. It was based on Dowaliby's disappearance and murder, and starred Kevin Dillon and Shannen Doherty as David and Cynthia.