JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An arrest has been made in the nearly 40-year-old cold case murder of a young Jacksonville mother.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said Thursday that 70-year-old Gary Glowacz is being charged in the December 1987 murder of 20-year-old Melissa Ellison, who was known as “Missy” to friends and family.
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At the time of her murder, the 20-year-old was living in a mobile home with roommates and her baby.
Police say Ellison was asleep when she was beaten to death. Inside the home was her 13-month-old daughter Casie, who was found on a couch unharmed and surrounded by pillows.
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Ellison’s family, along with First Coast Crime Stoppers, made a renewed push in January for information leading to an arrest.
“She died slowly and painfully. She was stolen from our lives. She was stolen from my life,” Casie Ellison said at that time.
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Missy’s sister, Glenda Blanford, spoke in January of the life moments her sister missed.
“She never got to be called grandma or even aunt—all those special moments were taken because of you,” Blanford said, addressing the person who took her sister’s life.
Waters said Thursday that not many details around Glowacz’s arrest could be shared at this time as the State Attorney’s Office moves into the prosecution phase of the case.
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