70-year-old tipster arrested hours after calling authorities about 1987 cold case murder

(Gray News) - Nearly 40 years after a young mother was beaten to death in her home, authorities in Florida said a single phone call led to an arrest.

On Dec. 28, 1987, at 4:40 a.m., police responded to a call reporting a dead person at a home. That is where they found 20-year-old Melisa Ellison lying in her bed, suffering from blunt force trauma.

Ellison’s roommates said they went to check on her after finding her toddler crying on the living room couch.

Investigators said Wednesday they found a new lead when 70-year-old Gary Glowacz called the Clay County Sheriff’s Office dispatch and said he wanted to share information about Ellison’s death.

Investigators announced Thursday that Glowacz was taken to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for an interview and was shortly afterward booked into the Duval County Jail on murder and burglary charges.

Details of the phone call were not released, and police did not explain why they moved swiftly to make the arrest.

Glowacz has a criminal history, including convictions in 1989 and 1996 for purchasing cocaine, according to News4Jax. He was also convicted of burglary in 1998 and pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in Clay County a decade ago.

He is expected to appear in court July 30, according to jail records. It is unclear whether Glowacz has obtained an attorney to speak on his behalf.