Murder of Jaclyn Dowaliby

In 1996, a television film was released, entitled Gone in the Night. It was based on Jaclyn Dowaliby's disappearance and murder, and starred Kevin Dillon and Shannen Doherty as David and Cynthia. The film ended with the real David and Cynthia in a PSA for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The Dowaliby case was featured on NBC's Unsolved Mysteries on November 18, 1992. It featured interviews with the Dowalibys, along with the investigators and defense attorneys involved in the case.

On September 10, 1988, seven-year-old Jaclyn was taken from her home in Midlothian, Illinois, United States, at some point during the night. The next morning, her mother Cynthia Dowaliby reported her as a missing child, possibly an abduction, and said that she "prayed for her return". Police reportedly found a broken window, but it may have been a faked break-in as her adoptive father David Dowaliby later recalled the back door was left open. Search parties were organized, but for four days Jaclyn was nowhere to be found.

On September 14, 1988, Jaclyn Dowaliby's body was found abandoned at a dump site, located 6 mi (9.7 km) away from her home. Although an autopsy could not 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.

Jaclyn Marie Dowaliby (May 17, 1981 – September 10, 1988) was an American girl who disappeared from her bedroom during the night in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The murdered child's body was found four days later.