Ex-detective in Kansas left suicide letters before his body was found ahead of trial
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A former police detective in Kansas left five suicide letters before fatally shooting himself as he was about to stand trial last month over allegations that he sexually assaulted and terrorized vulnerable Black women for decades, investigators announced Tuesday.
Roger Golubski, who was white, left his house outside of Kansas City, Kansas, for his federal trial around 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 2, but returned home before reaching the courthouse 50 miles (80 kilometers) west in Topeka, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.
The 71-year-old was facing six felony counts of violating women's civil rights. Prosecutors say he preyed on female residents in poor neighborhoods, demanding sexual favors and sometimes threatening to harm or jail their relatives if they refused.
The allegations outraged the community and deepened its historical distrust of law enforcement. The prosecution followed earlier reports of similar abuse allegations across the country in which hundreds of officers have lost their badges after allegations of sexual assault. _____
EDITOR'S NOTE — In the U.S., the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
_____
Golubski had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His lead attorney, Christopher Joseph, said before Golubski's death that lawsuits related to cases his client investigated were an 'inspiration for fabrication' by his accusers.
The morning of his death, Golubski's roommate reported hearing a gunshot around 9 a.m. after Golubski made several phone calls to family and to his attorney, the KBI said. The roommate immediately called 911, and police found Golubski dead on the back porch of his split-level home.
The final autopsy report concluded Golubski died of a gunshot wound to the head and that his death was a suicide. The KBI said agents traced a handgun found near the body to a Kansas City, Missouri, woman who said the weapon was stolen from her vehicle in 2022.
Agents were not able to determine how Golubski came to possess the firearm. Investigators could not establish a connection between him and the gun owner, the KBI said.
The heart of the case against Golubski focused on two women: one who said the former detective began sexually abusing her when she was in middle school, and another who said he began abusing her after her twin sons were arrested. Prosecutors said seven other women were planning to testify that Golubski abused or harassed them as well.
Despite Golubski's death, a second criminal case involving three co-defendants and allegations of a violent sex trafficking operation is continuing.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hamilton Spectator
32 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Russia launches another large-scale drone and missile attack on Ukraine, killing 3 and wounding 13
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia attacked two Ukrainian cities with waves of drones and missiles early Tuesday, killing three people and wounding at least 13 in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called 'one of the biggest' strikes in the 3-year-old war. The attack struck Kyiv and the southern port city of Odesa. In an online statement, Zelenskyy said that Moscow's forces fired over 315 drones, most of them Shaheds, and seven missiles overnight. 'Russian missile and Shahed strikes are louder than the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace,' Zelenskyy wrote, urging 'concrete action' from the U.S. and Europe in response to the attack. A maternity hospital and residential buildings in the southern port of Odesa were damaged in the attack, regional head Oleh Kiper said. Two people were killed and nine injured, according to the regional prosecutor's office. Another person was killed in Kyiv's Obolon district, regional head Tymur Tkachenko wrote on Telegram. 'Russian strikes are once again hitting not military targets but the lives of ordinary people. This once again shows the true nature of what we are dealing with,' he said. Explosions and the buzzing of drones were heard around the city for hours. Attacks continue despite talks but POWs swapped The fresh attacks came a day after Moscow launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment in the war. Ukrainian and Western officials have been anticipating a Russian response to Kyiv's audacious June 1 drone attack on distant Russian air bases. Russia has been launching a record-breaking number of drones and missiles in recent days, despite both sides trading memoranda during direct peace talks in Istanbul on June 2 that set out conditions for a potential ceasefire. However, the inclusion of clauses that both sides see as nonstarters make any quick deal unlikely, and a ceasefire, long sought by Kyiv, remains elusive. The only tangible outcome of the talks has been in the exchange of prisoners of war, with a swap that began Monday for soldiers aged between 18 and 25. Amina Ivanchenko was reunited Monday with her husband, a POW for 18 months, and she thanked Ukrainian officials for supporting her. 'My struggle was much easier thanks to them. Our country will definitely return everyone. Glory to Ukraine! Thank you!' Anastasia Nahorna waited in the Chernyhiv region to see if her husband, who has been missing for eight months, was among those being released in the latest swap. 'This pain is more unbearable every day,' she said. 'I really want to hear some news, because since the moment of his disappearance, unfortunately, there has been no information. Is he alive? or maybe in captivity? Has someone seen him?' she asked. Anna Rodionova, the wife of another Ukrainian POW, also was waiting. 'I just want him to come back soon and for this to all be over,' she said. 'We are tired of waiting, we come every exchange and he is not there.' A similar exchange also was announced for the bodies of fallen soldiers held by both sides, although no schedule has been released. Asked to comment on the exchange of bodies with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was unclear when it could take place and how many bodies Ukraine would hand over. He again accused Kyiv of dragging its feet on the exchange. 'There is one unarguable fact, we have had trucks with bodies standing ready for it on the border for several days,' he told reporters. Kyiv residents seek shelter Plumes of smoke rose in Kyiv as air defense forces worked to shoot down drones and missiles Tuesday. Meanwhile, residents took shelter and slept in metro stations during the long attack. Nina Nosivets, 32, and her 8-month-old son, Levko, were among them. 'I just try not to think about all this, silently curled up like a mouse, wait until it all passes, the attacks. Distract the child somehow because it's probably the hardest thing for him to bear,' she said. Krystyna Semak, 37, said the explosions frightened her and she ran to the metro at 2 a.m., carrying a rug. Fires broke out in at least four Kyiv districts after debris from downed drones fell onto residential buildings and warehouses, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. 'I was lying in bed, as always hoping that these Shaheds would fly past me, and I heard that Shahed (that hit the house),' said Vasyl Pesenko, 25, standing in his damaged kitchen. 'I thought that it would fly away, but it flew closer and closer and everything blew away.' The attack sparked 19 fires across Ukraine, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram. 'Russia must answer for every crime it commits. Until there is justice, there will be no security. For Ukraine. And for the world,' he said. Death toll from recent attacks rises The Russian Defense Ministry said an attack early Tuesday targeted arms plants in Kyiv, as well as military headquarters, troops locations, air bases and arms depots across Ukraine. 'The goals of the strikes have been achieved, all the designated targets have been hit,' it said in a statement. The death toll from previous Russian strikes also rose Tuesday. In Kharkiv, rescuers found a body under the rubble of a building that was hit in an attack Saturday, Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram. The discovery brought the number of casualties there to five, with five others potentially under the debris, Terekhov said. Meanwhile, in the northern city of Sumy, a 17-year-old boy died of his injuries Tuesday after a June 3 attack, acting Mayor Artem Kobzar wrote on Telegram. It brought the number killed in the attack to six. Airports close amid strikes on Russia The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing 102 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The drones were downed both over regions on the border with Ukraine and deeper inside Russia, including central Moscow and Leningrad regions, according to the Defense Ministry. Because of the drone attack, flights were temporarily restricted at multiple Russian airports, including all four in Moscow and the Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, the country's second-largest city. —— AP journalist Illia Novikov contributed. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .


Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
A school shooting in the Austrian city of Graz leaves at least 8 people and suspected gunman dead
VIENNA (AP) — At least eight people were killed in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday, and the suspected perpetrator also died, the city's mayor said. Mayor Elke Kahr described the events as a 'terrible tragedy,' the Austria Press Agency reported. It added that the fatalities were seven students and one adult. Kahr said that many people were taken to hospitals with injuries. Police said they believe the assailant acted alone. Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, about a kilometer (over half a mile) from Graz's historic center, after a call at 10 a.m. At 11.30 a.m., police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point. They wrote that the situation was 'secured' and there is no longer believed to be any danger. Police deployed in large numbers, with police and other emergency vehicles guarding the area around the school and with at least one police helicopter flying above the area, according to photos published by the regional newspaper Kleine Zeitung. Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who is going to Graz, said the shooting 'is a national tragedy that deeply shocks our whole country.' 'There are no words for the pain and grief that all of us — the whole of Austria — feel now,' he wrote in a statement posted on X. President Alexander Van der Bellen said that 'this horror cannot be captured in words.' 'These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them. A teacher who accompanied them on their way,' he said. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was also on his way to Graz. 'Schools are symbols for youth, hope and the future,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. 'It is hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .


San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
A school shooting in the Austrian city of Graz leaves at least 8 people and suspected gunman dead
VIENNA (AP) — At least eight people were killed in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday, and the suspected perpetrator also died, the city's mayor said. Mayor Elke Kahr described the events as a 'terrible tragedy,' the Austria Press Agency reported. It added that the fatalities were seven students and one adult. Kahr said that many people were taken to hospitals with injuries. Police said they believe the assailant acted alone. Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, about a kilometer (over half a mile) from Graz's historic center, after a call at 10 a.m. At 11.30 a.m., police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point. They wrote that the situation was 'secured' and there is no longer believed to be any danger. Police deployed in large numbers, with police and other emergency vehicles guarding the area around the school and with at least one police helicopter flying above the area, according to photos published by the regional newspaper Kleine Zeitung. Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who is going to Graz, said the shooting 'is a national tragedy that deeply shocks our whole country.' 'There are no words for the pain and grief that all of us — the whole of Austria — feel now,' he wrote in a statement posted on X. President Alexander Van der Bellen said that 'this horror cannot be captured in words.' 'These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them. A teacher who accompanied them on their way,' he said. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was also on his way to Graz. 'Schools are symbols for youth, hope and the future,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. 'It is hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence.'