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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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A white police detective scheduled to appear in court on Monday on charges that he sexually abused Black women and girls over decades has died.
After former Kansas City detective Roger Golubski failed to appear in court, authorities issued an arrest warrant. Prosecutors later confirmed he had died, but they did not say how or when he died.
The Kansas City Star reported that two sources familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity said Golubski died by suicide. CNN also reported that two unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation said he died by suicide.
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Who Was Roger Golubski?
Prosecutors allege that women living in impoverished neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas, lived in fear of Golubski, the former police detective, who they say coerced sexual favors under threats of harming or incarcerating their family members.
Golubski, 71, faced six felony charges for violating women's civil rights, and jury selection in his federal trial was scheduled to begin Monday in Topeka.
The case ignited widespread outrage and further strained long-standing tensions between the community and law enforcement. "Our emotions are everywhere," said Laquanda Jacobs, who was exonerated through the Midwest Innocence Project, while preparing to join other advocates on a bus from Kansas City, Kansas, to Topeka.
Golubski, 71, faced allegations of sexually assaulting one woman when she was just a teenager and another after her sons were taken into custody. U.S. District Judge Toby Crouse dismissed the case at the request of the prosecutors following news of Golubski's death.
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The Trial
The trial marked the latest chapter in a series of lawsuits and criminal accusations that have prompted the county prosecutor's office to allocate $1.7 million to review cases handled by Golubski during his 35-year career. His involvement in a double murder case has already led to an exoneration, and a group founded by rapper Jay-Z is suing for access to police records tied to his investigations.
Golubski denied the charges against him and his attorney characterized the allegations as fabrications motivated by pending lawsuits. Prosecutors, however, planned to call seven additional women to testify that Golubski abused or harassed them, alongside the two women whose accounts form the foundation of the criminal case.
Jermeka Hobbs filed a separate lawsuit against Golubski but was not scheduled to appear as a witness in the trial. She spoke about the case, saying: "Every time I turn around, I'm looking."
"I'm thinking somebody is after me. I have no peace at all," Hobbs said.
Her lawsuit accused Golubski of grooming her to become one of "Golubski's girls."
Once celebrated by colleagues for his case-solving prowess, Golubski climbed the ranks to captain in the Kansas City police department before retiring in 2010. He later spent six years on a suburban force. His former partner also advanced to serve as police chief.
Before his death, Golubski was under house arrest while undergoing kidney dialysis three times a week. Golubski's attorney, Chris Joseph, had noted in a statement that several allegations against his client date back two to three decades.
Jim McCloskey, founder of Centurion—a New Jersey-based nonprofit dedicated to exonerating the wrongfully convicted—called Golubski during a court hearing as the "dirtiest cop I've ever encountered."
Allegations Against Golubski
According to prosecutors, one woman at the center of the case was allegedly driven by Golubski to a cemetery and told to dig her own grave. The woman was sexually assaulted by Golubski on numerous occasions starting when she was in middle school, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege that Golubski first approached Ophelia Williams—the other key figure in the case—by commenting on her legs and nightgown during a police search of her home.
At the time, Williams was consumed by fear after her 14-year-old twins were arrested in connection with a double homicide. In a separate lawsuit, Williams alleged that her sons ultimately confessed to the crime to secure the release of their 13-year-old brother from police custody.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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