U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation death report, obtained by KCUR through an open records request, reveals a despondent Golubski with an untraceable firearm, preparing to dodge his trial on federal charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual assault.

In an extraordinary hearing, a federal judge testified Wednesday about a years-long case of two attorneys accused of ethical violations for watching and listening in on visits between inmates and their attorneys at Leavenworth. The first day of the hearing saw the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas City, Kansas, described as aggressive, unprofessional and doing “virtually everything they could to thwart this investigation.”

A federal judge said the women showed no valid legal reason for delaying their claims against disgraced Detective Roger Golubski, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. The women have said they were too fearful of retaliation until a 2017 exoneration case triggered a flood of reports about police corruption.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation officially concluded suicide was the former detective's cause of death, although it could not say how he obtained a gun. Golubski died the hour his federal trial was set to begin on charges of violating the civil rights of multiple women.

Police accountability advocates say it’s important to remember that Golubski is not just “one bad apple,” and that his case reveals a law enforcement system that often fails to protect the most vulnerable.

More than two years after his arrest, the former Kansas City, Kansas Police detective finally has a trial date. Golubski is accused of using his law enforcement status to kidnap and rape vulnerable Black women.

In a victory for prosecutors, a federal judge ruled that the experiences of seven other women Golubski allegedly assaulted show much the same “alleged set of forced sex acts,” use the “same set of tactics” and all the victims “fit a certain profile.” But the judge refused prosecutors’ request to set a trial date.

Prosecutors wanted Golubski, who faces several federal criminal charges, to go back to lock-up because he took an unauthorized trip to Culver’s in January and lied to his probation officer about it. A federal magistrate denied the request, ruling it was a single violation, but tightened his release terms.

Kate E. Brubacher was part of a team that fought for the exoneration of Kevin Strickland, who spent 43 years in prison for a triple murder he didn't commit. Strickland was exonerated in late 2021.