Ex-detective in Kansas left suicide letters before his body was found ahead of trial

MISSION, Kan. — 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

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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.