The families of the Black women who were allegedly sexually terrorized by a Kansas City detective over decades will never be able to see if he’s brought to justice, thanks to what appear to be his own extreme actions.
Authorities say 71-year-old Robert Golubski, a detective with the Edwardsville Police Department, failed to show up for jury selection in his much-anticipated criminal trial Monday. Local police responded to his home that morning to find him dead of a gunshot wound on the back porch of his home.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said there were no indications of foul play. As of now, his death is still under investigation. However, sources tell CNN it appeared to be a suicide.
Golubski was on house arrest at his home awaiting trial on criminal charges related to the alleged sexual assault of two Black women from decades ago: one who claimed she was abused by Golubksi since middle school and another who accused him of sexual abuse after the arrest of her two sons, per The AP. Prosecutors said even more women were planning on testifying.
However, the detective maintained an overall boogeyman reputation outside of these two instances. He faced an ever-growing pile of accusations that he preyed on Black women in poor neighborhoods, threatening to abuse his power as a police officer if they didn’t submit to his sexual demands. He was also connected to a series of unsolved murders of Black women between 1980 and 2004, as The Root previously investigated.
These women’s accusations were finally brought to light after Golubski was exposed for framing city resident Lamonte McIntyre for a murder he didn’t commit. Golubski was charged with six counts of violating women’s civil rights and pleaded not guilty.
Golubski’s attorney, Christopher Joseph, tells The AP he was shocked at the news and “didn’t know the details” of his death. U.S. District Judge Toby Crouse dismissed the charges, though there is a pending second criminal case involving three of the detectives’ co-defendants.