Peggy Lowe

Andrew Lester, 86, who is white, will argue that he had a right to defend himself because then-16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is Black, was attempting to enter his house. Lester’s trial begins February 18.

The homicide rate dipped to the lowest number in the last six years, said Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves. But the number of people who were shot and survived increased by nearly 12%, leaving hundreds of people with gunshot wounds.

Terra Morehead, who was disbarred by the Kansas Supreme Court in April 2024, was involved in several legal scandals including a high-profile case investigated by former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Detective Roger Golubski.

Eric DeValkenaere, who has been in prison for a year and two months, was released at mid-day on Friday, in time to be home for Christmas as his wife had asked of Gov. Mike Parson. The family of Cameron Lamb, the 26-year-old Black man DeValkenaere killed, had long feared Parson would free the former police detective.

What does it mean for Kansas City, Kansas, to move forward after the apparent suicide of Roger Golubski? KCUR gathered survivors and other community members for a public conversation about the damage Golubski caused, how they felt let down by the justice system and what they want to see happen next.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree announced Wednesday that he will not seek retrials for Cedric Warren and Dominic Moore because they didn’t receive a fair trial for a 2009 double homicide. Dupree said a former prosecutor was to blame for the wrongful conviction.

Jackson County Juvenile Court released 17-year-old “L.M.” last Wednesday, without comment, after more than three months in custody. A second juvenile, 15, is still being held in the killing of Shaun Brady, a popular Irish pub owner.

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.

The former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective failed to appear at the first day of his federal trial in Topeka. He faces federal charges of violating the civil rights of two women.

The former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective was found dead of a gunshot wound at his house in Edwardsville, after failing to show up for trial. Called a “dirty cop,” Roger Golubski was accused of abusing women, putting innocent men in prison, and terrorizing the Black community for decades.

Roger Golubski was found dead of an apparent suicide on the day — the very hour — his federal trial was supposed to begin. That means that the case against him, which would have featured multiple women testifying about the abuses Golubski allegedly perpetrated, is dead as well. How did this trial fall apart? How do victims feel about it? And who will be held accountable now — if anyone?