Detective from controversial 1994 KCK case retires from Edwardsville police

Roger Golubski, the detective who investigated a 1994 double murder in Kansas City, Kan., that is now the focus of a campaign to free the man convicted, is retiring from law enforcement.

Golubski, now with the Edwardsville Police Department, was a detective with the Kansas City, Kan., department when the murders occurred. He led the investigation that quickly settled on Lamonte McIntyre as the only suspect.

The Star has written a special report about a new effort to free McIntyre, who has been in prison for 22 years.

Edwardsville Police Chief Mark Mathies said Golubski handed in his notice to retire on Oct. 6. His last day is Sunday, Mathies said.

Mathies said said he’d never received a complaint about Golubski’s behavior since he joined the department in 2010.

“He wants to enjoy his life outside of law enforcement,” Mathies said. “ ... I cannot speak to how he acted or what he did in (the McIntyre) case; it’s so distant and it’s not an Edwardsville Police Department case.”

In a memo to his staff earlier this month, Mathies wrote: “Roger was instrumental in elevating the standards for our Detective Bureau and during his tenure the case-solve rate averaged 81 percent.”

In The Star’s report, Golubski’s brief investigation into the April 15, 1994, murders of Doniel Quinn and Donald Ewing is heavily detailed. When the case went to trial five months after the killings, there was no physical evidence, no evidence of motive and no evidence that McIntyre even knew either of the victims, according to the motion to exonerate McIntyre.

McIntyre, who was 17 when he was arrested, is now 40 and serving a double life sentence in the Lansing Correctional Facility.

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Detective from controversial 1994 KCK case retires from Edwardsville police."