Investigations expose failures and demand reforms after Golubski - from Melinda Henneberger:
The shadow of Roger Golubski continues to ripple through Kansas City, Kansas, policing. Judge Aaron Roberts overturned Cedric Warren’s 2010 homicide conviction, calling out its compromised origins tied to Golubski’s misconduct. The recent revelation that the former police detective had a documented history of suicidal ideation but was still left on home detention raises hard questions about accountability. Stories like the tragic conviction of Donell and Ronell Williams as teens, allegedly manipulated by Golubski, show how deeply systemic abuse runs.
And in Vernon County, Missouri, Sheriff Mike Buehler is overhauling a formerly abusive jail to show that some parts of the system are trying to rebuild trust.
NO. 1: WHY HAS GOLUBSKI’S MURDER CASE AGAINST HIS VICTIM’S TEEN SONS NEVER BEEN REVIEWED? | OPINION
The ex-KCKPD detective’s name is all over police reports in the murder case against Ronell and Donell Williams, who were only 14 at the time. From Melinda Henneberger: | Published July 22, 2024 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 2: ‘IT’S A LITERAL SPIT ON DELEISHA’S GRAVE.’ NEPHEW OF WYCO DA GETS SWEETHEART PLEA DEAL | OPINION
Despite his criminal history, Billy Dupree has been allowed to plead no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the strangulation of 16-year-old Deleisha Kelley. From Melinda Henneberger: | Published September 15, 2024 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 3: KEHOE’S GOT EX-KC COP’S BACK. ALL FRIENDS OF INMATES WHO’VE KILLED FEEL THAT WAY | OPINION
The trial judge was brave to follow the law and find Eric DeValkenaere guilty of manslaughter. From Melinda Henneberger: | Published November 13, 2024 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 4: IS FORMER KCK COP’S TRIAL REALLY HAPPENING? YES, BUT THAT ISN’T WHAT’S HAD ME WORRIED | OPINION
It’s the second federal case against Roger Golubski that is considered easier to win and yet has concerned Melinda Henneberger more. | Published December 1, 2024 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 5: ‘Y’ALL NEVER MONITORED HIM AND WE WERE NEVER SAFE’: GOLUBSKI PLAYS GOD ONE LAST TIME | OPINION
A condition of his house arrest was no access to guns. Did anyone ever check on him? This was someone’s job, and that job did not get done. From Melinda Henneberger | Published December 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 6: JUDGE THROWS OUT KCK HOMICIDE CONVICTION THAT ‘HAD GOLUBSKI WRITTEN ALL OVER IT’ | OPINION
If this story sounds familiar, that’s because Cedric Warren’s case is a lot like Lamonte McIntyre’s. From Melinda Henneberger: | Published December 10, 2024 | Read Full Story by mhenneberger@kcstar.comMelinda Henneberger
NO. 7: PROSECUTOR ON PARSON NOT CALLING DEVALKENAERE VICTIM’S FAMILY: ‘IT’S CRUEL, REALLY’ | OPINION
Jean Peters Baker also asked why, if Missouri Gov. Mike Parson really thought KCPD’s Eric DeValkenaere was wrongly convicted, he let him serve 426 days behind bars as of Wednesday. From Melinda Henneberger: | Published December 19, 2024 | Read Full Story by mhenneberger@kcstar.comMelinda Henneberger
NO. 8: NEW JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR MAKES LIFESAVING CHANGE ON CHARGING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE | OPINION
For years, strangulation has been handled as a mere ordinance violation, right up there with jaywalking. From Melinda Henneberger | Published January 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 9: NEW SHERIFF: ‘WE’RE TRYING TO FIX THINGS’ IN TROUBLED JAIL WHERE KC SENDS DETAINEES | OPINION
The Kansas City Council is looking at all options for detainees, including a prefab jail. From Melinda Henneberger: | Published January 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 10: KC WILL ‘SPEND $250 MILLION TO CORRECT MISTAKE’ OF CLOSING MUNICIPAL JAIL IN 2009 | OPINION
Sending Kansas City inmates to jail in “Vernon County was a cheaper way to do it.” Cheaper, yes. Humane, no. From Melinda Henneberger: | Published February 19, 2025 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 11: AUTOPSY: KCK DETECTIVE HAD ‘HISTORY OF SUICIDAL IDEATION’ YET WAS LEFT ON HOUSE ARREST | OPINION
Michelle Houcks, who was going to testify that Roger Golubski raped her, said the system “failed us and they failed him.” From Melinda Henneberger: | Published February 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
NO. 12: ‘A THIRD SPACE’ WHERE ART IS FOR EVERYBODY: THE OLD, NEW AND MUCH ADORED NELSON-ATKINS | OPINION
This next transformation will make the Nelson “like a weave of three parts, a beautiful collage.” From Melinda Henneberger: | Published April 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.