Kansas City, Kansas, man seeks to overturn murder conviction, cites ties to former detective Roger Golubski

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Kansas, man convicted of a 2008 murder is asking the court to overturn his conviction in part because the case was investigated by former police detective Roger Golubski.

Donnell Dobbs, 39, is imprisoned at the Lansing Correctional Facility for the first-degree murder of Muryel Josenberger on Oct. 3, 2008, at a KCK barbershop.

On Wednesday, the Midwest Innocence Project announced it had filed a 93-page motion in Wyandotte County Circuit Court to vacate, set aside or correct Dobbs’ life sentence.

In the filing, attorneys allege that Golubski, who investigated the murder case, used his powers to coerce Dobbs’ mother for sexual favors. When Dobbs’ mother refused those demands, the attorney alleges Golubski targeted her son Donnell in retaliation.

Dobbs’ attorneys also cite a 2021 review of the case by the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office’s Community Integrity Unit that concluded there was evidence to support Dobbs’ innocence.

“Strong evidence implicates an alternative suspect as the perpetrator of the shooting for which Dobbs has spent the last 17 years incarcerated,” his attorneys wrote in the filing.

LINK | Read the filing

Federal prosecutors charged Golubski in connection to similar incidents dating back decades in KCK. As he prepared for trial in the case, Golubski took his own life on Dec. 2, 2024, in the backyard of his Edwardsville, Kansas, home.

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Dobbs’ mother was set to be a witness in Golubski’s trial.

Attorneys working with MIP said Dobbs had an alibi, in that, on the day of the murder — he was at a funeral for a friend and later gathered with friends at his mother’s house.

Attorneys also highlighted evidence that showed another man was the likely murderer.

"(Wednesday) is a significant step in the fight to exonerate and clear Dobbs' name," a news release from MIP reads. "The Midwest Innocence Project and Morgan Pilate LLC will continue to pursue justice for Dobbs and his family."

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