The Girlfriends S4/E6: What Would You Have Done?

Summary

The Girlfriends: Untouchable – Season 4, Episode 6: "What Would You Have Done?"

Date Released: December 15, 2025
Host: Nikki Richardson
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts & Novel

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode explores the emotional quest of Trena Cooper as she seeks justice and truth about her mother Dorothy’s brutal murder in 1983, a crime shrouded in mystery and neglect. Through Trena's eyes, listeners learn how decades of failures by the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department—especially regarding the notorious Detective Roger Golubski—enabled shocking abuses and left countless women and families devastated. The episode builds to a crescendo as a grassroots movement for the truth finally converges with long overdue official scrutiny.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trena Cooper’s Family History and Trauma

• Trena’s Childhood Discovery: Trena shares how she first realized her godmother was not her biological mother and became curious about her true origins.
  • "I didn't realize that she wasn't my mother until I was five, six years old." (Trena Cooper, 03:58)
• Recurring Nightmares: She describes childhood dreams of a woman being attacked, which later connected to the mystery surrounding her mother's fate.
  • "I used to always dream about this lady getting tortured in an alley… And he was like, that was probably Mama." (Trena Cooper, 04:34 & 04:48)

2. Details of Dorothy Cooper’s Murder and the Aftermath

• Family’s Experience with Law Enforcement: When Dorothy went missing, police refused to file a report—apathetic indifference that marked the start of decades of mishandled justice.
• Uncovering the Truth:
  • The family learned from TV news that a young Black woman’s body had been found.
  • Oscar, Trena's uncle, identified her by a childhood scar—a moment that still haunts the family.
    • "My uncle said that he remembered the scar that they had had alike... The childhood scar was there. This was his younger sister." (Trena Cooper, 08:39 & 08:51)
  • A disturbing detail: Dorothy's left wrist was cut off, ostensibly to hide evidence.
    • "Something else, and that's when he discovered that her left wrist was cut off. And my uncle's nim was telling me… they just did it. Like, her bones and stuff was fresh." (Trena Cooper, 08:59)

3. Trena’s Determined Search for Justice

• Chasing Answers:
  • Trena’s frustration grew as her family seemed reluctant to seek more information. She was particularly disturbed that evidence was mishandled, e.g., her mother's jean jacket was taken as a memento instead of being preserved.
    • "They gave my uncle my mom's jean jacket from the crime scene, and… that was supposed to stay in evidence." (Trena Cooper, 11:54)
• Attempts to Reopen the Case:
  • In 2007, motivated by her children’s questions, she tried to reopen her mother’s unsolved case at the police station and was directed straight to Detective Roger Golubski, not knowing his reputation.
    • "The only detective you can talk to about this case is Roger Galupski." (Trena Cooper, 13:44)

4. The Ominous Role of Detective Roger Golubski

• Suspicious Encounters:
  • Golubski showed little interest, cited uncooperative witnesses, and couldn’t locate evidence from the case.
    • "I went and looked in the evidence closet, and her evidence is not in there." (Trena Cooper, 17:17)
  • When Trena mentioned her nightmares involving a police officer, Golubski grew irate and abruptly ended their meetings.
    • "I told him... I've always had a dream that a police officer killed my mom... he got so mad... he got so red." (Trena Cooper, 17:34)
• Systemic Cover-up:
  • A medical examiner gave an implausible explanation for severing Dorothy’s wrist (to obtain fingerprints), fueling Trena’s suspicion of a cover-up.
    • "I said, she had another hand. Why didn't you use her other hand to get her fingerprints?" (Trena Cooper, 16:35)

5. FBI Public Corruption Investigation

• Background from the FBI:
  • Former FBI agent Allen (Public Corruption Unit), shares how, in the late 1980s, the agency began hearing damning accounts from prisoners regarding police corruption, specifically about Golubski.
    • "I think at the high point we had 15 cops who were titled subjects of the investigation. That's a lot. And one of those people was Golubski." (Allen, 25:58)
  • Allen describes the “blue code of silence” and evidence destruction inside the KCKPD:
    • "[The Internal Affairs Unit's] purpose… is to protect the upper ranks, to protect the people running the police department." (Allen, 26:30)
    • "They wanted all internal affairs reports destroyed after three years. You can't go back… because it's all destroyed." (Allen, 27:25)
  • The FBI investigation codenamed "Operation Street Smart" was ultimately shut down when a supportive prosecutor left; Allen believes that if they'd been able to continue, much suffering would have been prevented.
    • "We would have got him in the early 90s... a lot of people whose lives he ruined... we could have prevented..." (Allen, 29:51)

Notable Quote:

“You can’t be friends with people and investigate them at the same time.”
(Allen, 28:31)

6. Golubski Deposed & Victims Find Their Voice (36:25 – 38:46)

• In 2020, Golubski is subpoenaed for the Lamont McIntyre wrongful conviction civil suit. He pleads the Fifth Amendment 555 times, refusing to answer allegations about decades of abuse.

  • "With all due respect, on the advice of my attorney, I vote my Fifth Amendment constitutional rights." (Golubski, 37:24)
  • "That day, Golubski pleads the Fifth 555 times. 555." (Nikki Richardson, 37:32)

• The case settlement inspires more victims and families—including Trena—to come forward. Information and stories begin to circulate widely, turning whispers in the community into calls for justice.

7. Building a Sisterhood of Survivors and Advocates (41:23 – 43:11)

• Trena’s daughter urges her to re-open her mother’s case, especially upon learning about a survivors' movement in Kansas City and the organizing efforts of women like Khadijah Hardaway and Niko Quinn.
  • "Mama, you really need to look into this, Detective... it's getting serious. This police officer, he was doing X, Y, and Z to these ladies." (Trena Cooper, 39:22)
• Trena attends a public rally organized by "Justice for Wyandotte." Just seeing others also seeking justice for murdered or abused loved ones fills her with hope and solidarity.
  • "For all of these years, I've always thought it was just me." (Trena Cooper, 42:01)

8. The Relentless Pursuit Despite Obstacles (43:04 – 47:02)

• Trena and her uncle face dismissiveness and even hostility from current KCKPD detectives as she questions lost evidence and mishandled reports. Police threaten that sharing her mother's file would bar her from suing.
  • "If I give this file to you, you cannot sue us. Why would you say something like that?" (Trena Cooper, 43:37)
  • When Trena asks them to empathize, they claim they would have left it alone, which she calls out as untrue and presses harder.
    • "If it was your mom that got killed in the 80s... what would you have done?" – "We would have left it alone." – "Well, I'm not y'all. I wanna figure it out." (Trena & KCKPD Detectives, 44:15)
  • The tension peaks when they throw a crime scene photo in front of her and suggest, "what are you trying to say, Roger Garlowski killed your mom? I said, I didn't say that. You said that." (Trena Cooper, 45:15)

9. A Turning Tide: The FBI Steps In Again

• As community organizing leads to increasing scrutiny and public pressure, former detective Roger Golubski is eventually arrested by the FBI, signaling both a reckoning for the police department and validation for the survivors’ relentless pursuit of justice.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "I didn't realize that she wasn't my mother until I was five, six years old."
  (Trena Cooper, 03:58)

• "I used to always dream about this lady getting tortured in an alley..."
  (Trena Cooper, 04:34)

• "He remembered the scar that they had alike."
  (Trena Cooper, 08:39)

• "The only detective you can talk to about this case is Roger Galupski."
  (Clerk at KCKPD, 13:44)

• "I've always had a dream that a police officer killed my mom... he got so mad that I said that."
  (Trena Cooper, 17:34)

• "The purpose of the Internal Affairs unit is to protect the upper ranks..."
  (Allen, FBI Agent, 26:30)

• "With all due respect, on the advice of my attorney, I vote my Fifth Amendment constitutional rights."
  (Golubski, 37:24)

• "For all of these years, I've always thought it was just me."
  (Trena Cooper, 42:01)

• "If it was your mom that got killed in the 80s... what would you have done?" – "We would have left it alone." – "Well, I'm not y'all. I wanna figure it out."
  (Trena & KCKPD Detectives, 44:15)

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Notable Segment Timestamps

• Trena's earliest memories & her mother’s murder: 03:49 – 09:16
• Investigation details & Golubski’s involvement: 13:41 – 18:25
• FBI context on Golubski & systemic corruption: 24:26 – 30:18
• Golubski deposed, pleads the Fifth 555 times: 36:25 – 37:53
• Trena seeks support from survivor networks & rallies: 40:26 – 42:14
• Showdown at police HQ, pushback from detectives: 43:04 – 47:02
• Episode close—new hope, FBI arrest teased: 47:02 – END

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Tone & Style

The episode is raw and personal, marked by the trauma, resilience, and hope of survivors. Trena speaks with vulnerable honesty and persistent determination. The tone veers from heartbreaking (the details of Dorothy’s death and family neglect) to defiant (the confrontations with law enforcement) and finally, inspirational, as Trena finds community and momentum in her quest for truth.

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Summary

This episode powerfully illustrates how one woman's refusal to be silenced—joined by a sisterhood of survivors—helped expose systemic rot in Kansas City’s police department. Trena’s journey, fraught with obstacles and pain, grows into a movement for justice that reverberates through her entire community. As suspicion transforms into action, and pleas for answers become a collective outcry, authorities can no longer ignore the truth or the strength of those demanding it.

Next episode preview: The arrest of Roger Golubski by the FBI and the implications for all those who fought to bring him to justice.

Transcript

[Nikki Richardson]

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[Nikki Richardson]

Hey, it's Nikki. We're about to hear some deeply heartwarming moments of sisterhood, hope, and what can happen when people come together to fight for the city they love. But as with the rest of this series, there will be stories about violence, murder and sexual assault. So if you or someone you love has been affected by any of the themes in the show, we've left some links in the description that offer resources and support. Take care of yourself. Trena Cooper's childhood wasn't perfect, but the woman who raised her did her best to fill her life with love.

[Trena Cooper]

I was a spoiled little girl, got everything I wanted with her. I didn't realize that she wasn't my mother until I was five, six years old.

[Nikki Richardson]

Around that time, Trina's godmother was her biological uncle's wife and the only mother figure she had ever known. But Trina was a curious kid who wanted to know more about her birth.

[Trena Cooper]

Mom, uncles and aunties. Like, as I'm growing up, they like, you look just like your mama, you act just like your mama. And then I started having questions like, who is this lady? And all they can really tell me is she's you. Like you. A split image of her.

[Nikki Richardson]

Nobody told her stories about her mom, but Trina had an active imagination.

[Trena Cooper]

I used to always dream about this lady getting tortured in an alley, like getting kidnapped in an alley.

[Nikki Richardson]

It was a recurring dream. So at 10 years old, she opened up to someone about it.

[Trena Cooper]

I had came to my brother one day and I was like, I keep having this dream about this lady being attacked in the alley. And he was like, that was probably Mama. And I'm like, mama? And he was like, yeah, our mama got killed when you was a baby. He just left it at that. And you know, a little girl, I just went on about my life, didn't really ask too many questions.

[Nikki Richardson]

As she got older and hit key milestones without her mother, Trina's curiosity grew.

[Trena Cooper]

So 16, 17, when I started having kids, I started having questions around that time like what happened to her and where was she at?

[Nikki Richardson]

She reached out to her uncle Oscar.

[Trena Cooper]

Him and My mom was like best friends. They were really close.

[Nikki Richardson]

If anybody could tell her more about her mother, it was Oscar. And after some convincing, he finally agreed to share the full story as he knew it. In 1983, Dorothy Cooper, or as her loved ones like to call her dot, was a 20 year old living in Kansas City.

[Trena Cooper]

She was a caring, giving person. She took care of a lot of.

[Nikki Richardson]

People in the family, including her young son and baby girl, Trena. Dorothy had her issues, but she was a present mother. So when she didn't come home one night in April, the Cooper family began to worry. Her father went down to the police station to file a missing persons report for his daughter. But the police didn't take it seriously and didn't allow him to file the report. Hours turned to days until it'd been three weeks since Dorothy's disappearance. One day the Coopers were sitting at home watching tv.

[Trena Cooper]

The news clipping had came across the TV one morning and they said that they had found a young Black woman on 6:35 in Turkey Creek. And my uncle's Nim said instantly, you know, you had that gut feeling like that's her.

[Nikki Richardson]

Their gut feeling was correct. In April 1983, Dorothy's body was found in the driveway of an abandoned nursing home. Trena's family went to a funeral home to identify her. It was a traumatic experience.

[Trena Cooper]

Someone had brought her up on an elevator.

[Nikki Richardson]

Her face was disfigured from her injuries.

[Trena Cooper]

To where they couldn't really identify her, just from the face.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina's uncle Oscar stared down. The body was unrecognizable. How could he possibly identify it as his sister? He paused for a moment as his memories took him back to the childhood they spent together in Kansas City. One moment stood out, an innocent summertime memory from when they were young kids.

[Trena Cooper]

They were riding a bike and my uncle did something to my mama and she kicked them off the bike.

[Nikki Richardson]

They were just playing around, bickering like siblings.

[Trena Cooper]

He had ended up having a bruise on his arm and he ended up doing her like that. And she had the same bruise on her arm. So they grew up with the same bruise on they arm because they both was ornery and couldn't get over, like this person did this to me, things like that.

[Nikki Richardson]

It had been a funny story when they were kids, but faced with a dead body, it took on a darker purpose.

[Trena Cooper]

My uncle said that he remembered the scar that they had had alike. In a rage he went over and he pulled her arm from up under to see if it was heard by the bruise that they had alike, the.

[Nikki Richardson]

Childhood scar was there. This was his younger sister. Oscar was devastated, but he also noticed.

[Trena Cooper]

Something else, and that's when he discovered that her left wrist was cut off. And my uncle's nun was telling me, like, it seemed as though, like, they just did it. Like, her bones and stuff was fresh, like, they had just cut her wrist off.

[Nikki Richardson]

This detail stuck in Trina's mind. Why would someone cut her mother's wrist off if not to hide something?

[Trena Cooper]

I got you.

[Nikki Richardson]

I got you.

[Trena Cooper]

I got you.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

I got you.

[Nikki Richardson]

I'm Nikki Richardson, and from the teams at Novel and I Heart podcast, this is the Girlfriends Untouchable. Episode 6. What would you have done? Trena Cooper didn't have the opportunity to get to know her mother, Dorothy, but according to her friends and family, they would have gotten along pretty well.

[Trena Cooper]

She was a caring, giving person. She was just that sister. Couldn't nobody tell nothing. And me speaking about it is talking. I'm talking about me. Like, this is me now. Like, I'm very outspoken. No one can really tell me too much.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina's also very determined. So despite her family's reluctance to tell her more about her mother and her murder, Trina kept on digging.

[Trena Cooper]

Probably, like, 23. I had reconnected with my godmom, the.

[Nikki Richardson]

Woman who had raised her, and then.

[Trena Cooper]

She'S like, have anyone told you about your mom? Like, this is things that you need to know. And I was like, no.

[Nikki Richardson]

So Trina went to her godmother's house to find out more.

[Trena Cooper]

She just pulled out her little box of pictures, and she showed me old pictures of her and my mom and me as a baby. And we sat and we talked. And she told me that my mom was a streetwalker. And she said that, you know, back then, when everything happened far as her death, they always thought that, like, a police officer was involved because of how it's so covered up. It's like no one else can cover it up as much as it's covered up but a police officer.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina went back to her family and prodded them for answers.

[Trena Cooper]

I started having questions, like, what happened? Like, did y' all ask questions?

[Nikki Richardson]

The short answer was, no, they hadn't. In fact, the more Trina heard about the investigation, the more disappointed she felt.

[Trena Cooper]

They gave my uncle my mom's jean jacket from the crime scene, and my uncle actually took it. And I'm like, why did you take the jacket? It was supposed to be in evidence. And my uncle was just like, well, you know, we didn't Know anything. We just wanted something that belonged to her because we had already lost her. So it was just like he just felt as though that was something to keep him connected to her, and it was just like, no, no. That was supposed to stay in evidence.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina thought that learning more about her mother Dorothy's death would help her move on. But hearing how lackluster the investigation had been left her feeling even further from the truth.

[Trena Cooper]

I was getting irritated, and I was just like, I just don't understand. I left it alone again. I'm like, I don't want to hear no more. Because then, you know, me being a teenager, it's like, it's hurting to hear this about your mom and, you know, already having the hurt in you that you grew up without this lady. So it was just a lot at that time. So I just stopped asking questions because it was too much to really take in.

[Nikki Richardson]

But Trina wasn't the only person in her family with a connection to Dorothy Cooper.

[Trena Cooper]

My kids started asking questions like, who was our grandma and what happened to her? And I was like, you know, I really don't have the answers, and I'm a person to where? Okay, now my kids is asking about it. I have to get answers. I have to be able to come to my kids and tell my kids something about my mom. So 2007, I took it to where I'm like, I'm gonna go to the Wyandotte police station, and I'm gonna try to reopen up my mom's case to try to figure out what happened. So I pulled my uncle with me, like, you're going with me. We're about to reopen up mama's case, and we're about to get some answers.

[Nikki Richardson]

She headed over to the KCKPD station.

[Trena Cooper]

I went over there. I spoke to the clerk at the front desk, and I said, you know, my mom got killed over here in 1983, and I want to reopen her case because it's still an unsolved case. And she looked it up. She was like, the only detective you can talk to about this case is Roger Galupski and me. I'm not knowing anything about a Roger Galupski.

[Nikki Richardson]

She didn't know anything about the detective whose office she was being led up to, but she had her uncle by her side with no reason to be worried.

[Trena Cooper]

Once we went up in the office with Roger Galuski, Roger Galuski then goes to ask me, why do I want to open back up this case? I said, that's my mom. I want to know what happened to her. You know, we never got an answer. So it's like, I just want to know what happened to my mom. He said, okay, we're going to look into it in my mind. He's going to do some investigations. He's going to call me back, and he's going to tell me what he come up with.

[Nikki Richardson]

Time passed as Trina waited to hear the results of his investigation.

[Trena Cooper]

Roger Galupski then goes to call me back for a second meeting, but he.

[Nikki Richardson]

Didn'T have any news for her.

[Trena Cooper]

He then goes to tell me, like, no one's talking. He asked me what did I want to do.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina thought it through until a potential clue came back to her. The horrifying detail her Uncle Oscar had told her about seeing her mother's wrist cut off. So she went back to Galupski with another question.

[Trena Cooper]

Who's the medical examiner that actually examined her body? He told me it was a medical examiner by the name of Hancock. And so I was like, can I get his information? Because I have questions for him.

[Nikki Richardson]

She got his details and gave him a call.

[Trena Cooper]

I asked him to send me the autopsy report. And I asked him, what procedures did he take far as doing a full autopsy on my mom. I asked him. I said, what was the reason of you cutting off my mom's wrist? And he said, to identify her. And I'm like, huh? He was like, so when they brought her body in, her hand was so swollen to where he had to cut her wrist off to release some pressure in her hand to get her fingerprint.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina didn't think the story added up. According to the autopsy report, the medical examiner had included a note saying that there had been adhesions on Dorothy's wrist, the kind that made Trina wonder if her mother's hands had been tied together before her death, but her wrist had been cut off, meaning that that specific evidence, if it had existed, couldn't be used in her murder investigation.

[Trena Cooper]

I said, she had another hand. Why didn't you use her other hand to get her fingerprints? Like, it's other ways to identify her other than cutting her wrist off. Once I started, you know, talking like that, he was really dismissive. He really didn't want to too much talk to me anymore. So then I called another meeting with Roger Galupski. And I asked Galupski, like, what procedures did y' all take? How long do you guys keep evidence? And he said, oh, we keep evidence until the case is solved. And I said, okay. So my mom's Case is still unsolved. So where's her evidence at?

[Nikki Richardson]

Golubski's reply was, you know, I went.

[Trena Cooper]

And looked in the evidence closet, and her evidence is not in there.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina knew there was more to the story, but nobody was telling her anything. So she thought back to her childhood nightmares.

[Trena Cooper]

I told him, I said, you know, as a little girl, I've always had a dream that a police officer killed my mom. And when I tell you he got so mad that I said that, he got so red. And he asked like, what makes you say that? I just sat back and I said, who else can get back in you guys evidence closet? Nobody but a police officer.

[Nikki Richardson]

At that Galupski shut down and asked her to leave.

[Trena Cooper]

After that time, I never seen him no more. I got really discouraged, like, okay, I'm asking the right questions, but no one is really going to be honest. I know I'm on the right track, but I'm not gonna get anywhere because it's just me.

[Nikki Richardson]

But Trina wasn't the only one who had suspicions about Golubski. There were families across Kansas City slowly beginning to ask themselves the same questions. Parents, children and sisters, reexamining the stories the women in their life had told them and realizing that Golubski had cast a dark shadow around the circumstances of their deaths. They were ordinary people doing what they could to try and piece things together. But a powerful agency was working behind the scenes. One that had spent years circling Golubski and was about to center in the FBI.

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[Allen (FBI Agent)]

So you're telling me that the AI.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

That'S meant to make everyone's job easier.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

To manage just adds more to manage.

[Nikki Richardson]

On top of the thousands of Apps.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

The IT department already manages. Funny how that works.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Allen (FBI Agent)]

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[Advertiser/Child Voice]

I got you.

[Trena Cooper]

I got you.

[Advertiser/Child Voice]

I got you.

[Nikki Richardson]

In the 1980s, Alan Generic was an FBI agent working in the Public Corruption Unit, investigating departments across the country, basically.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

Trying to find public officials, police officers or others who are corrupt. And somewhere around 1988 or 89 started investigating the Kansas City Police Department.

[Nikki Richardson]

Allen had heard about possible misconduct in the force and wanted to get to the bottom of it. He began by talking not to officers, but to those they had arrested.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

I would go over and interview them in the jail and tell them we're not interested in them, we're not interested in their family, we're not interested in their friends. We're just interested if you have any information about corrupt cops. So a lot of these people interviewing in the jail were very cooperative and they were eager to tell what they knew. I think at the high point we had 15 cops who were titled subjects of the investigation. That's a lot. And one of those people was Golubski. Talking to people, he developed information that Galupski had a thing for black women. He would extort them into having sex with him. I think a lot of people knew what Galupski was doing.

[Nikki Richardson]

But if a lot of people knew about it, how did Golubski get away with it for so long? The police is an organization that is supposed to protect us. But Allen's years spent digging into police departments like the KCKPD made it clear to him that that wasn't always the case. And a lot of that was down to the blue code of silence, an unspoken rule in which police officers decided not to report their corrupt and criminal colleagues.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

I remember once this cop, he was on duty in the police car, and he had some woman and he raped her in the police car. She went to the police department and complained that this cop had raped her. Well, the police didn't want to do anything about it. I remember one of the internal affairs cops said to me, you know, the purpose of the Internal affairs unit is to protect the upper ranks, to protect the people running the police department. I think KCK had over 200 cops. And the whole time I was in Kansas City, I'm not aware of one case brought by the Kansas City, Kansas Police Internal affairs unit against any cop.

[Nikki Richardson]

It went further than just protecting their officers.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

They wanted all internal affairs reports destroyed after three years. You can't go back three years before to see what complaints were made against him because it's all destroyed.

[Nikki Richardson]

Allen doesn't know why those documents were destroyed, but he has his own theories.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

There's only one reason why you do that. To protect corrupt cops.

[Nikki Richardson]

It's not a theory we can be certain of, but it's one Allen believes, based on his experience of investigating the police and his role at the FBI. He and the other FBI agents on the case, codenamed Operation Street Smart, had the support of Julie Robinson, a black assistant U.S. attorney who was determined to get to the bottom of the alleged corruption in the kckpd.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

She gave me a grand jury subpoena every month. But we subpoenaed all the Kansas City, Kansas, internal affairs complaints that were made.

[Nikki Richardson]

Against the cops, subpoenas that helped them compile a folder of evidence about Roger Galupski.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

I didn't care who liked me and who didn't like me. And Julie Robinson, the prosecutor, she could give a rat's ass whether they liked her. And I had the same attitude. You can't be friends with people and investigate them at the same time.

[Nikki Richardson]

Julie and Allen dug deeper, conducted interviews with prisoners who told him stories about Galupski, built up a picture of how he operated, and investigated how the KCKPD had enabled him to carry on for so long. Allen could feel himself beginning to close in on Golubski. But then, in 1994, Julie Robinson left the U.S. attorney's job. She moved on to become the U.S. bankruptcy Judge for the District of Kansas.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

Once she left to become a judge, that was the end of it.

[Nikki Richardson]

Alan felt that Julie's replacement wasn't quite as willing to help him and his team.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

We closed down the investigation because we didn't have anybody in the U.S. attorney's office who wanted to do it. It was worth a damn.

[Nikki Richardson]

Allen often wonders what would have happened if Julie had never left, or if the rest of the U.S. attorney's office had been as passionate as she'd been about fighting police corruption.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

You know, we would have got him in the early 90s, maybe 93, 94, 95, we would have gotten him. And there's a lot of crimes that he committed after that that he never would have committed. And, you know, a lot of people whose lives he ruined or whose lives he tried to ruin, you know, that we could have prevented by taking him out, removing him from his position.

[Nikki Richardson]

It's hard to reckon with the realization that something could have been done back then, but wasn't. All the complaints and reports that led to nothing as Golubski rose up the ranks of the KCKPD and used the power of his position and police badge to abuse women and destroy lives. Roderick Lupski spent 35 years working for the KCKPD before retiring in 2010. After decades of abuse that it seems like at least some of his colleagues and superiors knew about, he settled into a comfortable retirement on a full police pension. But something was coming to disturb his peace.

[Trena Cooper]

Could you state your full name for the record, please, sir?

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

Roger Kalupski.

[Trena Cooper]

Do you swear to tell the truth.

[Nikki Richardson]

The whole truth, and nothing but the truth to help you God?

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

I do.

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[Nikki Richardson]

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[Nikki Richardson]

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[Nikki Richardson]

So let me get this straight.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Allen (FBI Agent)]

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[Advertiser/Child Voice]

I got you I got you. I got you.

[Nikki Richardson]

It's November 2020, and Roger Galupski is sitting in an office on the 22nd floor of a law firm in Kansas City. His hair and beard are bright white, and he's wearing a lightly colored shirt and tie. He's older, now 68. He doesn't look as powerful as he used to without his police badge and uniform. Instead, he sat before a microphone with a camera pointed at him. After his exoneration, Lamont McIntyre decided to sue the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, KCK for his wrongful conviction. A lawsuit that has finally led Galoop's to be subpoenaed and questioned about the harms he inflicted on the women and men of Kansas City, Kansas. Galupski looks despondent as the prosecutor, Emma Freudenberger, questions him. You understand that we're accusing you of.

[Trena Cooper]

Terrorizing black women in Kansas City, Kansas for decades, raping women and coercing women.

[Nikki Richardson]

Into giving false testimony. Things start off pretty normally, but when Galupski fails to give adequate answers to questions, the prosecutor gets firmer. Sir, you understand that if I ask you a question and you remember the.

[Trena Cooper]

Answer but you tell me you don't, that's a lie.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

You understand that if I don't remember, I don't remember. If you refresh my memory, then I omit my error and say, you're correct.

[Trena Cooper]

Sir, My question is simple.

[Nikki Richardson]

You are.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

So is my answer.

[Nikki Richardson]

When she asks him direct questions about abusing black women and forcing them to become confidential informants, Golubski has a simple response to her questions.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

With all due respect, on the advice.

[Trena Cooper]

Of my attorney, I vote my Fifth Amendment constitutional rights.

[Nikki Richardson]

It's not the first or last time he invokes his right to avoid self incrimination. It's his response to almost every question she asks him. In fact, that day, Golubski pleads the Fifth 555 times. 555.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

My Fifth Amendment constitutional rights.

[Nikki Richardson]

Lamont eventually settles his lawsuit out of court. Golubski isn't put on trial. He's free to go. But Lamont's victory puts a spotlight on Golubski and inspires even more victims to speak out. The stories are spreading across Kansas City, starting as whispers, but soon swelling into a chorus too loud to ignore. It was enough to encourage people who'd lost hope to tack back in, including Trena Cooper. She'd been avoiding the KCKPD for 12 years after reaching a dead end while investigating her mother Dorothy's unsolved murder. She tried to put the investigation behind her. But that was all about to change.

[Trena Cooper]

I had took my youngest son on a trip, so we were out of town, and my daughter, she just kept calling me, mama, you really need to look into this, Detective.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina's daughter told her that there was a scandal unfolding in Kansas City. Rumors of violence and sexual misconduct that were being linked to a series of murders. Her daughter explained it all over the phone.

[Trena Cooper]

I'm reading all these articles and it's other ladies, and I just really think that you probably need to go and open up grandma's case again.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina drove as her daughter told her story after story about the unsolved murder cases of black women in Kansas City who'd been involved with a certain detective Roger Golubski. There were often young mothers from low income areas of Kansas City who spent part of their lives as sex workers. The similarities between them and Trena's mother, Dorothy, were startling.

[Trena Cooper]

And I was like, I'll talk about it when I come back. And then it was like, she'll call me again. Like, mama, it's getting serious. This police officer, he was doing X, Y and z to these ladies. And it was ladies that came up missing. Like, it's like stories out here, Mama, you really need to look into it. So on our way back, she called, and I'm like, okay, see if we can find somebody, and I'll look into it.

[Nikki Richardson]

When Trina got back home, she read through the articles. There was one in particular that caught her eye.

[Trena Cooper]

It was two ladies that done the article, Khadijah Hardaway and Nico Quinn. And I told my daughter, I said, okay, reach out to Neko and I'll reach out to Khadijah on Facebook and see what we can come up with. Far as that.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina searched the name Khadijah Hardaway and found our organization, justice for Wyandotte. She'd expected to just see a few social media posts, an article or two, but Khadijah and I had been working hard for months, doing everything we could to bring the community together and demand that the authorities investigate Golubski's long history of abuse. One of the ways we did that was by organizing in person visuals and rallies to give survivors, victims and their famil a platform to share their stories. It was something we encouraged a lot of the women we met to show up for.

[Trena Cooper]

I reached out to Khadijah. I had told her a little bit about my mom, and we talked a little bit, and she was like, yeah, you need to come over to the rally.

[Nikki Richardson]

Dozens of people showed up. Friends, families, and neighbors of women who had been violently murdered. Some of them were carrying photos or wearing shirts with their loved ones faces. Others held signs with their names. All of them had been devastated by the murders. But being surrounded by other people who were just as desperate as she was for answers filled Trina with hope.

[Trena Cooper]

I went over to the rally, and, oh, my God, when I went over there, I'm like, this is unfortunate, believable, like, because for all of these years, I've always thought it was just me.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trena stood at the rally and listened to the other people whose loved ones had been abused and still didn't have answers from the kckpd. The sense of solidarity she found at that rally inspired her to start looking for answers again, especially now that she realized Golubski might be the missing piece in the puzzle. So she went back to her investigation into her mother's death.

[Trena Cooper]

No one can really give me answers, but. Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina and her Uncle Oscar get into her car, Drive to the KCKPD's offices, and head over to the reception. At the front desk, Trina is shown into a room with two detectives.

[Trena Cooper]

I sit down with them, and I'm like, listen, I just want to know what happened to my mom.

[Nikki Richardson]

She asked them why they didn't keep her mom's jacket in evidence, why her grandfather hadn't been able to file a missing persons report, and what they'd found over the course of their investigation, but they didn't have any answers.

[Trena Cooper]

So I'm already irritated with the whole situation because I feel as though they have the answers, but they're keeping the answers away from me.

[Nikki Richardson]

She knows she isn't going to get anywhere with the police officers, so she changes tack.

[Trena Cooper]

I said, give me my mom's foul. Let me do the investigation that y' all did not do on my mom's case. And he said, if I give this foul to you, you cannot sue us. Why would you say something like that? I had questions going through my head, like, evidently, it's something in this style that's telling what happened to my mom, and it's gonna come straight back to y', all, because why would you even say something like that? They always think that we're young, we're black, we don't know anything. No, I'm seeing what's going on. And so I sit down with them, and I'm like, listen, if it was your mom that got killed in the 80s and you did not grow up with no parents, what Would you have done? They said, we would have left it alone. Well, I'm not y'. All. I wanna figure it out. And I said, you are a damn lie. You would have done exactly what I'm doing right now if you heard that some officers had something to do with your mom. And they sat back and, oh, God, when I tell you they got some so rude with me. I'm talking about so rude to where they threw the picture in front of me of my mama laying on the crime scene. He then goes to say, well, what are you trying to say? Roger Garlowski killed your mom? I said, I didn't say that. You said that.

[Nikki Richardson]

We reached out to the KCKPD to ask them about Trina's interaction with the two detectives. They said that, quote, statements made regarding interaction with our detectives and Ms. Cooper, not accurate. We have specifically asked them what was inaccurate, but we have not heard back from them at the time of recording. Trina stands by her recollection of events. The Casey KPD also said, we have the utmost empathy for Ms. Cooper and understand her desire to find who killed her mother, as well as frustrations that have built up over the years. Our cold case detectives continue to actively investigate the case and hope that their efforts, combined with new technology, will allow them to finally solve this case, unquote. It's important to say here that neither of the detectives Trina spoke to were accused of being involved in Golubski's crimes. Neither of them was charged with any wrongdoing. And there's no evidence they were in any way aware of what Glupski had done prior to stories about him breaking out into mainstream news. But Trina keeps asking questions and pushing them based on the fact that she didn't trust the authorities.

[Trena Cooper]

So now you're trying to defend him because you're thinking that I'm coming in here saying that Roger Garlupski killed my mom. And he got so mad, and I was just like, okay, I'm hitting the right pins and the right people, and you guys are getting mad at me because I'm coming with the right questions, and you guys don't have the right answers.

[Nikki Richardson]

Trina leaves the police station without getting the answer she wants. But the stories keep piling up. Journalists are beginning to pay attention. The whispers are getting louder. And then in Kansas City, Kansas, tonight, the FBI today arrested former KCK police detective Roger Golubski. That's coming up on the Girlfriends Untouchable. The Girlfriend's Untouchable is produced by novel for iHeart podcast. For more from Novel, visit Novel Audio the show is narrated by me, Nikki Richardson. It was written and produced by Rufaro Mazarua. The editor is Joe Wheeler. Our assistant producer is Mohamed Ahmed. The researcher is Zayana Youssef. Production management from Sheree Houston and Joe Savage. The fact checker is Findel Fulton. Sound design, mixing and scoring by Nicholas Alexander. Alexander with additional engineering by Daniel Kimson. Music supervision by Rufaro Mazurua, Nicholas Alexander and Joe Wheeler. Original music by Amanda Jones. The Girlfriends theme was composed by Amanda Jones and Louisa Gerstein. The series artwork was designed by Christina Lemkul. Story development by Olivia Smart and Nell Gray Andrews. Novel's director of development is Selena Mehta. Willard Foxton is Novel's creative director of development. Max o' Brien and Craig Strachan are executive producers for Novel. Katrina Norvell and Nikki Itor are the executive producers for iHeart podcast and the marketing lead is Allison Cantor. Special thanks to Will Pearson and a special thanks to Karlie Frankel and the whole team at wme.

[Allen (FBI Agent)]

I got you. I got you. Shh.

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[Nikki Richardson]

Hello, it's me, SpongeBob.

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[Nikki Richardson]

Do you know what the best part is?

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What is it, Patrick?

[Nikki Richardson]

No, I'm asking.

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[Advertiser/Child Voice]

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[Nikki Richardson]

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[Nikki Richardson]

Watch it on prime video. Starting January 8th, this is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.