Family of Pete Coones sues Wyandotte County, police officers for wrongful conviction

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The family of Pete Coones is suing Wyandotte County and individual officers in a new federal lawsuit.

The filing said the Kansas City Kansas Police Department manufactured information and suppressed other key facts which led to the wrongful conviction of Mr. Coones.

His case was the focus of previous KCTV5 reports. Coones was wrongfully convicted in a 2008 Kansas City, Kansas, double murder which was actually a murder-suicide that had nothing to do with Coones.

He was freed in November 2020 following an evidentiary hearing. Pete Coones’ freedom was short. He died 108 days following his release from prison.

Prior to his death, Coones sat down with KCTV5 to discuss his view that many trials are about winning and not justice.

“In today’s world, it’s all about wins and losses. And if you win by sending an innocent man to prison, is that a win? I don’t think so,” Coones said. “I think that’s a terrible loss.”

The lawsuit argued Coones’ rights were violated by a botched investigation, which has become a reoccurring theme with the KCKPD. It mentions former detective Roger Golubski by naming 12 separate times as evidence that police had a custom and practice of improper behavior.

Wyandotte County declined to comment.