20 years later, doubts linger

Twenty years to the day after the notorious murder of

Kelly Ann Tinyes, Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice has announced that she

is reopening the case to investigate whether the man serving 25 years to life

for the slaying might have had an accomplice.

Rice said she and police reopened the investigation into the 1989 murder of

13-year-old Kelly Ann Tinyes of Valley Stream two years ago at the request of

the slain girl's parents. She has now established a hotline for tips in the

case: 516-870-2813.

The Tinyes family has always suggested Robert Golub, the neighbor

convicted of killing their daughter, might have had help from his younger

brother John in committing the crime.

Rice said her investigators have retested the DNA evidence in the case

using modern technology and interviewed dozens of witnesses. Now she said they

need the public's help to find crucial evidence they believe may still be out

there.

Rice would not say whether John J. Golub, now 34, is a target of the new

investigation. Nor would she discuss whether the investigation has uncovered

any new evidence. But she said the facts don't add up.

"The family has questions, and their questions are legitimate," Rice said

yesterday.

John Golub's lawyer, John Lewis of Farmingdale, said there never has been

any credible evidence against his client.

"They don't have it, and they're never going to have it, so why are we

still here?" he said. "These allegations have destroyed his life."

John Golub could not be reached for comment. His mother, Elizabeth Golub,

answered the door at her home Saturday but declined to be interviewed.

Twenty years later, Robert Golub still insists he's innocent. "I didn't see

anything. I didn't hear anything," he said in a prison interview yesterday. He

said he and his younger brother have not spoken in years because of a falling

out they had over the case.

Murder is the only crime that a person could still be charged with in the

case, because the five-year statute of limitations has expired for all other

crimes. Prosecutors would have to prove that another person knowingly assisted

in the murder.

According to prosecutors, Tinyes was baby-sitting for her 8-year-old

brother Richard when someone identifying himself as John called the house and

asked for her. Tinyes walked down the block to the Golub house, prosecutors

said. One witness, a 6-year-old boy who never testified at trial, said he saw

John Golub answer the door and let her in, prosecutors said.

The next day, Tinyes' mutilated body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag

under the Golubs' basement stairs, prosectors said. Robert Golub turned himself

in to police about two weeks later. No one else was ever charged.

John Golub, who was 14 at the time, was at home smoking marijuana with two

friends at the time of the murder, prosecutors said. At the trial, prosecutors

presented no evidence that John Golub knew Kelly Ann had entered the house, and

his friends later told detectives that John left their presence only for a few

minutes at a time.

But Kelly Ann's parents, Richard and Vicky Tinyes, who still live on Horton

Road, said they have lived 20 years believing that one of the people

responsible for their daughter's death is still free.

"We believe John J. called the house," Richard Tinyes said. "We believe

John J. opened the door. If it wasn't for John J., we'd still have our

daughter. We believe wholeheartedly that he was involved."

Staff writers Laura Rivera and Andrew Strickler contributed to this story.

THE CASE

THE MURDER On March 3, 1989, Kelly Ann Tinyes, 13, was baby-sitting her younger

brother when she got a call from someone named "John" and left the house. The

next day her body was found in the basement of the Golub home.

THE DEFENDANT Robert Golub, 21, an unemployed bodybuilder, surrendered to

police and pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

THE WITNESSES John J. Golub, 14, was at home with two friends at the time

of the killing. Glenn McMahon and Steve Bataan, both of Hewlett, later told

police that John left their presence only for moments at a time.

THE TRIAL The 1990 trial, televised gavel-to-gavel, was the first in New

York's history to rely on DNA evidence. Robert Golub was convicted and

sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

THE INVESTIGATION Two years ago, Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice

reopened the case to investigate whether Robert Golub had an accomplice.

THE APPEAL Attorneys for Robert Golub appealed his conviction in 1992,

claiming that DNA evidence in the case was flawed. His conviction was upheld.