KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – A Christmas experience in Kansas City has left many feeling not so jolly after attending.

JINGLE! at Legends Field in KCK is a winter wonderland that features more than 4 million lights, a skating rink, and a tubing hill but some don’t feel like they got what they were promised.

Carly Pasceo went to JINGLE! on opening night with three others, excited to get into the Christmas spirit.

“We were just disappointed and let down and kind of just felt like it was a little bit of a scam,” said Pasceo.

Instead, she said she couldn’t enjoy a lot of what she saw advertised on the event’s website

“They had advertised like an ice-skating rink through the lights. There was a tiny ice-skating rink, maybe the size of my living room, kind of off in the corner but it wasn’t open,” explained Pasceo.

KCTV5 reached out to JINGLE! and they admit the opening wasn’t what they’d hoped.

“Unfortunately, this vision was delayed due to circumstances beyond our control – specifically a port strike in Canada,” Jingle! Holiday Kansas City said in its statement. “We are obviously disappointed that we were not able to deliver the full experience to our guests on opening night.”

Pasceo also complained there was a manure-like smell while walking through the lights, and mud piles everywhere.

JINGLE! Also admitted to having drainage issues.

“This was due to an unanticipated field drainage issue exacerbated by heavy rain prior to and after flooring install,” the event organizers said, acknowledging they’re working to fix the problem.

“At this point, I have to laugh so I don’t cry, but when I was there, I almost did cry,” said Ashley Mitchell, another unhappy customer.

Mitchell went to JINGLE! with her sister and daughter and said she also had an unpleasant experience.

“It was almost like I was being punked because every time I went somewhere I was like what is this? The tree was tilted by the way the big tree it’s on its last leg,” said Mitchell. “The number of even the lights that they had, like they were advertising millions of Christmas lights, and you get hundreds.”

JINGLE! responded to those claims, too.

“We have worked to identify any misleading past or present graphics. Of note, no market for enchant and Jingle! has identical lighting and feature components – as they rotate year over year.”

Both women said they reached out to organizers for a refund. Pasceo said she was told she would get a refund but has not heard back. Mitchell said she called and was told she wouldn’t be receiving a refund but could get discounted tickets to return.

They both hope JINGLE! fixes the issues so other families don’t leave disappointed like they were.

“They either need to close, change what they have there or offer refunds to everybody. From what I’ve seen not a single person had an enjoyable experience,” said Pasceo.

JINGLE! said it remains dedicated to delivering a magical and memorable holiday experience and said guests’ safety and well-being will always be their top priority.

“We deeply appreciate the feedback we’ve received and are committed to making improvements throughout the 2024 season,” the event organizers said.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

A white former police detective accused of raping and terrorizing women in the predominantly Black neighborhood he was sworn to protect in Kansas City, Kansas, died in an apparent suicide Monday morning just as jury selection was set to begin in his criminal trial in nearby Topeka.

Roger Golubski, 71, was found dead on the back porch of his home in Edwardsville, Kansas, shortly after a neighbor called 911 to report hearing a gunshot around 9 a.m., the Kansas Bureau of Investigations said in a statement. Golubski died from a fatal gunshot wound, the bureau said, and there were no indications of foul play. An autopsy and “thorough investigation” were set to be conducted, the agency said.

At the time he died, Golubski was supposed to be in the courtroom for the start of his long-awaited trial. He was facing six felony counts related to the alleged civil rights violations suffered by two women while Golubski was a police officer in Kansas City, Kansas, during his many years on the force.

Prosecutors said that between 1998 and 2001, Golubski forced one victim identified by the initials S.K. to perform oral sex on him inside his vehicle. They said Golubski also digitally and genitally penetrated the victim without her consent during sexual assaults and rapes that took place in and next to his vehicle on multiple occasions. Golubski allegedly started targeting the victim when she was a young teen in middle school.

Golubski allegedly terrorized his second victim, identified by the initials O.W., by raping her in her home between 1999 and 2002. Prosecutors said Golubski also forced O.W. to perform oral sex on him. If convicted as charged, he was facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The second victim, Ophelia Williams, ultimately stepped forward with her full identity and said Golubski first raped her in 1999, shortly after her twin teen sons were arrested in connection with a homicide Golubski was investigating, the Wichita Eagle reported.

“He didn’t want to face the facts, so he decided to kill himself,” Williams said Monday when reached by the Eagle. The death meant she would not be testifying against Golubski as planned. In her straightforward reaction, she said, “I guess that’s what happens to people who do all the wrong stuff they do.”

Golubski’s death led the U.S. District Court judge overseeing his case to dismiss the charges at the request of prosecutors.

“This matter involved extremely serious charges, and it is always difficult when a case is unable to be fully and fairly heard in a public trial and weighed and determined by a jury. The proceedings in this case may be over, but its lasting impact on all the individuals and families involved remains. We wish them peace and the opportunity for healing as they come to terms with this development and ask that they all be treated with respect and their privacy respected,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke and U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas said in a joint statement Monday.

Prosecutors said seven other women had agreed to testify that Golubski abused or harassed them as well, the Associated Press reports. “There is no justice for the victims,” Anita Randle-Stanley, who went to court to watch jury selection, told the AP on Monday after hearing about Golubski’s death. Randle-Stanley claimed Golubski harassed her as well, when she was a teenager decades earlier, but she always refused him.

The pending trial was part of a larger investigation of the Kansas City Kansas Police Department involving multiple civil lawsuits and parallel allegations that Golubski accepted money from and provided protection to several men who allegedly ran a violent sex trafficking operation in Kansas City in the late 1990s.

Jay-Z’s social justice organization Team Roc has been pushing for further investigation and reform of the Kansas City Kansas Police Department after Golubski’s case fueled questions about corruption or lack of oversight. Team Roc filed a court complaint last month accusing city and county officials of stonewalling their efforts to access public records about alleged police misconduct. The department did not respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment on the lawsuit.

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As the record-shattering Eras Tour comes to an end, Taylor Swift is apparently sharing mementos with friends and family, including Kansas City Chiefs heiress Ava Hunt.

Hunt, 19, posted an Instagram Story on Monday, December 2, in which she showcased a special gift she received from the “Cruel Summer” singer, 34. Swift, who is in a relationship with Chiefs player Travis Kelce, sent Hunt a care package with a sweet note, which the Southern Methodist University student was happy to share.

“Oh hi!” wrote the singer. “As we conclude the wildest, most extraordinary adventure of my LIFE, The Eras Tour, I wanted to share with a few friends my memories from it. The friendship bracelets, the traditions, the backstage secrets, the costumes, The world travels, the rain shows and sunsets.”

Hunt quickly cut away from the note to reveal the gift, which was a copy of The Official Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Book.

Swift also explained what made her proudest about her tour, which was groundbreaking in both its scope and the money it generating. “What truly made this tour what it became,” she wrote, “was the passion, joy, unbridled emotion, and love the fans showed us every night. I hope you’ll enjoy this journey through the memories of my proudest moments: The Eras Tour. Love, Taylor.”

Swift is a frequent guest at Chiefs’ games due to her relationship with Kelce, 34. Mecole Hardman’s fiancée Chariah Gordon even posted a picture of the “Fearless” songstress holding the couple’s baby on Instagram, and she has been spotted hanging out with several other wives and girlfriends of the players. The Swift and Kelce families reportedly spent Thanksgiving together this year, marking an important milestone for the two families. Hunt and Swift appear to have first met in December of 2023, when Hunt posted a photo of the two on Instagram with the caption, “Enchanted to meet you @taylorswift ♥️.”

Hunt’s older sister, Gracie Hunt, also received an Eras Tour book gift, which she posted to her Instagram Story on Monday as well.