DES MOINES, Iowa — An Anamosa State Penitentiary inmate has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after confessing to the 2012 murder of 56-year-old Stanley Golinsky, according to the Polk County Attorney's Office.
Golinsky was found beaten and burned under the First and Water Street railway bridge in Des Moines on Oct. 24, 2012.
36-year-old William Rulli was a suspect at the time of the initial investigation, but there was no evidence pinning Golinsky's death on him.
"I knew in my heart and my mind that Billy did this, but I didn’t have the physical evidence,” said Lt. Tim Peak with the Des Moines Police Department.
In October 2021, he confessed his involvement to Peak, providing exact details about the case. He was then charged with first-degree murder.
According to Peak, who led the investigation in 2012, Rulli was seen as a bully by fellow homeless community members.
"Everybody seemed to be afraid of him,” Peak said.
However, he said Golinsky was "well-known and liked in the homeless community."
Rulli told Peak he confessed because his current sentence of 25 years for first-degree burglary was coming to an end and he'd be on parole soon.
According to the release, Rulli "had nowhere to go, and wanted to continue to live in prison 'with no consequences' for his behavior."
You can watch Peak and DMPD Sgt. Paul Parizek talk about the case in a 2021 Facebook video here.
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