Kolb released on OR
29-year-old accused of trying to kill
elderly Catholic sister

Derek Kolb waits to receive some court documents Thursday at Municipal Court. (Photo by Nick Short/Independent)

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Considering the bizarre details surrounding the attempted murder charge he is facing, Derek Kolb's first courtroom appearance was strikingly quiet and low key.

Dressed neatly in black trousers, a lavender dress shirt, and coordinating tie, Kolb walked into court on Thursday looking more like a young attorney than the typical defendant in Gallup's Magistrate Court.

And after a brief appearance before Judge George Galanis, Kolb quietly walked out of the courtroom and back into the sunny November afternoon in Gallup, a city that has been stunned by the very strange story swirling around the former Catholic seminary student.

Kolb, 29, has been charged with attempting to kill Margaret Mary Liebst, 81, an elderly Catholic sister, as a way of getting more attention from his friend, sometime employer, and sometime housemate, Father Thomas R. Maikowski, 57, a prominent Diocese of Gallup priest who is Liebst's longtime caretaker. Kolb admitted to police he attempted to kill Liebst in 2002 by putting acid in her cereal, Windex cleaner in her food and drinks, and replacing her insulin with water.

Judge Galanis explained to Kolb the next few steps of the legal system, recorded a not guilty plea, and directed Kolb to fill out an application for a court appointed attorney. Because Kolb was "still here" two years after the incidents "and nobody's died," Galanis released Kolb with no bond. The judge did order Kolb to report to a pre-trial release program.

Throughout his appearance in court, Kolb remained unfailingly polite to the judge, the court staff, and the five news reporters and photographers who trailed near him.

Kolb declined to answer any questions for The Independent. However, Kolb motioned to the police report in the reporter's hands and said, "You've got that report; you've got the story."

A strange story
Through interviews with Kolb, Liebst, Maikowski, and Diocese of Gallup officials, the lengthy police report does paint a very strange story. And perhaps the strangest story that emerges from the report is the puzzling relationship between Kolb and Maikowski, the director of the diocese's Department of Education and the head of the Catholic schools in the diocese. In addition to his educational responsibilities, Maikowski serves on a number of important councils within the diocese and helped develop the diocese's first "Policy on Sexual Misconduct and/ or Abuse" handbook in 1993.

Although Kolb, during a long distance telephone call in the spring of 2002, apparently told Maikowski about his recent attempts to kill Liebst, law enforcement authorities were not notified at the time. Instead, in May 2004, a mental health counselor of Kolb's notified the Gallup Police after Kolb revealed that he had attempted to kill Liebst, he was thinking about hurting his upstairs neighbor, and he was suicidal.

DA commentsThe Independent contacted District Attorney Karl Gillson about the two year time span between Kolb's actions against Liebst and the report to police. Gillson is not handling the case, but Deputy District Attorney Michael Calligan, who is prosecuting Kolb, is currently out of the country. Gillson said his office would have to do further investigation into the circumstances surrounding who might have known about Kolb's attempts to harm Liebst.

"Certain professions maintain standards of behavior and ethics which would include reporting a matter of this magnitude to law enforcement," Gillson said. However, he added, in many circumstances, people outside those professions are not legally obligated to report knowledge of a crime to law enforcement officials.

Kolb's case is complicated by the fact that Maikowski is a Catholic priest and he is also Liebst's caretaker. Under New Mexico law, the circumstances surrounding the telephone call between Kolb and Maikowski and the nature of their relationship would have to be looked at, as well as the legal status of Maikowski's caretaker responsibilities of Liebst.

According to the Gallup Police report, both Kolb and Maikowski deny they have had a homosexual relationship. Kolb admitted to police he was gay, but that he had been trying to live a celibate lifestyle. In a startling revelation to police, Maikowski admitted to having some homosexual experiences in his past. "Father Tom stated that when he was in high school he was involved with girls, but in the seventies he was in Fort Wayne (Indiana) in the seminary and he was involved in something gay back then one or twice," wrote Detective Billy Padavich.

On Wednesday, the Independent requested a formal interview with Deacon Timoteo Lujan, the chancellor for the Diocese of Gallup and the spokesman for Bishop Donald E. Pelotte. Lujan declined to meet with the Independent, and left the following statement on The Independent's voice mail: "I have all day meetings tomorrow. I will not be in the office on Friday, and I will be out of town Saturday, and we have a liturgy on Sunday. And the other thing is - is everything I have to say about the case with Derek Kolb is I've said it to the Gallup Herald, and I've given them an exclusive on the story."

Catholic community
The Gallup Herald is a new weekly newspaper that is published by Joseph Kolb, who acts as publisher, editor, and reporter. Kolb, who told The Independent he is not related to Derek Kolb, is also the editor-in-chief of The Voice of the Southwest, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Gallup. Two other Gallup Herald employees, photo editor Craig Robinson and sports writer Tom Hartsock, also work part-time for the diocese newspaper, whose publisher is Bishop Pelotte.

The Gallup Herald story indicates Maikowski met with Lujan sometime after Kolb told him he had tried to kill Liebst, and it was agreed that Kolb should move out of Maikowski's residence. "In the midst of the abuse crisis, we were concerned of the appearance of a young man and a priest alone and no one around," Lujan was quoted as saying. "This is our standard policy."

However, the Gallup Police Report reflects a different perspective from Lujan. On May 7, 2004, Padavich interviewed both Lujan and Pelotte about the situation. "Deacon Lujan had explained to me that Father Maikowski wasn't to have any contact with Mr. Kolb," Padavich wrote in the report. "Deacon Lujan said that he thought the relationship between Mr. Kolb and Father Maikowski wasn't appropriate and he told Mr. Kolb he needed to leave Cathaderal (sic) School. I explained to Deacon Lujan that Father Maikowski and Mr. Kolb still had contact with each other and he said he didn't know they still had contact with each other and that he would talk with Father Maikowski and that he would also keep Sister Mary safe."

And in an August 12, 2004 interview with Liebst, Padavich wrote: "Sister Margaret Mary stated that Deacon Lujan told her and Father Tom not to have anything to do with him (Kolb), and if they have anything to do with him that they were no longer wanted here."

The Independent did attempt to call Maikowski for comment. He was not at either the Gallup Diocese Department of Education or St. Francis Elementary School, where he serves as principal.