“I don’t care whether you shoot me or hang me. I have done my work.” Those are quite possibly the last words of Richard Stoll, a man who would end his own life after having killed the mayor of Sturgis. The news of this “distressing tragedy” would spread throughout the Black Hills, and eventually South Dakota. But it was just one tragedy in a longer line of tragedies.
The string of events that would lead to the murder and later suicide of two locals began in 1910. But it didn’t begin with either Stoll, or the mayor, Elmer Ladd. Instead, it began with the divorce of Samuel Linch and Melissa Linch.
In what was called the most sensational divorce case that the local circuit court had ever tried, Melissa Linch would be granted a divorce from her husband, and as part of the separation, she would be granted property in Nebraska, as well as a one-third interest in a Piedmont ranch. It was an outcome that Samuel was not pleased with. After all, it was Samuel who had initiated the divorce proceedings.
Samuel would soon find a means of recourse when a clerical error in the filing of the judge’s decree occurred in Sturgis. Suddenly, Samuel had a way to deprive his now ex-wife of the land she was owed. And that is where Stoll came into the picture.
Around 12 years prior, Stoll had moved from Deadwood to a ranch near Piedmont. It would be near Stoll’s land that the Linch ranch had been. Stoll had already prospered on his own ranch, and having the opportunity to expand his holdings seemed promising.
Enter Elmer Ladd. Ladd was the mayor of Sturgis at the time, and worked as a cashier for the Meade County Bank. This is where the story gets messy.
Stoll had consulted Ladd on the purchase of the Linch’s ranch. While the Linch’s divorce had been big news, and the fact that Melissa was given an interest in the property in Piedmont was well known at the time, Ladd told Stoll that the title appeared to be fine.
Stoll should have thought twice, and questioned the advice that Ladd had given him. Because shortly after purchasing the ranch from Samuel, he’d find himself in court. Melissa wasn’t going to simply hand over what was rightly owed to her.
The court case would take place in December of 1911. During the proceedings, it was shown that Stoll had been told multiple times that Melissa continued to own an interest in the ranch, and that it couldn’t be sold without her approval. During the trial, both Samuel and Stoll would acknowledge that they had taken advantage of a clerical error, claiming that the error had shut Melissa out of the property.
Judge Rice would rule that Stoll had known of Melissa’s interest in the land, had been told repeatedly of Melissa’s interest, and even saw documentation that clearly showed Melissa’s interest, and because of all of that, could not claim to be an innocent party. It would be ruled that Stoll would become a trustee for Melissa, and would have to account to her for a one-third interest in Linch Ranch.
Stoll would end up owing Melissa $2,000 for her interest in the ranch. It was money he had. Sitting in the Meade County Bank, he would later claim to have around $4,500. But just a week after the judgement was handed down, the doors of the Meade County Bank would shutter.
The decision to close the bank had been being contemplated for a few weeks. It wouldn’t be the end of the bank’s future, but for those who had money in that institution, they suddenly saw their assets frozen. For Stoll, while he had the money to pay the debts he owed, there was no way for him to actually pay those debts, or touch his money. All of a sudden, he was about to lose the property all together. It was looking like financial ruin.
It was from this despair that Stoll looked at Ladd. It was on Ladd’s advice that he purchased the land. And after all, Ladd was a cashier at the Meade County Bank, a bank that had known for quite some time that closure was imminent. For Stoll, Ladd held at least some responsibility for the disaster that had fallen upon him.
On April 20th, 1912, Stoll would travel to Sturgis, and confront Ladd on Main Street. Ladd would promise he’d do what ever he could to help, before going into the office of James McNenny, the lawyer who had defended Stoll in his losing case. Stoll would follow Ladd into the office, and fire four shots from a 44 caliber Colt revolver. The first shot would go wild, but the second would strike Ladd in the forehead, killing him instantly. The final two shots were fired into his body.
Stoll would make no effort to escape. Instead, he rushed out onto Main Street, put up his hands, and shouted, “I don’t care whether you shoot me or hang me. I have done my work.” Without any resistance, he would be taken into custody, and placed in the county jail.
There was concern that mob justice would take over, and Stoll would be lynched. Ladd was a beloved local, even though his popularity had dampened because of his involvement with the Meade County Bank. He had just lost his re-election campaign for mayor, but he was still a prominent member of the community.
To prevent a lynching, Sheriff Joe Collins decided that it would be best to transfer Stoll to Rapid City. But by the time he reached the jail, Stoll had already found his own justice. With a pocketknife, he had inflicted wounds on both sides of his throat, with one severing his jugular. Within half an hour, he was dead.
Later reporting would claim that Stoll had shot himself in the head, or that the issues with the Meade County Bank closing had no impact on his actions. But it soon came to light that Stoll had been “gunning” for Ladd for a few days, and that he had spoken of committing suicide. And there was little doubt in most people’s minds that the closing of the bank played a major part in Stoll’s violence.
Many understood the distressing situation that Stoll had been going through, as they were stuck in that same situation. Financial ruin for many was just right around the corner as they were locked out of the money they had entrusted to their local bank.
And it is with that story that a new series is introduced which will dive into the financial turmoil the Meade County Bank caused, and how it got to that point.
Edit
A slight correction. In the first edition of this article, I used the spelling of Stahl for Richard’s last name. The majority of news articles that I read that dealt with the situation used that spelling. The City Of Sturgis’s obituary index also has that spelling in place. It was brought to my attention that the spelling was incorrect, that it should be Stoll. After some research, where other variations of the spelling were found, including Stolle, as well as a claim that the name was actually Hill, I did locate his grave stone, which has the spelling of Stoll. Thus, I have corrected that spelling.
What did you mean the Meade County Bank closed TEMPORARILY? My grandparents lost all their money in it.
Both married in 1910 and sold their herds of cattle and put money in bank planning to live off the interest. Lost every dime and has to start all over.
In a future article, I will be detailing how the closure of the bank ruined a lot of people. I won’t overlook that at all. What I meant by temporarily though is that the Meade County Bank would reopen later on. By then, it was too late for most, but the bank would reopen nonetheless.