Wanda Stopa: The Meteoric Rise of Chicago's First Female Assistant U.S. District Attorney and Her Fatal Descent into Jazz-Age Scandal and Murder
Carl Tripp
Sep 2026 · Sonia Erirhomuru Solomon
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Chicago in the 1920s was a city of ambition, reinvention, nightlife, and scandal—and few young women seemed destined for a more extraordinary future than Wanda Stopa. Born in Warsaw and brought to Chicago as a child, Stopa pursued law, passed the bar, and rose rapidly enough to become known as Chicago's youngest and first female assistant U.S. district attorney.But behind that remarkable professional rise was a complicated personal life. Stopa became immersed in Chicago's bohemian social world and developed a relationship with married advertising executive Y. Kenley Smith. When their relationship deteriorated, tensions escalated into a confrontation at the Smiths' Palos Park home on April 24, 1924.What happened next transformed a promising young lawyer into the central figure of one of Chicago's most sensational scandals. During the confrontation, Henry Manning, the caretaker at the property, was shot and killed. Stopa fled, triggering a manhunt that quickly became headline news across the country.The story did not end with the shooting. Within days, Stopa was found dead in a Detroit hotel after ingesting poison, bringing a sudden and tragic end to a life that had seemed destined for a very different future. Her death and the circumstances surrounding the case captivated the public, while thousands reportedly gathered for her funeral in Chicago.The story of Wanda Stopa is more than a murder case. It is the story of a brilliant young woman navigating the legal world of 1920s America, a turbulent relationship, Chicago's Bohemian culture, a deadly confrontation, and a scandal that transformed her from a rising legal figure into one of the city's most notorious historical figures.
Chicago in the 1920s was a city of ambition, reinvention, nightlife, and scandal—and few young women seemed destined for a more extraordinary future than Wanda Stopa. Born in Warsaw and brought to Chicago as a child, Stopa pursued law, passed the bar, and rose rapidly enough to become known as Ch...
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