The life of the acclaimed middleweight boxing champion, Stanislaw Ketchel, came to a violent and premature end on October 15, 1910. Known professionally as 'The Michigan Assassin,' the 24-year-old male had traveled to Missouri to train and recover at the Dickerson Ranch, a property located near Conway and owned by his friend, R.P. Dickerson. While staying at the ranch, he encountered a couple hired to work on the property: Walter Dipley, who was using the alias Walter Hurtz, and Goldie Smith, who posed as Dipley’s wife. Tensions reportedly rose between the men, with conflicting accounts suggesting motives ranging from a robbery plot to jealousy over Ketchel’s interactions with Smith.
On the morning of the shooting, the Polish-American pugilist was seated at the breakfast table with his back turned to the door. According to investigative reports and testimony, Dipley approached from behind armed with a. 22 caliber rifle. He shouted a command at the boxer, and as Ketchel began to rise and turn, Dipley fired a single shot that struck him below the shoulder, traveling into his lung. Ketchel collapsed to the floor, mortally wounded. Following the attack, Dipley assaulted the fallen champion with a pistol and fled the scene, while Smith remained at the ranch and initially claimed that Ketchel had assaulted her, a story that authorities quickly viewed with skepticism.
A special train was chartered to transport the critically injured fighter to a hospital in Springfield, Missouri, where he succumbed to his wounds later that evening. Law enforcement officials launched an immediate manhunt for Dipley, who was captured the following day at a neighboring farmhouse. Goldie Smith was already in custody, having admitted under questioning that she and Dipley had planned to rob the boxer, who was known to carry large sums of cash. Both suspects were charged with first-degree murder and stood trial in Marshfield in January 1911. The jury found the pair guilty; however, their fates diverged significantly after the verdict. While Dipley was sentenced to life in prison and served 23 years before his parole, Goldie Smith successfully appealed her conviction, which was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court, leading to her release after serving nearly a year and a half.
