In the quiet town of Box Elder, South Dakota, the life of Dick Mashek, a 49-year-old Caucasian male, came to a tragic and violent end on September 9, 2014. What unfolded in his mobile home on Hillview Drive was a harrowing tale of domestic turmoil, culminating in a fatal gunshot wound. The events of that day were captured in graphic detail by a series of security cameras Mashek himself had installed, providing a rare and chilling glimpse into his final hours.
His girlfriend at the time,
24-year-old Kelly Ann Croyle, was at the center of the storm. For hours, the cameras recorded a volatile and escalating altercation between the couple. Mashek was seen subjecting Croyle to a torrent of abuse and threats. At one point, he brandished a battle axe and physically assaulted her. The situation grew increasingly dire as Mashek repeatedly pointed a loaded pistol at her head, terrorizing her.
The relentless abuse and threats seemingly pushed Croyle to a breaking point. Mashek, in a state of escalating rage that appeared to shift between homicidal and suicidal, urged Croyle to shoot him. He handed her the loaded gun, taunting her to pull the trigger. After a pause of eleven seconds, with Mashek sitting in front of her, she fired a single shot. Following the shooting, Croyle was observed on the video smoking a cigarette and making a phone call before disabling a camera and a computer and fleeing the scene with the gun and some money.
Croyle was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder, facing the possibility of life in prison. She spent ten months in the Pennington County Jail. However, the video evidence proved to be a pivotal element in the case. After extensive review by both prosecution and defense experts, a consensus was reached. A forensic psychiatrist concluded that Mashek had "brutalized, terrorized, and tortured Croyle, giving her no alternative other than to fulfill his wish that she kill him and put him out of his misery.” Ultimately, both the prosecution and defense agreed that Croyle had acted in self-defense. The charges against her were dropped, and she was set free.
