Introduction
Wanda Elaine Stopa (May 5, 1900 – April 25, 1924) was a Polish-American lawyer and murderer.
Life
Stopa was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1900. Stopa studied at The John Marshall Law School and became Chicago's youngest and first woman assistant U.S. district attorney.
Stopa tried to shoot her lover's wife at her home in Palos Park, but accidentally shot and killed their 65-year old gardener, Henry Manning. She fled the scene and led the police on a manhunt.
Death
Stopa committed suicide by ingesting arsenic in a Detroit hotel room. Around 10,000 people attended her funeral. She is buried at the Bohemian National Cemetery.
Popular culture
In 2019, Stopa's story was featured in a Season 13 episode of the American television series Deadly Women, with Stopa being portrayed by Kelsie Feltrin.