By the time he was 18, Stroud had made his way to Cordova, Alaska, where he met 36-year-old Kitty O'Brien, a prostitute and dance-hall entertainer, for whom he pimped in Juneau. On January 18, 1909, while he was away at work, an acquaintance, barman F. K. "Charlie" von Dahmer, allegedly failed to pay O'Brien for her services and beat her, tearing a locket from her neck that contained a picture of her daughter. Upon discovering the incident, Stroud confronted von Dahmer, and a struggle resulted in the latter's death from a gunshot wound. Stroud went to the police station, and surrendered himself and the gun. According to police reports, Stroud knocked von Dahmer unconscious and then shot him at point-blank range.