October 20th, 1974: Ken McElroy marries Trena McCloud to get out of a statutory rape charge with Trena. CHAPTER ONE. Local police, state investigators and FBI agents tried to break the towns silence, without success. As of 2019, many of the main players in McElroys story have died, including McFadin, Trena McElroy, Bowenkamp and the rancher accused of pulling the trigger, MacLean writes in his blog. McElroy first began his relationship with McCloud when she was 14 and the two had a child shortly thereafter. American criminal and murder victim, killed by vigilantes, "3 decades on, who killed Skidmore town bully still secret", "Ken McElroy Murderer, rapist and consummate intimidator", "Skidmore, Revisited Part 1: The Death of Ken McElroy", "Ken McElroy Murderer, rapist and consummate intimidator Another Teen Love", "Ken McElroy Murderer, rapist and consummate intimidator Saved by the Law", "Ken McElroy Murderer, rapist and consummate intimidator Intent to Kill", The Death Of Ken McElroy *Interesting History* - YouTube, "AS her daughter Tami listens, Trena McElroy retells how she watched", "3 decades on, who killed Skidmore town bully still secret | McClatchy", "Ken McElroy Murderer, rapist and consummate intimidator Murder in Broad Daylight", "Wrongful death lawsuit settled in re Ken McElroy", "Trena McElroy Passed Away | Harry N. MacLean", "You Get What You Pay For, by Larry Beinhart", "Stream It Or Skip It: 'No One Saw A Thing' On SundanceTV, A Docuseries About How Skidmore, Missouri Has Kept A Murder Unsolved For 38 Years", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ken_McElroy&oldid=1136590059, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Pages using infobox criminal with known for parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Bo Bowenkamp (survived an attempted murder), This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 02:52. Some of these things are simply assumed to be factual, Baird said. There just wouldnt have been a story.. Ken Rex Melroy was born on June 1st, 1934 to a family of poor tenant farmers who moved to Skidmore. All Rights Reserved. In all, there were 46 potential witnesses to the shooting, including Trena McElroy, who was in the truck with her husband when he was shot. Two people decided in the midst of that whole incident theyd had enough, MacLean said. Ken McElroy issues threats against the Bowenkamp family. He leaves Sharon to move in with Alice. He found a macabre scene. September 2nd, 1982: Keven though there were over sixty witnesses, no one came forward to name the shooter. 1958: Ken McElroy becomes involved with a young woman named Sharon. Our law enforcement never went after him very hard, he said. . He made no deathbed confession, but someone wrote in a memorial tribute that he was a good, brave man. McFadin, the lawyer who once told The New York Times the town got away with murder, is dead, too. He put those skills to work rustling hogs and cattle, MacLean recounts. No one called for an ambulance. Why are you doing this? He then returned to Trena's parents' home when they were away and, once again, shot the family dog and burned the house down. Not only that, they recommended he spend no more than two years in prison. Just months after Mr. Baird became county prosecutor a post he was encouraged to take because nothing exciting ever happens in Nodaway County he found himself in a courtroom for the first time with Mr. McElroy, who had shot an elderly Skidmore grocer in the neck with a shotgun. So the townspeople held a meeting. When the news that Ken and Trena went to the local bar that evening, everyone got up and made their way over. We stood up and did the right thing. April 25th, 1980: A few of Ken's children go to the local grocery store and is accused of stealing by Mrs. Bowenkamp. Del Clement, the man Trena named as McElroys killer, died of cirrhosis of the liver in 2009. To the residents of the small town, he was the town bully. No one bothered to turn it off. We went to the police. (Editors Note: Patch Deputy National Editor Beth Dalbey grew up on a farm about 10 miles from Skidmore, Missouri.). When a court hearing was postponed, there was a meeting in town, with the mayor and the sheriff attending, to discuss Mr. McElroy. The clerk, Evelyn Sumy, was at the back of the store when the doors swung open. Ken Rex McElroy 1934-1981. Neither Baird nor MacLean, whose crime novel has been praised as an accurate account of McElroys killing, buy that. Only July 10, 1981, there was a meeting at the town hall, down the street from D&G Tavern. A girl from a poor, rural family, McElroy had begun having sex with her when she was barely fourteen. No one was surprised. Everyone involved continues to keep the secret and gives no answers. McElroy was born in 1934, the fifteenth of sixteen children born to a poor . No one was ever accused of shoplifting, or stealing. Ken Rex McElroy, a notoriously brutal man who had terrorized Skidmore, Mo., for years, was killed in 1981. Trena McElroy fingered a local rancher as one of the gunmen, but he denied the claim. It was a misunderstanding, but one that made the Bowenkamps lives a living hell for months. Ken McElroy - Wikipedia Trena McCloud's Civil Suit Against Skidmore, Missouri Revealed - Bustle When word spread that McElroy was in town, a couple of the men walked from the Legion hall to the D&G. Ken McElroy died in a hail of gunfire on the morning of July 10, 1981, while sitting in his truck outside a local tavern. He divorces Oleta and marries Sharon to get out of a chargeof assault after shooting Sharon during an argument. Ken Rex McElroy was an American known as "the town bully" of Skidmore, Missouri. Town Mute for 30 Years About a Bully's Killing - The New York Times 1952: Ken McElroy marries his first wife Oleta. Many buildings are closed and falling apart. The town has seen more than its share of tragedy. One reason was McElroys lawyer Richard Gene McFadin, a skilled defense attorney who ran rings around inexperienced prosecutors. He begins to rant about how he is going to ruin Bo Bowenkamp. Trena McElroy remarried and had a fairly normal life, refusing interviews after she left Skidmore. One of the killers has died. Still working within the justice system, witnesses who saw McElroy with the gun gave the information the county prosecutor needed to request a bond revocation hearing. Local authorities, including a coroners jury and a local grand jury, and even the FBI, investigated the killing but to no avail. Mr. McElroy was quickly rearrested after he appeared in town with a rifle, but he was again released. The witnesses all claimed they had seen nothing. Trena dove from the truck and was taken to safety. A deer slug in one chamber tore through Bowenkamps neck, coming within 3 inches of his head. The group heard McElroy and Trena McCloud were spotted heading to the tavern nearby. We were so bitter and so angry at the law letting us down that it came to somebody taking matters in their own hands, said Bowenkamps daughter, Cheryl Huston. McElroy and Trena returned to the truck, where he lit a cigarette while she was in the passenger seat. Everyone in town seemed to know McElroy had done it, yet he spent only a single night in jail for nearly killing the man. Women had a harder time with it than the men. For example, one of the owners of the D&G tavern would send her young children to the grocery store for paper towels, keeping the children innocently unaware they were telegraphing an urgent message for the Bowenkamps to call the police. Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 - July 10, 1981) was a resident of Skidmore, Nodaway County, Missouri. Ken Rex McElroy was an American known as "the town bully" of Skidmore, Missouri. Boyer was out showing a trainee the ropes when he got the call of a shooting in Skidmore. He didnt have a bank account, didnt have a Social Security number, he didnt read. Joyce Monte, daughter of injured grocer. It's said the county's law enforcement officials were afraid of encountering McElroy, who was known to be heavily armed. Of the most serious, McElroy was accused of child molestation and statutory rape. [9] McElroy was convicted at trial of assault, but freed on bail pending his appeal. We went everywhere we could, but justice would stay delicately out the way, she said. If those responsible for killing McElroy are vigilantes, its because the justice system made them that way, Monte said. Alas, the victory was short-lived. Something for everyone interested in hair, makeup, style, and body positivity. McElroy wound up shooting Bowenkamp in the neck, nearly killing him. A memorial in the tiny downtown park displays the name of an expectant mother murdered six years ago, her fetus cut from her womb. McElroy was accused of raping two young women, as young as 12 years old, both of whom he was said to have "married" to keep them from testifying against him. He was hit twice and died in his truck. Livestock owners looked the other way when a few head of cattle or hogs vanished in the night or gas barrels used to fuel farm implements were noticeably emptier. Now, nearly 30 years later, that prosecutor, David A. Baird, is preparing to leave office with his first and most famous case still unsolved. The Chilling Murder of Skidmore Town Bully Remains a Mystery - Medium Maryville, Missouri, lawyer David Baird, the Nodaway County prosecutor at the time, said the crime is fairly unremarkable in the context of current-day gang shootings witnessed by many, but seen by few willing to risk their safety by ratting out the crew. They slept in shifts, with some friend or family member keeping an eye on the street. When talking about McElroy, MacLean wondered how he was able to be so crafty. Is No One Saw A Thing A True Story? The Real-Life Murder - ScreenRant This is How a Town Ganged Up Against a Serial Bully Often, witnesses changed their mind about testifying before trials began, MacLean said, and if a case did make it to trial, a juror might open the mailbox to find a rattlesnake. He testified that Bowenkamp attacked him with a knife and he acted in self-defense, MacLean writes. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. US residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data. The Vigilantemurder of Ken Rex McElroy still remains a mystery today. The murder of Ken Rex McElroy took place in plain view of dozens of residents of this small farm town, under the glare of the morning sun. MacLean doesnt believe the men gathered at the Legion hall that morning ever made a group decision to kill McElroy. Its probably accurate that few outside of McElroys family shed tears over his death, but many Skidmore residents still struggle with the spectacle of a man violently and publicly killed. His unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. McElroy was getting into his pickup truck with his wife Trena on the main street of Skidmore where there was a crowd of 30 to 50 people. However, he was also charged with various crimes. Im never going to answer that question. The Story Of Ken McElroy, The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town A few days later, a pickup truck showed up in the wee hours outside Boyers remote country house. A swarthy, physically intimidating man who carried about 270 pounds on his more than 6-foot frame, McElroy had thick black eyebrows and bushy sideburns. That they had guns at the ready wasnt unusual. RELATED: 10 Of The Best Docuseries You Should Be Watching Now Each episode is around 40 minutes each and contains dramatic and intimate . The law wasnt going to help the people of Skidmore. Ken Rex McElroy, whose still-unsolved murder outside of the local tavern inspired a book and movie both entitled "In Broad Daylight" was known to both of Scott's parents. The courts would not help us or Skidmore. He torched the home and shot the dogagainafter the girl went into hiding with her and McElroys baby. On the morning of July 10, 1981, several townspeople met with the Nodaway County sheriff at a local hall to discuss what could be done about McElroy. Within a few years, she had had four children by him. McElroy was also accused of abusing his first two wives, Sharon and Alice, but Alice defended him in an interview shortly after his death. But not that one. On July 10, 1981, Ken Rex McElroy was killed in one of the strangest instances investigators ever saw. He never finished high school but knew how to hunt, drive fast and navigate the back roads of Nodaway County by his early teens. He was freed on bond. Some people have attributed his strange behavior with this event. McElroy would just sit and glower at you just stare at you and youd never know what he was thinking.. In all, McElroy was indicted 21 times and managed to escape conviction every time. An extensive federal investigation did not lead to any charges. He made no deathbed confession, but someone wrote in a memorial tribute that he . Over the course of his life, McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary. [2], In all, he was indicted 21 times but escaped conviction each time, except for the last. The stories of McElroy's relationships contain some troubling details, but the information is important to paint the full picture. McCloud attempted to escape to her parents' house, but McElroy allegedly responded by burning down Trena's parents' home and shooting their dog. Once, a farmer who caught Ken red-handed stealing two horses filed charges but withdrew them after McElroy smashed him across the face with a rifle., Police also felt McElroys ire. [6] Trena and her baby were placed in foster care at a home in Maryville, Missouri. 7 Good News Stories: Sense Of Belonging; Secrets To 70-Year Marriage, EPA Limits On Toxic Forever Chemicals Could Cost Utilities Billions, The Poop On Free-Range Cats And Your Lawn And Garden [Block Talk], Boeing Worker Claims $754.6M Powerball Jackpot, Barrier-Breaking Black Army Officer Finally Awarded Medal Of Honor, FL Blogging Bill Says Political Writers Should Register With State. A writer and storyteller out in the world to write about True-Crime and History. Almost everyone, with the exception of Bo Bowenkamp, backed down. There was a kind of silent charity on the part of my parents, and they never prosecuted. And Mr. Baird, all these years later, is still unwilling to give his own view on whether justice was served even though or because the killer was never tried. Calling the sheriff about his threats was risk few were willing to take not that it would have done much good, Goslee said. The trial collapsed yet all accounts are sceptical that the witnesses were telling the . Shortly after being released, McElroy was at D&G Tavern making threats about murdering Bowenkamp. After the sheriff left town, the group walked from the hall and went down the street to the tavern. There's a long list of crimes said to have been committed by McElroy, including shooting multiple people. Boyer was taking trajectory measurements at the crime scene when a town official chided him. If you were to go to Skidmore today, there isn't much to see. McElroy began backing out too, then tailed Margaret until she radioed Richard and squad cars showed up. Retribution was slow coming to Ken McElroybut lightning fast when it happened. McElroy made a living leasing land near his farm, and trading and racing dogs. He showed up to the towns local bar, armed with a rifle and bayonet, threatening to kill the elderly grocer. Ken had 13 siblings: Hershell Eugene McElroy, Orvil O McElroy and 11 . 1 or 2 men (unclear) took guns and shot Ken Rex McElroy dead in his truck. His lifelong career as a criminal started with petty offenses, but he increasingly became more violent, amassing a rap sheet that included nearly two dozen felony charges for assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, burglary, grain theft, and hog and cattle rustling enterprises that kept a thick roll of hundred-dollar bills in his pocket. Born in 1934, Ken Rex McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. The DA declined to press charges and the following investigation proved to be futile. On a steamy Missouri morning of July 10, 1981, a gunman took aim at the 47-year-old as he sat smoking in his Silverado pickup truck outside the local bar. 'Below the Fold' movie based on Skidmore, Missouri released - WDAF-TV They settle in Skidmore. At some point in his life, McElroy was believed to have been seriously injured on a construction site, causing him to suffer from chronic pain. July 10th, 1981: The townspeople gather around Ken's truck once he and Trena exit the bar. So what was left?. He showed back up in front of their house that night, and he and Trena sat there and watched them, Monte said. The police chief who oversaw the investigation, Hal Riddle, disagrees. Immediately after being released at a post-trial hearing, McElroy went to the D&G Tavern, a local bar, with an M1 Garand rifle with a bayonet attached, and made graphic threats about what he would do to Bo Bowenkamp. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. That was the last failure of criminal justice.. It's hard to believe that this small town was once a bustlingcommunity. Dozens of them gathered at Skidmores American Legion hall on the morning of July 10, 1981. McElroys rear window was shot out and the front window as well. In April 1980, Trena McElroy told her husband a clerk in the Bowenkamps store had accused their 4-year-old daughter of stealing penny candy. In 1980, McElroy shot the 70-year-old town grocer in the neck following a months-old dispute over an accusation about a piece of stolen candy. The objective is to promote history on Medium and demonstrate the value of historical writing. It was a matter of self-preservation. Refusing to argue, he and Lois went home. In 1980, after a misunderstanding about a candy purchase from a Skidmore grocery store involving McElroys daughters, McElroy shot popular owner Bo Bowenkamp in the neck. Bully's murder remains a secret in Missouri town for 40 years - FOX 2 Henry survived and McElroy was charged with assault with intent to kill. 1954: While working for his sister's husband in construction, McElroy suffers a traumatic head injury that leaves him with lifelong pain. The townsfolk were infuriated. The town, on the other hand, hated him. The towns local bar in Skidmore, Missouri. 1955 or 56: Ken and Oleta McElroy move back to Missouri after Ken's accident in Colorado. In the plainspoken manner of speaking in Skidmore, McElroy simply needed killing, like a gangrened leg needs to be severed to save the whole body. Ken Rex McElroy was an illiterate hog farmer who lived on the outskirts of a small town in Northwest Missouri. For over twenty years he raped, robbed and burned almost at will. I said it in 1981, and Ill say it now, Baird told Patch. A conviction should have been a victory for the people of Skidmore, but the jury set a maximum sentence of two years, and the judge, without protest from Mr. Baird, released Mr. McElroy on bond pending appeal. Over the course of his life, McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary. SKIDMORE, Mo. The media descended on Skidmore after the killing, an event that continues to define the people of the small town to the world at times with wildly exaggerated versions of what happened.
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