The couple then moved to Colorado. It's hard to believe that this small town was once a bustlingcommunity. The noted sites in the story are gone or boardedup. McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. It was not the kind of justice they shouldve gotten, 60-year-old Joyce Monte, the Bowenkamps daughter, told Patch in a telephone interview from her home in Oklahoma. How is this man not in jail? Monte said, repeating the question asked by many when he showed up in Skidmore the morning after his release. Part of his teeth were lying on the dashboard, Boyer recalls. Things reached a boiling point in 1980 when Ken McElroy got into a confrontation with the towns elderly grocer, Ernest Bo Bowenkamp. 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. McElroys wife named one person as a possible gunman, but no one couldor wouldidentify who fired the shots. 1960: Ken moves his young girlfriendSally into his house with Sharon. The story was thrust back to the forefront this month by No One Saw a Thing, a six-part Sundance TV docu-series exploring the moral ambiguity of frontier justice and the unspoken, yet universally intriguing, question: When, if ever, does someone like McElroy deserve to die? There may never be an answer to the question of who killed Ken Rex McElroy. He was hit twice and died in his truck. Everyone in town seemed to know McElroy had done it, yet he spent only a single night in jail for nearly killing the man. Boyer was taking trajectory measurements at the crime scene when a town official chided him. A&E, Rolling Stone, Playboy, 60 Minutes, and other media outlets covered the story in print or television. Watch the new and 7th season of BuzzFeed Unsolved: True Crime! 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Genealogy profile for Ken Rex McElroy Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1981) - Genealogy Genealogy for Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1981) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. He leaves Sharon to move in with Alice. A few days later, a pickup truck showed up in the wee hours outside Boyers remote country house. Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 - July 10, 1981) was a resident of Skidmore, Nodaway County, Missouri. Skidmore townsfolk may not all have liked how he was killed it was murder, after all but when he died, most of the towns 435 residents let out a heavy sigh of relief. [14] Trena remarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri, where she died of cancer on her 55th birthday on January 24, 2012.[15]. Not only that, they recommended he spend no more than two years in prison. Richard Stratton was ready. Im never going to answer that question. But if tried by a jury of their peers, I doubt anybody around here would have convicted the shooters. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD8iUdp33PqTsix2sGblEQZ8m5FQycC5D Vigilante justice, or cold-blooded murder?MERCH: We've got it! He said he was not at all disappointed to leave office with the case still unsolved. Within hours, Mr. Baird heard that there had been a shooting downtown. The Story Of Ken McElroy The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town. I didnt see anything. McElroy mounted a daily vigil outside Bowenkamps house, his daughter Cheryl Brown recounts in In Broad Daylight: The town emptied out every time he came to town. It failed McElroy, too, because it failed to protect him from himself. E-mail: ramzywritersofficial@gmail.com. There wasnt much parental supervision, but McElroy had a knack for taking care of himself. Unsolved 'Vigilante' Murder in the Heartland: Missouri Town Goes Quiet After Bully Is Shot, https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/ken-rex-mcelroy-vigilante-murder-skidmore-unsolved. [4], McElroy fathered more than 10 children with different women. Ken Rex McElroy was an illiterate hog farmer who lived on the outskirts of a small town in Northwest Missouri. [1] To date, no one has been charged in connection with McElroy's death. Both Sally and Sharon begin having Ken's children. Get out of town, they said. He stood silently at the back of the store, but his wife tore into Sumy in an argument laced with four-letter bombs, Monte said. He was nonplussed. His successor, Robert Rice, already knew how Mr. McElroy died. McElroy was charged with assault with intent to kill. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. As Trena told the story to reporters, a group of men followed them as they left the D&G. McElroy's appeal hearing was again delayed. Local police, state investigators and FBI agents tried to break the towns silence, without success. Of the most serious, McElroy was accused of child molestation and statutory rape. The meeting's entire purpose was to discuss what they could legally do to prevent McElroy from harming anyone else. The towns local bar in Skidmore, Missouri. He was arrested, booked, arraigned, and released on $2,500 bail. Alas, the victory was short-lived. That was the last failure of criminal justice.. His unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. Shortly after being released, McElroy was at D&G Tavern making threats about murdering Bowenkamp. McElroy wound up shooting Bowenkamp in the neck, nearly killing him. He begins to rant about how he is going to ruin Bo Bowenkamp. I think its something thats going to define this town forever.. He was represented by defense attorney Richard Gene McFadin of Gallatin, Missouri. The townsfolk were infuriated. Then, on a warm July night, McElroy shot my dad as he sat on the back loading dock of his store, waiting for an air conditioner repairman, Monte said. Again, there were no indictments, and the McElroy murder case was tossed back to Baird. He showed back up in front of their house that night, and he and Trena sat there and watched them, Monte said. No. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Win a Midday Makeover from Studio STL and West County, Hold my beer its time to sign up for the St. Patricks, Tims Travels: Dreaming in silestone and slabs its, Downtown is turning green for St. Patricks Day Parade, The 7brew Crew brings kindness, joy and of course,, Freshen up finds: Give your skin a slug-hug, What the Cluck! 1 or 2 men (unclear) took guns and shot Ken Rex McElroy dead in his truck. She gathered her strength and put the car in reverse. He didnt have a bank account, didnt have a Social Security number, he didnt read. We had shoplifting, but a lot of people were on hard times. Those who witnessed the killing didnt speak of it again, not because they were part of a conspiracy, MacLean believes, but because theyre stoic by nature. Dozens of them gathered at Skidmores American Legion hall on the morning of July 10, 1981. 1952: Ken McElroy marries his first wife Oleta. After the sheriff left town, the group walked from the hall and went down the street to the tavern. His last wife, Trena, became pregnant with their first child at age 14. Someone warned her, Youre about to meet Ken Rex McElroy, Monte said. Everyone just went home. If we could have proved who done it, he would have prosecuted him, said Mr. Riddle, 72 and also retired, who describes the case as the most frustrating of his career. Many buildings are closed and falling apart. Anyone can read what you share. The mere mention of his surname was enough to cause anxiety, if not full terror. Theoretically, [the murder] could be re-investigated, veteran Kansas City criminal defense attorney J.R. Hobbs tells A&E True Crime. 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. Yet in a conspiracy of silence that has spanned the past 38 years, the townsfolk have held the secret close. Ken Rex McElroy sat in his truck for over an hour before the law was called. McElroys wifewhom he victimized as a childremarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Author Harry MacLean wrote a book McElroys story called In Broad Daylight. Neither Baird nor MacLean, whose crime novel has been praised as an accurate account of McElroys killing, buy that. The McElroys eventually left the store, but when Bowenkamp closed up that night, he was outside, waiting. In the summer of 1981, a jury handed McElroy his first-ever felony conviction for the lesser charge of second-degree assault. Nodaway County Sheriff Dan Estes suggested they form a neighborhood watch. Refusing to argue, he and Lois went home. There were as many as 60 witnesses, yet the crime remains unsolved. Almost everyone, with the exception of Bo Bowenkamp, backed down. Is dumpster diving legal in Missouri and Illinois? Now, nearly 30 years later, that prosecutor, David A. Baird, is preparing to leave office with his first and most famous case still unsolved. Investigators found shell casings from two weapons a .22-caliber Magnum rifle and an 8 mm Mauser, a German World War I-era long-range rifle. 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. In 2019, the McElroy killing was the subject of a docuseries on SundanceTV. That was the last straw, MacLean said. If you were to go to Skidmore today, there isn't much to see. Only July 10, 1981, there was a meeting at the town hall, down the street from D&G Tavern. Consisting of around 440 residents and a number of small family-run businesses, the farming town revolved around work ethic. He dropped out of school at age 15 in the eighth grade and quickly established a local reputation as a cattle rustler, small-time thief, and womanizer. 1. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The courts would not help us or Skidmore. [Stream episodes of Accused: Guilty or Innocent? The law had plenty of chances, plenty of times to lock him up., Added Monte: Justice failed everybody. There has been books written, movies, documentaries and more made about the killing. Everyone was so uncomfortable and scared.. She died in 2012. Ken Rex McElroy Jr. - Biography - IMDb Edit Ken Rex McElroy Jr. McElory was struck by two different firearms and died behind the wheel of his truck. [10] No one called for an ambulance. Farmers carried them to kill varmints, or for hunting displaying them in plain sight in rear window gun racks. No one has any idea what a nightmare we lived.. A lot of them didnt even tell their wives and children. I am a History Educator and a Lifelong Learner with a Masters in Global History. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. As the story has been told by MacLean and others, McElroy showed up at the D&G tavern and pool hall the next day toting a rifle with a bayonet a violation of his bond and threatened to finish off the Bowenkamps. Once freed, McElroy didnt just quietly celebrate his victory. In a trial for shooting a Skidmore man in 1976 two witnesses appeared saying they had been with McElroy hunting miles away from the scene. A reported crowd of up to 60 men had largely dispersed, but some onlookers remained, staring at the pickup. He had been terrorizing Skidmore for years and he kept getting away with it. He would intimidate anyone who got in his way, usually by repeatedly harassing them or threatening them with a bullet. It really is that it was never spoken of they had an instinctive reaction to close up. BuzzFeed McElroy allegedly stole livestock, grain, gasoline,. Within a few years, she had had four children by him. It went beyond just hammering people and being mean-spirited. The case inspired a book, In Broad Daylight by Harry McLean, and a 1991 TV movie of the same name starring Brian Dennehy. A lot of people were not happy about what happened, MacLean said. The town, on the other hand, hated him. YouTubeThe towns local bar in Skidmore, Missouri. Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead inside his pick-up truck on the 10th of July, 1981, via a storm of bullets. [12] The DA declined to press charges. Alice and Ken eventually separate. We hold major institutions accountable and expose wrongdoing. Trena McElroy accused Skidmore residents of turning her husband into a scapegoat. Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 July 10, 1981) was an American criminal and convicted attempted murderer who resided in Skidmore, Missouri, United States. One assumption Skidmore hasnt been able to shed is that McElroys killing was an act of vigilante justice. He neutralized an entire criminal justice system.. A bond hearing was ordered. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Best client I ever had, McFadin said in an interview. Ken McElroy was born in 1934, one of 16 children, author Harry MacLean explains in his book In Broad Daylight, an account of the case. A couple of men hustled Trena to a nearby bank, away from the gunfire. [1] McElroy successfully appealed the conviction and was released on bond, after which he engaged in an ongoing harassment campaign against Bowenkamp and others who were sympathetic to Bowenkamp, including the town's Church of Christ minister. When the call went out, State Police Cpl. The DA declined to press charges and the following investigation proved to be futile. But unless a very credible witness came forward, its not likely to happen., The Burger Chef Cold Case: Four Murders Still Unsolved Over 40 Years Later. On July 9, 1984, Trena McElroy filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Town of Skidmore, County of Nodaway, Sheriff Danny Estes, Steve Peters (Mayor of Skidmore), and Del Clement (whom Trena accused of being the shooter, but who was never charged). Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 - July 10, 1981) was an American criminal and convicted attempted murderer who resided in Skidmore, Missouri, United States. Buzzfeeds Unsolved Network produced a 24-minute true crime documentary on the shooting. 1955 or 56: Ken and Oleta McElroy move back to Missouri after Ken's accident in Colorado. But in a dramatic act of solidarity with the gunman, every witness, save the dead mans wife, denied seeing who had pulled the trigger. A memorial in the tiny downtown park displays the name of an expectant mother murdered six years ago, her fetus cut from her womb. It's hard to believe that this small town was once a bustlingcommunity. He was accused or suspected of dozens of crimes, including theft, livestock rustling, burglary, arson, assault, rape, and child molestation. Everyone was keeping an eye on us. A trial took place the following year and for the first time ever, Ken McElroy was convicted. In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri. Was justice served? He was charged 21 times in theft cases but was said to have avoided conviction through witness intimidation, either by direct confrontation or by parking his truck outside their home. They had to look out for themselves. Those who spoke out were taciturn. Then, on the night of July 8, 1980, McElroy shot 70-year-old Skidmore grocer Ernst Bo Bowenkamp, unwittingly setting up his own murder a year later. Police had charged him with various alleged crimes from stealing hogs to assault, but nothing stuck. You dont take cases to trial to see what might happen, the former prosecutor said. One of the killers has died. He left town just as Ken and Trena McElroy were driving in, likely passing McElroys Chevrolet Silverado pickup in his cruiser on the road. More awful crimes have taken place in the small town. Some of these things are simply assumed to be factual, Baird said. Reached by phone, Mr. McElroys wife, who has since remarried and left the state, said she was not interested in talking about the case. His foot fell to the accelerator when he was shot, causing the engine to run at full bore. As a result, he was arrested, but quickly released. When Daylight Saving Time 2023 Begins, Will It Be For The Last Time. Ken was 18 and Oleta was 16. McElroy was also accused of abusing his first two wives, Sharon and Alice, but Alice defended him in an interview shortly after his death. And his deeds were as daunting as his appearance. A girl from a poor, rural family, McElroy had begun having sex with her when she was barely fourteen. 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. Shortly after, McElroy was arrested and charged with attempted murder. 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. On July 10th, 1981 Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead in the street in broad daylight infront of 60 witnesses. The last three decades have been tough on this agricultural community of 342, about an hour and a half north of Kansas City. It was hours before he learned that it was Mr. McElroy who had been shot, sitting in the front seat of his pickup truck alongside his wife, after picking up some beer at the town bar. He was known as "the town bully", [1] and his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. Everyone involved continues to keep the secret and gives no answers. On July 8, 1980, McElroy drove to the alley behind the Bowenkamp general store. McElroy was convicted of assault but let out of jail awaiting appeal. McElroy first began his relationship with McCloud when she was 14 and the two had a child shortly thereafter. We went everywhere we could, but justice would stay delicately out the way, she said. One night after he pulled a speeding pickup truck over, Boyer came face to face with McElroy. They slept in shifts, with some friend or family member keeping an eye on the street. He had a legendary status, and it all got to be bigger than he was. Absolutely not, he said. Why are you doing this? No one has been charged in connection with McElroys death. McElroy was known to have stolen grain, alcohol, gasoline, antiques, and even livestock. He was punctual, always said he didnt do it, paid in cash and kept coming back.. Once, he even got out and fired a shotgun up in the pine tree by their house. For more than two decades, McElroy was suspected of being involved in theft of grain, gasoline, alcohol, antiques, and livestock, but he avoided conviction when charges were brought against him 21 timesoften after witnesses refused to testify because he allegedly intimidated them, frequently by following his targets or parking outside their homes and watching them. Search, watch, and cook every single Tasty recipe and video ever - all in one place! 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. This is far from what happened in the case of McElroy. He was known as "the town bully",[1] and his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. I heard shooting and got down. Then you can read about chilling cold cases where the murderers and victims were both unknown. To the residents of the small town, he was the town bully. The rumor was that he had drowned her father in a bathtub when he had objected to what he was doing to his daughter. He grew up hearing the story. 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. However, in 1981, Trena told People magazine that the fire was a result of "faulty wiring.". Luckily, Bowenkamp survived, and McElroy was charged with attempted murder. All Rights Reserved. He met his last wife, Trena McCloud (19572012), when she was 12 years old and in eighth grade. McElroy was eventually convicted, but the charge was lessened from "attempt to kill" to "knowingly caused serious physical injury" to ensure a conviction. The case was later settled out of court by all parties for $17,600, with no one admitting guilt, for the stated reason of avoiding costly legal fees should the suit proceed. No. June 25th, 1981: McElroy returns to Skidmore out on bail until an appeal hearing. Something for everyone interested in hair, makeup, style, and body positivity. Despite being shot in broad daylight in front of various witnesses, the . If you were to go to Skidmore today, there isn't much to see. 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. The death of Ken Rex McElroy is a perplexing case that has hung heavy over the town of Skidmore, Missouri for decades. The noted sites in the story are gone or boardedup. [5] She became pregnant when she was fourteen, dropped out of school in the ninth grade, and went to live with McElroy and his second wife Alice. Ken McElroy issues threats against the Bowenkamp family. The Vigilantemurder of Ken Rex McElroy still remains a mystery today. How did this uneducated person how is he able to outwit the criminal justice system for 20 years? said MacLean.
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