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. When he got off on a trial, it grew even bigger. Anticipating McElroys typical moves, Stratton waited on a back road near the Kansas border. Once there, he threatened Bo, and shot him in the neck at close range with a shotgun. On July 10, 1981, Ken Rex McElroy was killed in one of the strangest instances investigators ever saw. Former Nodaway County prosecutor David Baird, Its proceedings are secret, but in news interviews at the time, McElroys widow said she told a county grand jury who murdered her husband. As a result, he was arrested, but quickly released. Farmers carried them to kill varmints, or for hunting displaying them in plain sight in rear window gun racks. He was shot at several times and hit twice, once by a centerfire rifle and once by a .22 rimfire rifle. He was as mean as he looked, but there was more to his baleful demeanor, said Colorado lawyer and author Harry MacLean, who lived with a prominent Skidmore farm family off and on for about five years while he researched In Broad Daylight, a New York Times bestseller chronicling McElroys life and death. A trial took place the following year and for the first time ever, Ken McElroy was convicted. What started with hunting raccoons escalated into petty crime until McElroy ultimately emerged as a full-fledged criminal. April 25th, 1980: A few of Ken's children go to the local grocery store and is accused of stealing by Mrs. Bowenkamp. SKIDMORE, MO Four decades after Ken Rex McElroy was gunned down on the main drag of Skidmore, Missouri, in one of Americas most infamous cold cases, the story of the notoriously brutal town bully has refused to die with him no matter how much the farmers and blue-collar workers who live in the small farming town wish it would. June 29th, 1981: McElroy enters a bar with an illegal firearm, due to him being out on bail. In August of 1980, McElroy made attempts to intimidate the Bowenkamp family and their supporters to prevent them from testifying. Nobody wanted to talk to us, retired Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Dan Boyer tells A&E True Crime. 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. More awful crimes have taken place in the small town. Nobody called an ambulance. You dont have a town full of people who were hiding a guilty conscience, he said. Alas, the victory was short-lived. He testified that Bowenkamp attacked him with a knife and he acted in self-defense, MacLean writes. [14] Trena remarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri, where she died of cancer on her 55th birthday on January 24, 2012.[15]. Boyer was taking trajectory measurements at the crime scene when a town official chided him. [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. McElroy made a living leasing land near his farm, and trading and racing dogs. 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. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. 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. McElroy began backing out too, then tailed Margaret until she radioed Richard and squad cars showed up. SKIDMORE, Mo. He was indicted as many as 21 times, but escaped conviction all but once. She eventually filed a wrongful death against the town, the county, and some citizens but the matter was settled out of court. Born in 1934, Ken Rex McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. It failed McElroy, too, because it failed to protect him from himself. He was very cunning, MacLean told Patch. 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. The man asked, what are you doing here? Boyer remembers. 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. Tensions in Skidmore soared as McElroys trial neared. They settle in Skidmore. A lot of people were not happy about what happened, MacLean said. As he sat drinking at the bar, word got back to the men at the Legion Hall that he was in town. He begins to rant about how he is going to ruin Bo Bowenkamp. [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. If those responsible for killing McElroy are vigilantes, its because the justice system made them that way, Monte said. The couple then moved to Colorado. Ken Rex McElroy was an American known as "the town bully" of Skidmore, Missouri. As many as 60 people were reported to have been at the scene, but not one of them would say who had wielded the weapons. More awful crimes have taken place in the small town. Another was McElroys intimidation tactics, MacLean writes. McElroy first began his relationship with McCloud when she was 14 and the two had a child shortly thereafter. But justice is a loaded term in a case that challenges the usual assumptions of victim and perpetrator. 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. The trial collapsed yet all accounts are sceptical that the witnesses were telling the . Despite being shot in broad daylight in front of various witnesses, the . 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. Part of his teeth were lying on the dashboard, Boyer recalls. McElroys rear window was shot out and the front window as well. [11] Only Trena claimed to identify a gunman; every other witness either was unable to name an assailant or claimed not to have seen who fired the fatal shots. It's hard to believe that this small town was once a bustlingcommunity. McElroy was never a popular man. The courts would not help us or Skidmore. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. But Ken rarely had to wrestle with the The McElroys eventually left the store, but when Bowenkamp closed up that night, he was outside, waiting. I had my service weapon drawn, and I wouldnt have been the least bit surprised if he tried to do something, Boyer recalls. Tell us what you think in the comments below. I dont know what happened,' Boyer recalls witnesses saying. McElroy was born in 1934, the fifteenth of sixteen children born to a poor . The noted sites in the story are gone or boardedup. Yet in a conspiracy of silence that has spanned the past 38 years, the townsfolk have held the secret close. There is pretty much nothing in existence that was not stolen by McElroy during his 47 years. 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. *In Broad Daylight by Harry N. MacLean 1988. One account even said that McElroy rode into town on a horse and was shot and killed, Baird, the former prosecutor, said. The Vigilantemurder of Ken Rex McElroy still remains a mystery today. In 1981, vigilantes in Skidmore, Mo., took justice into their own hands and killed town bully Ken Rex McElroy but no one was charged with the crime. The death of Ken Rex McElroy is a perplexing case that has hung heavy over the town of Skidmore, Missouri for decades. BuzzFeed McElroy allegedly stole livestock, grain, gasoline,. In court, Bowenkamp testified about how McElroy confronted him in the loading dock of the grocery while he was cutting up boxes and shot him in the neck. What could legally be done about McElroy, they asked Sheriff Danny Estes, who had been elected months earlier. The person(s) responsible for firing the shots that killed McElroy remains unsolved. He dropped out of school before he reached high school, and by 13 was already a familiar character to the cops around Nodaway County. She took her complaint to at-the-time Nodaway County Sheriff Roger Cronk. If you were to go to Skidmore today, there isn't much to see. 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. Ken had 13 siblings: Hershell Eugene McElroy, Orvil O McElroy and 11 . By the time McElroy was shot dead under the glare of the morning sun on July 10, 1981, everybody feared his hair-trigger temper and brooding presence. Ken Rex McElroy was an illiterate hog farmer who lived on the outskirts of a small town in Northwest Missouri. Some of these things are simply assumed to be factual, Baird said. When the news that Ken and Trena went to the local bar that evening, everyone got up and made their way over. There wasnt much parental supervision, but McElroy had a knack for taking care of himself. Ken was 18 and Oleta was 16. In the end, fear is what killed him, Goslee said. And despite there being dozens of witnesses, no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with McElroys murder. He was hit twice and died in his truck. When talking about McElroy, MacLean wondered how he was able to be so crafty. The law had plenty of chances, plenty of times to lock him up., Added Monte: Justice failed everybody. 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. Shortly after, McElroy was arrested and charged with attempted murder. McElroy's appeal hearing was again delayed. When Estes and state troopers arrived back in town, the streets were empty and quiet, save the rumbling, smoking engine of McElroys truck. 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. The Oscars will air on ABC and can be streamed on ABC.com and the ABC app as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV or FuboTV. A bond hearing was ordered. The townspeople organized a caravan to escort the witnesses to the hearing both to protect them and to show solidarity. Biography Mini Bio (1) Ken Rex McElroy Jr. is known for No One Saw a Thing (2019). The son of a bitch would just as soon shoot them as anyone else.. There just wouldnt have been a story.. His unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. After Sally had had three kids, Ken kicks her out of the house. The larger-than-life bully who menaced the farming community of Skidmore died in seconds. Lessons from History is a platform for writers who share ideas and inspirational stories from world history. We didnt have sufficient evidence to go to trial.. Weighing in at approximately 270 pounds with bushy black sideburns, McElroy held the entire . He went about making public threats against the grocer while armed with a rifle. On July 27, 1976, Skidmore farmer Romaine Henry said McElroy shot him twice with a shotgun after Henry challenged him for shooting weapons on Henry's property. I think he treated the whole town of Skidmore that way, the 78-year-old said, adding she didnt feel brave. But it got to the point it made me mad.. You just didnt do that.. Everyone claimed they didnt see who fired the shots. No one called for an ambulance. Many wondered: Why didnt Baird press charges against the man Trena McElroy fingered as her husbands killer? There has been books written, movies, documentaries and more made about the killing. The case inspired a book, In Broad Daylight by Harry McLean, and a 1991 TV movie of the same name starring Brian Dennehy. Over the course of his life, McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, animal cruelty, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary. A lot of them didnt even tell their wives and children. [2] He was struck by bullets from at least two different firearms, in front of a crowd of people estimated as numbering between 30 and 46. Refusing to argue, he and Lois went home. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD8iUdp33PqTsix2sGblEQZ8m5FQycC5D Vigilante justice, or. They had to look out for themselves. Ken Rex Melroy was born on June 1st, 1934 to a family of poor tenant farmers who moved to Skidmore. McElroy burned down the girls home and shot her familys dog to force her parents to agree to the marriage. On the morning of July 10, 1981, townspeople met at the Legion Hall in the center of town with Sheriff Estes to discuss how to protect themselves. 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. Dozens of them gathered at Skidmores American Legion hall on the morning of July 10, 1981. What gave rise to that theory is that they were in the Legion hall for a meeting, then went down to the D&G [when they heard McElroy was in town]. McElroy was a big man with cold eyes who always carried a gun. Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead inside his pick-up truck on the 10th of July, 1981, via a storm of bullets. Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 - July 10, 1981) was an American criminal and convicted attempted murderer who resided in Skidmore, Missouri, United States. No one has been charged in connection with McElroys death. McElroy raped a 12-year-old girl and, to avoid statutory rape charges, he divorced his wife at the time and married the child when she was 14 and pregnant with their baby. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. SKIDMORE, Mo. [1], McElroy was born in 1934, the 15th of 16 children born to a poor, migrant tenant-farming couple named Tony and Mabel (ne Lister) McElroy, who had moved between Kansas and the Ozarks before settling outside of Skidmore. Investigators dug and dug, but Skidmore residents maintained their silence. Ken Rex McElroy 1934-1981. June 16th, 1934: Ken Rex McElroy is born to Mabel and Tony McElroy, the thirteenth out of fourteen children. Missouri-based journalist Steve Booher described the attitude of some townspeople as, "He needed killing. No. When word spread that McElroy was in town, a couple of the men walked from the Legion hall to the D&G. They just went stone silent. Richard McFadin, 87, a lawyer, now retired, who represented Mr. McElroy in numerous cases and, after the killing, his widow, said he believed there was enough evidence for a prosecution. 1954: While working for his sister's husband in construction, McElroy suffers a traumatic head injury that leaves him with lifelong pain. 1958: Ken McElroy becomes involved with a young woman named Sharon. Mr. McElroy was quickly rearrested after he appeared in town with a rifle, but he was again released. No. Neither Baird nor MacLean, whose crime novel has been praised as an accurate account of McElroys killing, buy that. McElroy denied he was at the scene. McElroys wifewhom he victimized as a childremarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri. Sixteen days after Trena gave birth, both she and Alice fled to Trena's mother's and stepfather's house. When Daylight Saving Time 2023 Begins, Will It Be For The Last Time. Gene McFadin, McElroys nickel-slick lawyer from Kansas City could get Ken off every time, Kirby Goslee, a 71-year-old Skidmore farmer who still works the land his family homesteaded six generations ago, told Patch. After McElroy fired a gun outside her house, Evelyn Sumy appealed to Dave Dunbar, the town marshal. He was nonplussed. The justice system just crashed and burned over this case.. McElroy was eventually convicted, but the charge was lessened from "attempt to kill" to "knowingly caused serious physical injury" to ensure a conviction. A deer slug in one chamber tore through Bowenkamps neck, coming within 3 inches of his head. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! 1948: Approximately the time when Ken begins his small thefts as a young teenager. We stood up and did the right thing. McElroy was furious when he learned of the incident. Despite three grand juries, no one has been indicted for the . in the A&E App.]. In 1980, one of McElroy's children got into an argument with a clerk, Evelyn Sumy, in a local grocery store owned by 70-year-old Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp and his wife Lois, allegedly because the young McElroy child tried to steal some candy. 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! 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.
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