He had a legendary status, and it all got to be bigger than he was. Reporting on what you care about. No One Saw A Thing centers around the 1981 murder of Ken Rex McElroy in Skidmore Missouri and other crimes committed in the town and surrounding area over the years. Anthony was born on August 27 1890, in Shelton, Knox County, MO, USA. McElroy was a big man with cold eyes who always carried a gun. Talking Well Of The Dead: The Shooting Down Of Ken McElroy, USA. You dont take cases to trial to see what might happen, the former prosecutor said. 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. No one has ever been brought to trial in Mr. McElroys death, and, although there is no statute of limitations on murder, most people around here suspect that no one ever will be. Ken Rex McElroy was a 6-foot, 270 pounds, dark-complexioned, blue-eyed man who lived in Skidmore, Missouri. McElroys wifewhom he victimized as a childremarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri. 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. Henry was forced to admit in court, under questioning by McElroy's attorney Richard Gene McFadin, that he had concealed his own petty criminal conviction from more than 30 years previous. 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. This led to several patrons deciding to see what they could legally do to prevent McElroy from harming anyone else. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. 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. He quit.. But in a dramatic act of solidarity with the gunman, every witness, save the dead mans wife, denied seeing who had pulled the trigger. The group heard McElroy and Trena McCloud were spotted heading to the tavern nearby. Meanwhile, major media outlets descended onto Skidmore and reports of its vigilantes became water-cooler talk across the U.S. For some residents, resentment against McElroy was projected onto the police. Ken McElroy issues threats against the Bowenkamp family. 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. A trial took place the following year and for the first time ever, Ken McElroy was convicted. 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. Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead inside his pick-up truck on the 10th of July, 1981, via a storm of bullets. The sheriff suggested they form a neighborhood watch and advised the group not to confront the man. Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1981) - Genealogy McElroy was hit twice by two different guns and died from injuries to his head and neck. The trial collapsed yet all accounts are sceptical that the witnesses were telling the . McElroy allegedly stole livestock, grain, gasoline, and antiques. 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. It's said the county's law enforcement officials were afraid of encountering McElroy, who was known to be heavily armed. McFadin, McElroys lawyer, got the hearing postponed. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! None of the witnesses called an ambulance or gave information about a shooter. 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. There has been books written, movies, documentaries and more made about the killing. 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. Still, the panel didnt return an indictment, giving rise to conspiracy theories about a law enforcement coverup, also a theme in No One Saw a Thing.. McElroy and Trena returned to the truck, where he lit a cigarette while she was in the passenger seat. There's a long list of crimes said to have been committed by McElroy, including shooting multiple people. Was justice served? McElroy was reportedly a large man (270 pounds), and a local farmer's description of him (seen above) was that he wanted to appear "big and important" and make people "afraid.". Timeline | McElroy McElroy was never a popular man. [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. Despite three grand juries, no one has been indicted for the . Consisting of around 440 residents and a number of small family-run businesses, the farming town revolved around work ethic. To the residents of the small town, he was the town bully. 13 Things About Ken McElroy's Shooting You Need To Know Before - Bustle If they thought it was getting too out of hand, they would send one of us up and down the aisle. [1] To date, no one has been charged in connection with McElroy's death. McElroy was known to pay local kids for information about who was where in town at what time, so the Bowenkamps developed their own network of informants. In 2019, the McElroy killing was the subject of a docuseries on SundanceTV. Author Harry MacLean wrote a book McElroys story called In Broad Daylight. As he packed up his office last week, he gave his successor a memo that listed a dozen or so unsolved cases in Nodaway County including, down toward the end, the killing of Mr. McElroy. 1948: Approximately the time when Ken begins his small thefts as a young teenager. 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. He testified that Bowenkamp attacked him with a knife and he acted in self-defense, MacLean writes. Boyer was among the first responders to arrive outside the D&G tavern where McElroy was ambushed. But the silence of the townspeople held. "[13], McElroy was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri. One account even said that McElroy rode into town on a horse and was shot and killed, Baird, the former prosecutor, said. Lessons from History is a platform for writers who share ideas and inspirational stories from world history. He went about making public threats against the grocer while armed with a rifle. He told the foster family that he would trade "girl for girl" to get his child back, since he knew where the foster family's biological daughter went to school and what bus route she rode. He didnt have a bank account, didnt have a Social Security number, he didnt read. The clerk, Evelyn Sumy, was at the back of the store when the doors swung open. A writer and storyteller out in the world to write about True-Crime and History. July 10th, 1981: The Townspeople gather in the Legion to discuss what should be done about Ken McElroy. Someone warned her, Youre about to meet Ken Rex McElroy, Monte said. Over the next two years, three grand juries were empaneled and testimony taken. Both Sally and Sharon begin having Ken's children. McElroy was eventually convicted, but the charge was lessened from "attempt to kill" to "knowingly caused serious physical injury" to ensure a conviction. Some people have attributed his strange behavior with this event. Vigilante justice is certainly a slippery slope, but after years of dealing with Ken McElroy, the people of Skidmore reached their boiling point. July 1981: During the 1st week of July it was announced that there would be a delay in McElroy's bond hearing. No one was charged, and the FBI closed the case. It was also the first major case for a young county prosecutor, not far removed from law school and just months into the job, who said he was confident that the case would be solved soon. To the residents of the small town, he was the town bully. Actually, I think those shooters saved lives in the end, she said. All Rights Reserved. It really is that it was never spoken of they had an instinctive reaction to close up. In August of 1980, McElroy made attempts to intimidate the Bowenkamp family and their supporters to prevent them from testifying. He dropped out of school before he reached high school, and by 13 was already a familiar character to the cops around Nodaway County. [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. No one was surprised. Full Worm Moon: Will Conditions Favor A Moonbow? 1 or 2 men (unclear) took guns and shot Ken Rex McElroy dead in his truck. 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. Those who spoke out were taciturn. There wasn't much parental supervision, but McElroy had a knack for taking care of himself. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Trena McElroy accused Skidmore residents of turning her husband into a scapegoat. This is How a Town Ganged Up Against a Serial Bully Ken McElroy - Wikipedia Search, watch, and cook every single Tasty recipe and video ever - all in one place! They just went stone silent. 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). This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. According to a report, no one called an ambulance. Of the most serious, McElroy was accused of child molestation and statutory rape. It's hard to believe that this small town was once a bustlingcommunity. It was Richard McFadin, the man who kept Ken McElroy out of jail 21 times, who said it best: The town got away with murder.. The son of a bitch would just as soon shoot them as anyone else.. They could have pushed and dug, pushed and dug and gotten nothing., We were so bitter and so angry at the law letting us down that it came to somebody taking matters in their own hands, she said. But Ken rarely had to wrestle with the He left town just as Ken and Trena McElroy were driving in, likely passing McElroys Chevrolet Silverado pickup in his cruiser on the road. His eyes just really put you in defense modehe really looked like a mean person.. RELATED: 10 Of The Best Docuseries You Should Be Watching Now Each episode is around 40 minutes each and contains dramatic and intimate . Ken Rex Melroy was born on June 1st, 1934 to a family of poor tenant farmers who moved to Skidmore. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. After McElroy fired a gun outside her house, Evelyn Sumy appealed to Dave Dunbar, the town marshal. McElroy was charged with assault with intent to kill. The noted sites in the story are gone or boardedup. His unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. The murder of Ken Rex McElroy isn't 'unsolved' in the typical sense of the word. He said that Mr. Baird pushed aggressively to bring a case to trial, but that investigators were never able to secure enough evidence to charge someone with a crime. The Story Of Ken McElroy, The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town This past weekend marked the 40th anniversary of the killing of Ken Rex McElroy of Skidmore. Bully's murder remains a secret in Missouri town for 40 years - FOX 2 There may never be an answer to the question of who killed Ken Rex McElroy. In the months before McElroy went to trial, the Bowenkamps and Sumy went to bed scared, woke up frightened and lived in terror with every breath. Anywhere from 30 to 90 people watched the 47-year-old McElroy die in an act that ended his decade-long reign of terror over the people of Skidmore. In what could only be described as vigilante justice, they conspired to kill Ken McElroy. 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. Nodaway County Sheriff Dan Estes suggested they form a neighborhood watch. When a court hearing was postponed, there was a meeting in town, with the mayor and the sheriff attending, to discuss Mr. McElroy. [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. [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. However, he was also charged with various crimes. But even after a federal prosecutor forwarded to Mr. Baird what he called substantial new evidence, no one was indicted. Trena McElroy fingered a local rancher as one of the gunmen, but he denied the claim. Bullet casings from two different guns were found. One of the killers has died. [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. On July 10, 1981, Ken Rex McElroy was killed in one of the strangest instances investigators ever saw. 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If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. They were witnesses. Known as "the town bully", McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary. You know what he was like. 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. McElroy made a living leasing land near his farm, and trading and racing dogs. They thought about his wife and his children, and where it left them particularly the children.. The Vigilantemurder of Ken Rex McElroy still remains a mystery today. Even with these raw wounds, the memory of the nightmare surrounding Mr. McElroy during his years of troublemaking and after a killing that many here feel was forced by an impotent criminal-justice system continues to loom large. McElroy's appeal hearing was again delayed. He was indicted as many as 21 times, but escaped conviction all but once. The bar that provided the backdrop for the shooting is closed and for sale for $20,000. We went to the courts. McElroy sat outside the foster home for hours at a time staring at it. Ken Rex McElroy sat in his truck for over an hour before the law was called. The grocer lived and McElroy was again arrested and charged with attempted murder. Investigators dug and dug, but Skidmore residents maintained their silence. Within a few years, she had had four children by him. McElroy divorced Alice and married Trena in order to escape charges of statutory rape, to which she was the only witness. Need help with the site? - A&E A girl from a poor, rural family, McElroy had begun having sex with her when she was barely fourteen. 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. Worse felonies included assault and arson. Then McElroy, described by veteran journalist Phil Conger as a big brute of a guy with slicked-back hair like Elvis, took the stand. As many as 60 Skidmore residents attended, including the mayor and the sheriff. His father was a tenant farmer, his mother a housewife swamped with feeding and caring for the sprawling family. Ken Rex McElroy 1934-1981. 1, it is murder. SKIDMORE, Mo. On July 10, 1981, McElroy was sitting in his truck with his wife Trena McElroy on Skidmore's main drag when a crowd of residents surrounded his vehicle and shot at him several times. In July 1976, McElroy pulled a shotgun on farmer Romaine Henry and shot the man in the stomach. 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. Anticipating McElroys typical moves, Stratton waited on a back road near the Kansas border. Allegedly, even the mayor was in on it. Ken is later charged and arrested. McElroy was born in 1934, the fifteenth of sixteen children born to a poor . The townsfolk were infuriated. A memorial in the tiny downtown park displays the name of an expectant mother murdered six years ago, her fetus cut from her womb. Those in attendance felt the system had failed them, and it seemed like none of the authorities could stop McElroy. And despite there being dozens of witnesses, no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with McElroys murder. Evelyn tried to explain what had happened, that nobody had accused the children of stealing, and Trena said, Why would my effing daughter lie? . However, an incident would occur in 1980 that changed everything. Henry survived and McElroy was charged with assault with intent to kill. Ken McElroy Wiki & Bio - Everipedia Sheriff Estes instructed the assembled group not to get into a direct confrontation with McElroy, but instead seriously consider forming a neighborhood watch program. Estes then drove out of town in his police cruiser. [2], In all, he was indicted 21 times but escaped conviction each time, except for the last. There was a kind of silent charity on the part of my parents, and they never prosecuted. The murder took place on July 10, 1981, the day after McElroy had threatened Bowenkamp at the tavern. I heard shooting and got down. Town Mute for 30 Years About a Bully's Killing - The New York Times Im never going to answer that question. April 10th, 1972: After Alice runs away with their son, Ken McElroy gets into an altercation with Alice's stepfather and shoots him. Case #8: the Mysterious Death of Ken Rex Mcelroy Ken Rex McElroyThe Thirtieth Anniversary of his Killing 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. It was so out of the blue, almost to the point of being surreal, said Monte, who occasionally worked in her parents store. He raped McCloud repeatedly. When the news that Ken and Trena went to the local bar that evening, everyone got up and made their way over. She took her complaint to at-the-time Nodaway County Sheriff Roger Cronk. [14] Trena remarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri, where she died of cancer on her 55th birthday on January 24, 2012.[15]. McElroy was known to have stolen grain, alcohol, gasoline, antiques, and even livestock. McElroy denied he was at the scene. That was the last failure of criminal justice.. I have no doubt hed have tried to kill my mom. It's said that the meeting adjourned, and the crowd quietly descended upon the tavern, flanking McElroy's truck. McElroy was found not guilty. No one called for an ambulance. Mr. McElroy was quickly rearrested after he appeared in town with a rifle, but he was again released. The case inspired a book, In Broad Daylight by Harry McLean, and a 1991 TV movie of the same name starring Brian Dennehy. Despite being shot in broad daylight in front of various witnesses, the . They delivered messages in code. September 2nd, 1982: Keven though there were over sixty witnesses, no one came forward to name the shooter. He leaves Sharon to move in with Alice. They slept in shifts, with some friend or family member keeping an eye on the street. Trena McElroy remarried and had a fairly normal life, refusing interviews after she left Skidmore. There were as many as 60 witnesses, yet the crime remains unsolved. 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? What set off McElroy and put the local grocer in his crosshairs was the pettiest of offenses. McElroy was in town and behaving belligerently. He made no deathbed confession, but someone wrote in a memorial tribute that he . Police had charged him with various alleged crimes from stealing hogs to assault, but nothing stuck. McElroy began backing out too, then tailed Margaret until she radioed Richard and squad cars showed up. Trena dove from the truck and was taken to safety. A man who turned out to be McElroy pointed a shotgun at me, Margaret tells A&E True Crime. She gathered her strength and put the car in reverse. One night after he pulled a speeding pickup truck over, Boyer came face to face with McElroy. Once, he even got out and fired a shotgun up in the pine tree by their house. 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. Once you boil away to the facts of what occurred, you can probably point to hundreds of similar reports every week across the United States., If McElroy had been shot by a lone gunman on a dark road at night, it would have made the Maryville paper for a day, MacLean said. CHAPTER ONE. Looking back, the justice system had as much to do with killing Ken McElroy as anyone in Skidmore did.. McElory was struck by two different firearms and died behind the wheel of his truck.
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