Almost everyone, with the exception of Bo Bowenkamp, backed down. It really is that it was never spoken of they had an instinctive reaction to close up. Trena McCloud's Civil Suit Against Skidmore, Missouri Revealed Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. In the summer of 1981, a jury handed McElroy his first-ever felony conviction for the lesser charge of second-degree assault. Talked to a lady who grew up close to skidmore. There may never be an answer to the question of who killed Ken Rex McElroy. To welcome her back, McElroy had found yet another girlfriend, Trena McCloud, who was twelve years old, while McElroy would have been around thirty-five. The courts would not help us or Skidmore. Please reset your password. The Bowenkamps, who were in their early seventies at the time, tried their best to carry on with life as normal. Someone warned her, Youre about to meet Ken Rex McElroy, Monte said. The trucks windows were shattered; at least one of the bullets hit McElroy in the back of the head. MacLean doesnt believe the men gathered at the Legion hall that morning ever made a group decision to kill McElroy. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Many wondered: Why didnt Baird press charges against the man Trena McElroy fingered as her husbands killer? McElroy raised the barrel of the gun and pointed it at the cab of the approaching truck. Each time anyone brought charges against him (which happened a total of twenty-one times), he would intimidate his accusers into dropping the charges, leaving them terrified and fearing for their lives. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Get out of town, they said. But having this thug with serious rage issues breathing down their necks 24/7 meant it wasnt easy. They could finally sleep peacefully at night, especially Bo and Lois Bowenkamp and their children. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. As a result, he was no stranger to the Nodaway County Sheriffs Dept. Ken Rex McElroy did not limit his torture and abuse just to those who lived with him. By the time their second child was born, McElroy found another girlfriend, Sally, who was only thirteen, while Ken was around twenty-seven. She took her complaint to at-the-time Nodaway County Sheriff Roger Cronk. Calling the sheriff about his threats was risk few were willing to take not that it would have done much good, Goslee said. 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. McElroy was arrested on assault charges, but Alices stepfather would need to testify. 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. 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. First Names. He was 47 years old. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. He told them he was coming to pick up his son, and if anyone tried to stop him, he would kill them. ''Everybody knows what the next guy is saying and doing,'' said one investigator. ; six sisters, Tina Chapman of Savannah, Mo. Anyone heard any new info from people who were there? They had to look out for themselves. Year should not be greater than current year. This part is a rollercoaster. Sorry! She was preceded in death by her father. What set off McElroy and put the local grocer in his crosshairs was the pettiest of offenses. True and tried, Ken Rexs tactics did work. No one called an ambulance. For years residents had watched Mr. McElroy, 47 years old at his death, wiggle out of one legal problem after another. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Every school has a bully or bullies, and every small town has that family or families. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. He abused Alice verbally and physically, and when she gave birth to their son, she moved out to live with her mother and stepfather In St Joseph, the next town over from Skidmore. They sacrificed one for the betterment of hundreds. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. ''Sure, I want this thing solved. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Born in Overland Park, Kansas, on June 1, 1934, McElroy was the fifteenth of Tony and Mabel McElroys sixteen children. Seventy-five or so people gathered at the Sam R. Albright American Legion Hall on July 10, 1981, to discuss what could be done. I have another story to tell: my drinks with one of McElroys sons, who had been adopted and didnt realize who his father was until he was grown and had graduated from college. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. SLAIN BULLY'S TOWN LOOKS BACK WITHOUT PITY, https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/11/us/slain-bully-s-town-looks-back-without-pity.html. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. Fidelity wasnt a strong suit of Ken Rex, or of any interest to him at all for that matter. Skidmore is down from 450 (when I was there) to 325. That was the last failure of criminal justice.. Actually, I think those shooters saved lives in the end, she said. Needless to say, McElroy was having none of this. Death. Close to fifty of them had come together and made a plan to protect the witnesses who were going to testify against McElroy. Neither Baird nor MacLean, whose crime novel has been praised as an accurate account of McElroys killing, buy that. The townsfolk were infuriated. Longstanding Grudges. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. 6. Learn more about managing a memorial . Although Ken Rex was married to his second wife Alice, he could not help but notice the pretty girl with long blonde locks. Ernst Bo Bowenkamp (source: morbidology.com). ''It ain't easy to feel bad for somebody that never did no good for your town,'' said the postmaster, Jim Hartman. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Weve updated the security on the site. based on information from your browser. Several of those who observed the shooting were standing in front of the station, which is just a few yards up the hill from where the riflemen were standing. Please try again later. I said it in 1981, and Ill say it now, Baird told Patch. 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. Imagine what McElroy would make of that: a college graduate for a son. What happened in Skidmore that day wasnt much different than the completely predictable result from shaking a carbonated beverage until the top finally blows. 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. How could it? This browser does not support getting your location. Life revolves around work, but that is a value that townspeople say Mr. McElroy discarded early in life. Database with images. He was nonplussed. WebKen Rex McElroy (1934-1981) - Find a Grave Memorial McElroy for years had terrorized the small town of Skidmore Missouri, and was considered the town bully. Everyone just went home. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/224629012/debbie-ann-mcelroy. Trena had to go to hospital for the injuries she had suffered at the hands of McElroy. The morning of July 10, 1981, was a hot one in Skidmore, Missouri. Mr. McElroy was hit in the head and neck. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. A shotgun in his hands, Ken Rex turned toward the truck as it approached. Itll be a day or two. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Im having trouble downloading the pictures, but should have them up soon. When the matter finally came to trial two coon hunters testified that Ken Rex was with them that day far away in another part of the county getting their limit. McFadin was creating delay after delay in order to prevent the case from going to trial, and time was all that Ken Rex needed in order to avoid facing a jury. July 10, 1981, his reign of terror came to an end. Faces turn away at a strangers approach. That became the pattern. Residents seem more resentful, less willing to talk. McElroy four years earlier had pumped a couple of rounds of buckshot into the stomach of local farmer Romaine Henry as he tried to run the blackguard off his land. It has a bar, and music on the weekend. McElroy got in his truck and drove away, leaving the farmer to whatever fate. 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. He lived to satisfy his own desires, and abided by his own sense of self-serving justice. His first wife, Sharon, was fifteen when they met, while McElroy was at least twenty. The attending physician was so appalled at the beating that the underage girl had taken and the history of abuse that she gave, family services was called in and took the girl into custody. Trena McElroy remarried and had a fairly normal life, refusing interviews after she left Skidmore. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. There are a bar, a grain elevator, a bank, Mom's Cafe, B & B Groceries and a hardware store, but agriculture is the main business. Being shot in the stomach wasnt enough though. The truck engine burned up in the half-hour he was left slumped in the cab, his foot lodged on the accelerator. No one was ever accused of shoplifting, or stealing. 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. 1, it is murder. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. And thats exactly what they did. Joyce Monte, daughter of injured grocer. This is the story of a man that terrorized an entire community. I was in town to spend time with the Goslee family, who had put me up and supported my research for many years, and had received considerable grief for doing it, and to attend a barbecue put on my Dave Dunbar in Lamoni, Iowa. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. , They surrounded McElroy, shouting at him that they had had enough and that his days were numbered. Over the course of his life Ken Rex would be married three times and father ten children. Despite his conviction, he was still the arrogant goon he had always been. Before you tell yourself the case closed, no, this case Estes, the sheriff some tried to implicate in a conspiracy, is dead. One time, a farmer named Romaine Henry caught McElroy trespassing on his property and attempted to chase him off. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. However, a new cafe opened across the street, in the old post office, in front of which the shooters were standing when they opened fire. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. It was a matter of self-preservation. Try again later. But right now, we don't have the evidence. It wasnt that he was necessarily slick of sly in any way, he was a brute. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. He was the 15th child of 16 born to Tony and Mabel McElroy. When Henry responded that he didnt even have a car like that, Ken Rex told him that he was a Lyin S.O.B. and pulled the trigger. He was the fifteenth of sixteen children born to a poor, migrant tenant farming family that moved between Kansas and the Ozarks before settling outside of Skidmore, Missouri. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? No, the townspeople all would have known that the injury was attributable to an intentional act, and that Ken Rex was always the responsible party. For the first time in his life, McElroy was actually convicted of a crime. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. In April 1980, two of McElroys daughters were shopping at a local corner store. After McElroy fired a gun outside her house, Evelyn Sumy appealed to Dave Dunbar, the town marshal. Am looking forward to your next post and the pictures you spoke of. Add to your scrapbook. They know the story of Ken McElroy, but they werent here when it happened. From talking to witnesses, he concluded that the killing of McElroy was not planned. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? You need a Find a Grave account to continue. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. '', See the article in its original context from. Contact Wagner & Lynch today to set up a free initial consultation! 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. McElroy for years had terrorized the small town of Skidmore Missouri, and was considered the town bully. POPULATION: ONE BAD MAN PART I. For more information or to visit the website go to www.holmanhowe.com. Somebody would hear his name, and the legend grew bigger. Richard Stratton reflects on capturing notorious thug Ken Rex McElroy, 13 Things About Ken McElroy's Shooting You Need To Know Before Watching 'No One Saw A Thing', To the Killer of Her Least Favorite Son, Skidmore, Mo. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. It failed McElroy, too, because it failed to protect him from himself. Ken Rex grew into a large and intimidating figure. , . He didnt just like being with many women, he did have a type, young girls. By this point in his life Ken Rex had become a master of escaping punishment. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. We went to the courts. The Story of the trials, life and death of Ken Rex McElroy and the Town of Skidmore, Missouri. After the photos. A pact of silence was made between the witnesses. Evelyn lived cross the street, and he made sure she could see them. spur of the moment that got completely out of hand how do I know I was one of the people who witnessed the killing , or as some people say , murder all of us took an oath , the shooters & the other witnesss .it was surreal as to what happened he sat their [in his pickup truck] , just like in the movie calmly & looked in his mirror to see the crowd behind him , he knew I believed that it was the end for him & that he was about to die , no way in hell was that crowd letting him leave. (SECOM) Thank you very much for the update on your recent trip. '', People are friendly and smiling on first acquaintance but quickly withdraw or become guarded when the McElroy case is brought up. He quit.. McElroy soon bored of Sharon, Sally and his seven children, and found another underage girl, Alice Wood, who is widely referred to as McElroys second wife. The county prosecutor, David Baird, said there was not much more he could do. As Trena told the story to reporters, a group of men followed them as they left the D&G. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). McElroy and Trena got into their truck. WebThe next day, McElroy was shot to death in broad daylight as he sat with his wife Trena in his pickup truck on Skidmore's main street. 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. A lot of old timers complain that they dont know many of the other residents, a lot of whom work in surrounding communities. We have set your language to 'A Really Nice Truck', ''It's really a shame about the Silverado,'' said Dave Dunbar, a former marshal who said Mr. McElroy once threatened him with a highpowered rifle. The older daughter paid for her items, but as they were leaving, the younger daughter grabbed some candy out of a jar and headed for the door. He had many affairs over the course of his marriage to both Alice and his first wife Sharon. It wasnt the kind of murder which goes unsolved for decades and eventually someone comes forward with the tip that breaks the case open. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. People Projects Discussions Surnames System , , . 20, , 40 , Ken was eventually convicted for shooting a local general store owner for accusing his daughters of shoplifting. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. One man said to an officer examining the scene: What are you doing here? She went right back to the McElroy farmhouse with her son. . The townspeople organized a caravan to escort the witnesses to the hearing both to protect them and to show solidarity. Romaine Henry was a Skidmore resident and farmer. While parked in front of the D & G Tavern on Main Street, in broad daylight, with a crowd estimated at 45 people around his pickup truck, Ken McElroy was shot in the head with a high powered rifle, while his wife sat in the seat beside him. Debbie was born in the Skidmore area and attended school there. Ken Rex McElroy was murdered on July 10, 1981, in one of the most bizarre cases authorities had ever encountered. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Place. But Skidmore is still Skidmore. Not a one of 'em felt sorry for him. He would follow the bus route that took Trena to school in his pickup truck. If they thought it was getting too out of hand, they would send one of us up and down the aisle. The justice system just crashed and burned over this case.. In Broad Daylight Classic Print Edition. His foot fell to the accelerator when he was shot, causing the engine to run at full bore. Both were fuming over the seemingly insignificant incident. The mainstreet is eerily quiet in mid-morning. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. He had been The authorities had let them down, so they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. McElroy died at the scene, surrounded by the people he had terrorised for decades. You dont have a town full of people who were hiding a guilty conscience, he said.

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