E-mail: ramzywritersofficial@gmail.com. [3] McElroy was acquitted. July 1981: During the 1st week of July it was announced that there would be a delay in McElroy's bond hearing. 1, it is murder. Full Worm Moon: Will Conditions Favor A Moonbow? The noted sites in the story are gone or boardedup. It cruised up the street, came back and just sat there for 20 seconds, says Boyer, adding he couldnt prove it was McElroy but waited behind a tree with his shotgun just in case. There were as many as 60 witnesses, yet the crime remains unsolved. 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. But even after a federal prosecutor forwarded to Mr. Baird what he called substantial new evidence, no one was indicted. One of the killers has died. [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. There may never be an answer to the question of who killed Ken Rex 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. MacLean doesnt believe the men gathered at the Legion hall that morning ever made a group decision to kill McElroy. Ken McElroy was shot to death on the main street of Skidmore in July 1981, in front of 45 witnesses. 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. He was a goodhearted person. There just wouldnt have been a story.. His father was a tenant farmer, his mother a housewife swamped with feeding and caring for the sprawling family. He was represented by defense attorney Richard Gene McFadin of Gallatin, Missouri. McElroy was convicted of assault but let out of jail awaiting appeal. Was justice served? In Broad Daylight by Harry N. MacLean / Via. Never miss a story by signing up for the newsletter now. And Mr. Baird lost his first election, in the Democratic primary this year, by just 25 votes, a loss noted by The Kansas City Star because of his connection with the case. His hunch paid off, and McElroy found himself handcuffed and charged with assault. An extensive federal investigation did not lead to any charges. [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. They could have pushed and dug, pushed and dug and gotten nothing, said Huston. Yet the identity of McElroys killer is a public secret Skidmore has kept for 38 years. Over the next two years, three grand juries were empaneled and testimony taken. Tensions in Skidmore soared as McElroys trial neared. 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. At least some of the witnesses surely knew who fired the bullet that shattered the back window of McElroys truck and blew off the back of his head. Town Mute for 30 Years About a Bullys Killing, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/us/16bully.html. As Trena told the story to reporters, a group of men followed them as they left the D&G. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! McElroy was known to have stolen grain, alcohol, gasoline, antiques, and even livestock. Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 - July 10, 1981) was an American criminal and convicted attempted murderer who resided in Skidmore, Missouri, United States. I said it in 1981, and Ill say it now, Baird told Patch. He was punctual, always said he didnt do it, paid in cash and kept coming back.. He divorces Oleta and marries Sharon to get out of a chargeof assault after shooting Sharon during an argument. McElroy denied he was at the scene. You know how he oppressed and threatened us. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. McElroy eventually left the tavern and got into his pickup truck with his wife, but the mob of people followed the pair outside. A couple of men hustled Trena to a nearby bank, away from the gunfire. On April 25, 1980 at Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp's general store, a clerk asked McElroy's 8-year-old daughter to return a piece of candy she had not paid for. Trena jumped from the truck and a man helped her to safety. Everyone claimed they didnt see who fired the shots. Of the most serious, McElroy was accused of child molestation and statutory rape. As his long tenure comes to an end questions about the lack of resolution in the murder case perhaps the most infamous in the area since Jesse James was shot nearby a century earlier continue to follow Mr. Baird. McElroys wifewhom he victimized as a childremarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri. Ken Rex McElroy sat in his truck for over an hour before the law was called. He was very cunning, MacLean told Patch. McElroy began backing out too, then tailed Margaret until she radioed Richard and squad cars showed up. A deer slug in one chamber tore through Bowenkamps neck, coming within 3 inches of his head. April 25th, 1980: A few of Ken's children go to the local grocery store and is accused of stealing by Mrs. Bowenkamp. 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. No one called for an ambulance. 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. You dont take cases to trial to see what might happen, the former prosecutor said. On July 10th, 1981 Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead in the street in broad daylight infront of 60 witnesses. in the A&E App.]. [6] Trena and her baby were placed in foster care at a home in Maryville, Missouri. [10] No one called for an ambulance. [Stream episodes of Accused: Guilty or Innocent? They were witnesses. What happened in Skidmore that day wasnt much different than the completely predictable result from shaking a carbonated beverage until the top finally blows. Instead, he continued to harass Bowenkamp. No one has been indicted for the murder of McElroy. One of these women was 24-year-old Trena McCloud, who was McElroy's partner. A few days later, a pickup truck showed up in the wee hours outside Boyers remote country house. Weighing in at approximately 270 pounds with bushy black sideburns, McElroy held the entire . The murder of Ken Rex McElroy isn't 'unsolved' in the typical sense of the word. 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. 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. Obsessed with travel? Born in 1934, Ken Rex McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. Nobody wanted to talk to us, retired Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Dan Boyer tells A&E True Crime. But Ken rarely had to wrestle with the No. The guns were never recovered. We stood up and did the right thing. Hed help anyone that needed to be helped, she said in an interview recounted in In Broad Daylight. I didnt see anything. After Sally had had three kids, Ken kicks her out of the house. He was shot at several times and hit twice, once by a centerfire rifle and once by a .22 rimfire rifle. Shortly after being released, McElroy was at D&G Tavern making threats about murdering Bowenkamp. I got in the car and was shaking so bad.. There were so many nights Dad couldnt go out and mow the yard or water the flowers because there was a truck parked down the street, and they were watching the house, Monte said. 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? Ive never thought there was a series of phone calls that went around dont say this or that. Those farmers have known each other since they were children. Of the potential 40 or so witnesses, with the exception of Trena, none could name a shooter. 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. Something for everyone interested in hair, makeup, style, and body positivity. McElroy would just sit and glower at you just stare at you and youd never know what he was thinking.. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. I am a History Educator and a Lifelong Learner with a Masters in Global History. But not that one. 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 the summer of 1981, a jury handed McElroy his first-ever felony conviction for the lesser charge of second-degree assault. McElroy sat outside the foster home for hours at a time staring at it. It's said the county's law enforcement officials were afraid of encountering McElroy, who was known to be heavily armed. 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. Allegedly, even the mayor was in on it. In July 1976, McElroy pulled a shotgun on farmer Romaine Henry and shot the man in the stomach. There wasn't much parental supervision, but McElroy had a knack for taking care of himself. He begins to rant about how he is going to ruin Bo Bowenkamp. Things reached a boiling point in 1980 when Ken McElroy got into a confrontation with the towns elderly grocer, Ernest Bo Bowenkamp. [2][3] In 1981, McElroy was convicted of attempted murder in the shooting of the town's 70-year-old grocer Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp. But in a dramatic act of solidarity with the gunman, every witness, save the dead mans wife, denied seeing who had pulled the trigger. When they met him on the street, parents steered their children, especially their daughters, away from McElroy, a notorious womanizer who favored young women and was married multiple times including to a child bride he was accused of raping and fathered 15 children. Police had charged him with various alleged crimes from stealing hogs to assault, but nothing stuck. 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. The last three decades have been tough on this agricultural community of 342, about an hour and a half north of Kansas City. The trial collapsed yet all accounts are sceptical that the witnesses were telling the . SKIDMORE, Mo. McElroys rear window was shot out and the front window as well. The group heard McElroy and Trena McCloud were spotted heading to the tavern nearby. He never finished high school but knew how to hunt, drive fast and navigate the back roads of Nodaway County by his early teens. The verdict was second-degree assault and two years. Bottles, glasses for restaurants and barsincomible/Getty ImagesFull of Audienceuschools/Getty ImagesAn American police officer posing arms folded beside cop carDarrenMower/Getty ImagesCar Wash Truck SprayA-Digit/Getty ImagesCity People Setedge69/Getty ImagesSilhouette of people in action4x6/Getty ImagesCaucasian farmer standing in irrigated fieldHill Street Studios/Getty ImagesYoung woman on the streetSensorSpot/Getty ImagesShot Truck Driverwwing/Getty ImagesOlder Caucasian man standing with hands in pocketsSam Diephuis/Getty ImagesOutlines of rebellionsshironosov/Getty Imagesmain street remote rural prairie towndlerick/Getty ImagesBlank magazine on wooden backgroundgrinvalds/Getty ImagesEmpty Country Road In UsaDan Thornberg / EyeEm/Getty ImagesCaucasian farmer wearing gloves leaning on wooden fenceSteve Smith/Getty ImagesJudge holding gavel in courtroomChris Ryan/Getty ImagesAuthentic Cowboy Rancher Portraitavid_creative/Getty ImagesSilhouettes of three cowboys on a white backgroundheartbar/Getty ImagesCaucasian security officers posing with flashlightKirk Marsh/Getty ImagesPrivate investigator reports what he seestzahiV/Getty ImagesThis farm is my pride and joypixdeluxe/Getty Imagesdark portrait of a man in a hoodserikbaib/Getty ImagesWhite colored house with blue doorMableen/Getty ImagesYoung couple havi EXTERNAL CREDITSGrant Henderson - Editor+Rick Weller- GFX Artist I have no doubt hed have tried to kill my mom. However, he was also charged with various crimes. He showed back up in front of their house that night, and he and Trena sat there and watched them, Monte said. And his deeds were as daunting as his appearance. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. 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. He was accused or suspected of dozens of crimes, including theft, livestock rustling, burglary, arson, assault, rape, and child molestation. She took her complaint to at-the-time Nodaway County Sheriff Roger Cronk. Nobody called an ambulance. However, an incident would occur in 1980 that changed everything. As a result, he was arrested, but quickly released. July 10th, 1981: The Townspeople gather in the Legion to discuss what should be done about Ken McElroy. 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. Ken had 13 siblings: Hershell Eugene McElroy, Orvil O McElroy and 11 . Trena claimed to have seen someone pull a rifle from the back of the truck, take aim at McElroy, and fire shots that shattered the truck's windows. On July 8, 1980, McElroy drove to the alley behind the Bowenkamp general store. Neither Baird nor MacLean, whose crime novel has been praised as an accurate account of McElroys killing, buy that. 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. June 12th, 1973: After continuing his involvement with Trena McCloud, Ken McElroy burns down Trena's parents' house. McElroy escaped jail on an appeal bond and could remain free until he exhausted his appeals, free to taunt his victims with what had become painfully clear: He would never go to jail. 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. There was a kind of silent charity on the part of my parents, and they never prosecuted. Worse felonies included assault and arson. Missouri-based journalist Steve Booher described the attitude of some townspeople as, "He needed killing. More awful crimes have taken place in the small town. [1][3] The 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. He then returned to Trena's parents' home when they were away and, once again, shot the family dog and burned the house down. [14] Trena remarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri, where she died of cancer on her 55th birthday on January 24, 2012.[15]. Somebody would hear his name, and the legend grew bigger. 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. McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. Few were criticized as mightily as Baird over the lack of prosecution in McElroys murder. He neutralized an entire criminal justice system.. Trena McElroy remarried and had a fairly normal life, refusing interviews after she left Skidmore. When talking about McElroy, MacLean wondered how he was able to be so crafty. 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. 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. 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. Some attributed his bizarre and violent behavior to a head injury suffered in this event. We didnt have sufficient evidence to go to trial.. The bar that provided the backdrop for the shooting is closed and for sale for $20,000. Nodaway County Sheriff Dan Estes suggested they form a neighborhood watch. 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. 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. 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. McElroy was born in 1934, the fifteenth of sixteen children born to a poor . She gathered her strength and put the car in reverse. According to reports, some 50 people were outside the tavern when the shooting started. He was known as the town bully, but they may be putting it mildly. 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. If you liked reading this story on Ken McElroy, the bully who was killed by his town, check out the story of Budford Pussers cold-blooded revenge. [1] To date, no one has been charged in connection with McElroy's death. Mr. McElroy was quickly rearrested after he appeared in town with a rifle, but he was again released. Tell us what you think in the comments below. A man who turned out to be McElroy pointed a shotgun at me, Margaret tells A&E True Crime. 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Title Directed by Original air date U.S. viewers (millions) 1 "The Killing of Ken Rex McElroy" Avi Belkin: August 1, 2019 (): N/A: Known as the town bully, Ken Rex McElroy terrorized tiny Skidmore, Missouri, for decades.On July 10, 1981, the town had had enough and 60 people surrounded his pick-up truck and shot him dead on Main Street--but no one claimed to have seen a thing. It failed McElroy, too, because it failed to protect him from himself. A lot of people were not happy about what happened, MacLean said. Some of these things are simply assumed to be factual, Baird said. He had a legendary status, and it all got to be bigger than he was. The rumor was that he had drowned her father in a bathtub when he had objected to what he was doing to his daughter. Women had a harder time with it than the men. We might not see him for three or four days, and then wed see him every day for weeks, Monte said. CHAPTER ONE. In the end, fear is what killed him, Goslee said. McElroy divorced Alice and married Trena in order to escape charges of statutory rape, to which she was the only witness. Luckily, Bowenkamp survived, and McElroy was charged with attempted murder. McElroys wife named one person as a possible gunman, but no one couldor wouldidentify who fired the shots. So is Stratton. The final straw for Skidmore was when he was let out on bond. He showed up to the towns local bar, armed with a rifle and bayonet, threatening to kill the elderly grocer. McElroy was never a popular man. The Vigilantemurder of Ken Rex McElroy still remains a mystery today. It went beyond just hammering people and being mean-spirited. The towns local bar in Skidmore, Missouri. Genealogy profile for Ken Rex McElroy Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1982) - Genealogy Genealogy for Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1982) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Not only that, they recommended he spend no more than two years in prison. 1955 or 56: Ken and Oleta McElroy move back to Missouri after Ken's accident in Colorado. No one was ever accused of shoplifting, or stealing. 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. The bar soon filled completely. McElroy and Trena returned to the truck, where he lit a cigarette while she was in the passenger seat. According to a report, no one called an ambulance. McElroy made a living leasing land near his farm, and trading and racing dogs. Road signs bear a picture of a young man who disappeared nine years ago and is feared dead. That it was a vigilante killing is not true for a lot of reasons; if they had decided to kill him, they wouldnt have stood in the street to watch the murder unfold, he said. 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. The couple then moved to Colorado. Heavy lids veiled cold, steel-blue eyes, making them look like half moons. The people of the town keep their heads down and prefer to not speak about the incident. McCloud attempted to escape to her parents' house, but McElroy allegedly responded by burning down Trena's parents' home and shooting their dog. 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. The townsfolk were infuriated. The law wasnt going to help the people of Skidmore. What started with hunting raccoons escalated into petty crime until McElroy ultimately emerged as a full-fledged criminal. The law had plenty of chances, plenty of times to lock him up., Added Monte: Justice failed everybody. 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. The police would not or could not help us or Skidmore. After the sheriff left town, the group walked from the hall and went down the street to the tavern. Now, nearly 30 years later, that prosecutor, David A. Baird, is preparing to leave office with his first and most famous case still unsolved. Were the citizens justified in taking matters into their own hands? And he has already asked the sheriffs office to re-examine some of the unsolved cases. A federal grand jury was convened. McElroy burned down the girls home and shot her familys dog to force her parents to agree to the marriage. Everyone in town seemed to know McElroy had done it, yet he spent only a single night in jail for nearly killing the man. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. He was sure it was Mr. McElroy who had done the shooting. Local police, state investigators and FBI agents tried to break the towns silence, without success. Anthony was born on August 27 1890, in Shelton, Knox County, MO, USA. They thought about his wife and his children, and where it left them particularly the children.. He believes one of the gunmen was the suspect named by the widow. And its likely to stay that way. The murder took place on July 10, 1981, the day after McElroy had threatened Bowenkamp at the tavern. However, he was also charged with various crimes. When you didnt know where he was, you didnt dare take the chance of not being on your guard.. SKIDMORE, Mo. 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. In fact, anywhere between thirty and ninety people witnessed the . Both Sally and Sharon begin having Ken's children. Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead inside his pick-up truck on the 10th of July, 1981, via a storm of bullets. He appeared in a local bar, the D&G Tavern, armed with an M1 Garand rifle and bayonet, and later threatened to kill Bowenkamp. 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. THE KILLING OF KEN REX MCELROY THIRTY YEARS LATER. The people of Skidmore were becoming more and more frustrated with the failures to protect them in the justice system. Theoretically, [the murder] could be re-investigated, veteran Kansas City criminal defense attorney J.R. Hobbs tells A&E True Crime. Part of his teeth were lying on the dashboard, Boyer recalls. Known as 'the town bully', his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. 2023 by Catlyn Brady, Jennifer Partridge, & Kara Severson. So the townspeople held a meeting. Five or six of us were standing in front of the Skidmore Caf, waiting and passing the time. Sheriff Estes instructed the assembled group not to get into a direct confrontation with McElroy, but instead seriously consider forming a neighborhood watch program. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . McElroys wife was not injured and escaped the vehicle. He said he was not at all disappointed to leave office with the case still unsolved. 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. What set off McElroy and put the local grocer in his crosshairs was the pettiest of offenses. As the case dragged on without a court date, Henry said McElroy had parked outside his home at least 100 times. The man identified by the widow as the main gunman recently died, something Mr. Baird raised in suggesting that the case may never be reopened. You know what he was like.