He was arrested, booked, arraigned, and released on $2,500 bail. Someone warned her, Youre about to meet Ken Rex McElroy, Monte said. Trena McElroy accused Skidmore residents of turning her husband into a scapegoat. Watch the new and 7th season of BuzzFeed Unsolved: True Crime! He was shot at several times and hit twice, once by a centerfire rifle and once by a .22 rimfire rifle. Missouri-based journalist Steve Booher described the attitude of some townspeople as, "He needed killing. 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. None of the witnesses called an ambulance or gave information about a shooter. 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. She was present at the time of his death. McElory was struck by two different firearms and died behind the wheel of his truck. [6], Based on Trena's story, McElroy was indicted in June 1973 for arson, assault, and statutory rape. 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. 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. SKIDMORE, Mo. 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.". 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. We had shoplifting, but a lot of people were on hard times. But not that one. The grocer lived and McElroy was again arrested and charged with attempted murder. [10] No one called for an ambulance. One account even said that McElroy rode into town on a horse and was shot and killed, Baird, the former prosecutor, said. We went everywhere we could, but justice would stay delicately out the way, she said. They slept in shifts, with some friend or family member keeping an eye on the street. Ken Rex Melroy was born on June 1st, 1934 to a family of poor tenant farmers who moved to Skidmore. . 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. After Sally had had three kids, Ken kicks her out of the house. Alas, the victory was short-lived. Perversely, the towns share of tragedy has grown. He had a legendary status, and it all got to be bigger than he was. The Chilling Murder of Skidmore Town Bully Remains a Mystery - Medium McCloud was McElroy's third "wife," though all unions were suspicious due to the fact that some of his marriages overlapped. Harry MacLean, author of "In Broad Daylight". During the meeting, McElroy arrived at the D&G Tavern with Trena. There's a long list of crimes said to have been committed by McElroy, including shooting multiple people. 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. When Daylight Saving Time 2023 Begins, Will It Be For The Last Time. Refusing to argue, he and Lois went home. A federal grand jury was convened. The Story Of Ken McElroy, The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town Again, there were no indictments, and the McElroy murder case was tossed back to Baird. So what was left?. And its likely to stay that way. In 1981, McElroy was convicted of shooting . The Vigilantemurder of Ken Rex McElroy still remains a mystery today. Two people decided in the midst of that whole incident theyd had enough, MacLean said. There may never be an answer to the question of who killed Ken Rex McElroy. Evelyn tried to explain what had happened, that nobody had accused the children of stealing, and Trena said, Why would my effing daughter lie? . Ken was 18 and Oleta was 16. His unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. An extensive federal investigation did not lead to any charges. A couple of men hustled Trena to a nearby bank, away from the gunfire. [12] The DA declined to press charges. His foot fell to the accelerator when he was shot, causing the engine to run at full bore. The person(s) responsible for firing the shots that killed McElroy remains unsolved. The last three decades have been tough on this agricultural community of 342, about an hour and a half north of Kansas City. 2023 by Catlyn Brady, Jennifer Partridge, & Kara Severson. More awful crimes have taken place in the small town. In the summer of 1981, a jury handed McElroy his first-ever felony conviction for the lesser charge of second-degree assault. There were plenty of eyewitnesses, as well as the attack happened in broad. 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. Yes, its against the law, but you know, the law is not the final definitive word on him. To the residents of the small town, he was the town bully. 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. There was a kind of silent charity on the part of my parents, and they never prosecuted. No one has been charged in connection with McElroys death. Born in 1934, Ken Rex McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. Once the shroud of silence fell, there was going to be no one talking, said Cheryl Huston, whose elderly father had been shot by Mr. McElroy and who watched the killing of Mr. McElroy from her familys grocery store but, like the others, said she did not see the gunman. As many as 60 Skidmore residents attended, including the mayor and the sheriff. When the shooting ended, McElroy was slumped over the steering wheel. Ken McElroy was shot to death on the main street of Skidmore in July 1981, in front of 45 witnesses. Three grand juries heard evidence. 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. One reason was McElroys lawyer Richard Gene McFadin, a skilled defense attorney who ran rings around inexperienced prosecutors. Didnt see a thing. Thats the response investigators repeatedly received when they questioned people over the death of Ken McElroy. Was justice served? They could finally sleep peacefully at night, especially Bo and Lois Bowenkamp and their children. A reported crowd of up to 60 men had largely dispersed, but some onlookers remained, staring at the pickup. A few days later, a pickup truck showed up in the wee hours outside Boyers remote country house. Those who spoke out were taciturn. Ken Rex McElroyThe Thirtieth Anniversary of his Killing He spent the night in jail before posting bond, then sauntered menacingly back into the D&G tavern and pool hall and took his usual spot. 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. Vigilante justice is certainly a slippery slope, but after years of dealing with Ken McElroy, the people of Skidmore reached their boiling point. But Ken rarely had to wrestle with the We stood up and did the right thing. McElroys wife named one person as a possible gunman, but no one couldor wouldidentify who fired the shots. Everyone involved continues to keep the secret and gives no answers. Some attributed his bizarre and violent behavior to a head injury suffered in this event. We went to the police. They thought about his wife and his children, and where it left them particularly the children.. McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. 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. 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. His hunch paid off, and McElroy found himself handcuffed and charged with assault. He was known as the town bully , but they may be putting it mildly. [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. 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 murder took place on July 10, 1981, the day after McElroy had threatened Bowenkamp at the tavern. Then McElroy, described by veteran journalist Phil Conger as a big brute of a guy with slicked-back hair like Elvis, took the stand. Ken Rex McElroy 1934-1981. Only July 10, 1981, there was a meeting at the town hall, down the street from D&G Tavern. He quit.. The morning of July 10, 1981, a group of frustrated and angry men gathered at the Legion Hall in Skidmore, MacLean writes. Ken Rex McElroy sat in his truck for over an hour before the law was called. The couple then moved to Colorado. He raped McCloud repeatedly. A memorial in the tiny downtown park displays the name of an expectant mother murdered six years ago, her fetus cut from her womb. Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1982) - Genealogy - geni family tree 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. Ken McElroy issues threats against the Bowenkamp family. After the sheriff left town, the group walked from the hall and went down the street to the tavern. 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. 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. Richard Stratton was ready. Timeline | McElroy [4], McElroy fathered more than 10 children with different women. June 29th, 1981: McElroy enters a bar with an illegal firearm, due to him being out on bail. His last wife, Trena, became pregnant with their first child at age 14. Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1981) - Genealogy The sheriff said, If you have to shoot him, let us know and well come get him before he starts stinking, Monte said. 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. I dont know what happened,' Boyer recalls witnesses saying. Once there, he threatened Bo, and shot him in the neck at close range with a shotgun. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. Obsessed with travel? He showed back up in front of their house that night, and he and Trena sat there and watched them, Monte said. And despite there being dozens of witnesses, no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with McElroys murder. The stories of McElroy's relationships contain some troubling details, but the information is important to paint the full picture. The police would not or could not help us or Skidmore. McElroy was a big man with cold eyes who always carried a gun. The rumor was that he had drowned her father in a bathtub when he had objected to what he was doing to his daughter. After dropping out of school in the eighth grade, it didn't take long for Ken McElroy to fall into a life of delinquency. No one called for an ambulance. Shortly after, McElroy was arrested and charged with attempted murder. 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. 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]. [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.