His lawyer managed to delay the process for so long, however, that Trena, who was still a child and very nave, got bored of foster care and ran away. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 July 10, 1981) was an American criminal and convicted attempted murderer who resided in Skidmore, Missouri, United States. The incident received world wide press coverage, was the subject of a tv movie and a book. CASE #8: THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF KEN REX MCELROY They killed. A clerk saw what happened and warned the girl that she better return the candy or pay for it. Kenneth Rex McElroy "Bully" Murder - Getty Images You have chosen this person to be their own family member. 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. Copyright 2017 Wagner & Lynch | Around forty of them stood outside, while another twenty crowded into the small tavern. When he got off on a trial, it grew even bigger. Trena McCloud first caught Ken Rex McElroys eye when she was twelve years old. This account has been disabled. , . A couple of men hustled Trena to a nearby bank, away from the gunfire. His favored methods of intimidation included approaching people, hissing threats at them and shoving his shotgun in their faces. Try again later. She was born July 5, 1965 in Skidmore, Mo. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Ken Rex fell quickly in lust with Trena. The FBI entered the case stiff-arming and threatening people, is how Monte, the Bowenkamps daughter, relates it. Ken McElroy and the Vigilantes of Skidmore, Missouri Outsiders are spotted easily and watched warily. She then worked in the customer service department at Walmart and Target for several years. He had steel blue eyes that would bore a hole right through you. Kenneth Rex McElroy in MyHeritage family trees System Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Debbie McElroy (224629012)? GREAT NEWS! You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. It really is that it was never spoken of they had an instinctive reaction to close up. 'No One Saw a Thing': A town torn apart by 38 years of violence Failed to delete flower. The truth is that the people of Skidmore, Missouri, were sick and tired of living their lives in fear under tyrannical reign of Ken McElroy, which by then had stretched over two decades. We have set your language to In April 1980, two of McElroys daughters were shopping at a local corner store. (SECOM) Says a Long, Silent Thank-You, Unsolved 'Vigilante' Murder in the Heartland: Missouri Town Goes Quiet After Bully Is Shot, The Unsolved Murder of Missouri Town Bully Ken Rex McElroy: 'No One Saw a Thing', Skidmore, Part Three - The Murder of Ken Rex McElroy, The Unsolved Murder of Missouri Town Bully Ken Rex McElroy: 'No One Saw a Thing'. His first wife, Sharon, was fifteen when they met, while McElroy was at least twenty. A pact of silence was made between the witnesses. The plan was to discuss how they were going to protect themselves from McElroy for the next two weeks until the hearing. True and tried, Ken Rexs tactics did work. 24 Jan 2012 (aged 55) Conway, Laclede County, Missouri, USA. Somebody opened the passenger door and pulled Trena out of the truck and into another building nearby. It failed McElroy, too, because it failed to protect him from himself. POPULATION: ONE BAD MAN - PART I - Wagner & Lynch Law One man said to an officer examining the scene: What are you doing here? Cite This Collection "British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries." Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. 20 Many speculate that this traumatic injury was a cause of his volatility and aggression later in life. Sally had three children with McElroy and Sharon had another two. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. By some miracle Romaine Henry lived. Unresolved: The Town That Killed Ken McElroy We went to the courts. Please enter your email and password to sign in. McWilliams Media Tulsa, OK Website Design. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? Romaine Henry was a Skidmore resident and farmer. ''Everybody knows what the next guy is saying and doing,'' said one investigator. There was an error deleting this problem. From talking to witnesses, he concluded that the killing of McElroy was not planned. This is far from what happened in the case of McElroy. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Many speculate that McElroy also threatened the jury. Verify and try again. Failed to delete flower. 3. The truck engine burned up in the half-hour he was left slumped in the cab, his foot lodged on the accelerator. She was in shock but not physically injured. M Logitech Co., Ltd. Who Killed Ken Rex McElroy: Town Keeps Its Secret For 38 Years People Projects Discussions Surnames Ken Rex moved her out of her parents home and into his, which he still shared with his wife Alice. based on information from your browser. She died of cancer in 2012 at the age of just 55. McElroy knew that how to hedge his bets and he did just that when he hired Richard McFadin, a well-known and regarded criminal defense attorney from the Kansas City area. However, the outcome of the conviction was a slap in the face for Bo and Lois Bowenkamp. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Known as "the town bully", his unsolved killing became the focus of He stalked the house where she was, brandishing his shotgun, and boring holes into the residents of the home with his steely eyes. But having this thug with serious rage issues breathing down their necks 24/7 meant it wasnt easy. This is the story of a bully, and to the town of Skidmore Missouri he was the meanest, nastiest, bully that has ever lived. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Even after all that had happened between McElroy and her family, Alice moved back into the McElroy family home with her son. Of course, McElroy had a gun. Birth. Later, she moved to Conway to be near her sister.She is survived by two sons, Wendell Cole and Bobby McElroy, both of Kansas City, Kansas; three grandchildren, Seleah, Malachi and Malik; her mother, Sharon Wilhoit of Helena, Mo. Just as he was taking his first drag, the sound of two gunshots rang out. He had been Everyone was keeping an eye on us. Ken was 18 and Oleta was 16. The more McElroy got away with, the more it seemed as though he was exempt from the law. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. 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. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Then one day, McElroy drove to the corner store, found Bo Bowenkamp around the back, and shot him in the neck. You dont take cases to trial to see what might happen, the former prosecutor said. 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. Year. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. There were plenty of eyewitnesses, as well as the The D & G Tavern, most recently the Skidmore Tavern, in front of which Ken was sitting in his Silverado when the bullets tore through the window glass and shattered his skull, was also closed. Its not even past. Nowhere is that more true than the small community of Skidmore, where the past is the terror and murder of a terror-stoking outlaw 30 years ago. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Last Names. Oops, we were unable to send the email. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. And not too long ago, Sumys, a gas station and coffee shop since 1943, closed. In Part II we will learn more about the incident that would make Skidmore Missouri and Ken Rex McElroy a national news story and a mystery that stills haunts the town nearly forty years later. Ken Rexs cruelty was well known because he was so brazen about showing it. Hurt in a car wreck, or due to someone else's negligence? After giving birth, Trena and Alice, exhausted from living in constant fear of McElroy, took their children and left the McElroy farm to live with Trenas parents. 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. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. 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. 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. Murder is still murder. . WebGenealogy for Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1982) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. McElroy slumped forward onto the steering wheel. 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. They surrounded McElroy, shouting at him that they had had enough and that his days were numbered. Somebody would hear his name, and the legend grew bigger. Before you tell yourself the case closed, no, this case No one was surprised. SKIDMORE, MO Four decades after Ken Rex McElroy was gunned down on the main drag of Skidmore, Missouri, in one of America's 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. He specialized in stealing cattle and anything else he could get his hands on. In order to stop him from doing so, McElroy carried on with his usual scare tactics he told him he would kill his entire family if he testified, followed him and sat outside his house for hours. We went to the police. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. In the end, fear is what killed him, Goslee said. This part is a rollercoaster. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. Instead of leaving, McElroy turned around and shot Henry in the stomach with his shotgun. Alices stepfather, in so many words, told McElroy to shove it. For years residents had watched Mr. McElroy, 47 years old at his death, wiggle out of one legal problem after another. Farmers carried them to kill varmints, or for hunting displaying them in plain sight in rear window gun racks. They worked as sharecroppers and moved often before settling in Skidmore. She died in 2012. They delivered messages in code. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. She took her complaint to at-the-time Nodaway County Sheriff Roger Cronk. She said her dad told her that del clement lived a rather miserable life after this happened. 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. , ''That was a really nice truck.''. This is not the story of a brutal man that terrorized his family and did bad things. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. The law had plenty of chances, plenty of times to lock him up., Added Monte: Justice failed everybody. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. When the shooting ended, McElroy was slumped over the steering wheel. McElroy yelled to Henry when he got to the window. He liked young underage girls starting around twelve to fourteen. The justice system had failed them once again. On his tombstone are the words: brave, fearless and compassionate. When the driver pulled the bus over, Ken Rex would demand that he open the door and let Trena out so that she could get in his pickup truck with him. Yes, its against the law, but you know, the law is not the final definitive word on him. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Ken was eventually convicted for shooting a local general store owner for accusing his daughters of shoplifting. McElroy moved out of his family home to be with Alice, but this relationship was no different from his previous ones. Born in 1934 the fifteenth of sixteen children McElroy dropped out of school by the time he hit fifth grade and spent the next several decades terrorizing the town of Skidmore, Missouri. When a wife a Ken Rex McElroy came into town with a black eye, or busted lip, or broken bones of all varieties, the townspeople were not likely to guess or wonder at what malevolence may have befallen the lady. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. Ken Rex took, and the only thing he ever gave was fear. Need help writing a will or setting up a trust? He would follow the bus route that took Trena to school in his pickup truck. United States Attorney Robert Ulrich declared that the Government was still working on its case despite the failure of the two grand juries to find witnesses who would talk. He ruled with an iron fist, inciting fear and causing a persistent sense of dread amongst townsfolk. It has a bar, and music on the weekend. Nearly 30 years of silence about the killing of a bully - STLtoday.com Made A Vigilante Pact To Kill Ken Rex McElroy Add to your scrapbook. They knew this because they had all either witnessed or been the victim of a similar intentional violent act, and it was always at the hands of Ken Rex McElroy. You know what he was like. It wasnt that he was necessarily slick of sly in any way, he was a brute. They were witnesses. Bully's Death Unsolved Five Years Later Despite Dozens of The couple then moved to Colorado. He left town just as Ken and Trena McElroy were driving in, likely passing McElroys Chevrolet Silverado pickup in his cruiser on the road. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Kenneth M. McElroy, 60, of Butler passed away Tuesday at Butler Memorial Hospital. No one bothered to turn it off. Imagine what McElroy would make of that: a college graduate for a son. So what was left?. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/224629012/debbie-ann-mcelroy. I dont believe youre coming nowafter we needed your help all this time.. A couple of times, he got out of the truck and fired his shotgun into the air - all this over a couple pieces of candy. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Somebody was going to get killed. Debbie was born in the Skidmore area and attended school there. Am looking forward to your next post and the pictures you spoke of. McElroy and Trena got into their truck. The townspeople resented the constant feeling of anxiety McElroys presence left them with. The morning of July 10, 1981, was a hot one in Skidmore, Missouri. McElroy got in his truck and drove away, leaving the farmer to whatever fate. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. He dropped out of school before he reached high school, and by 13 was already a familiar character to the cops around Nodaway County. Get out of town, they said. '', People are friendly and smiling on first acquaintance but quickly withdraw or become guarded when the McElroy case is brought up. If those responsible for killing McElroy are vigilantes, its because the justice system made them that way, Monte said. Ken McElroy was a middle-aged married man with out of control sideburns and a burly physique. So is Stratton. Two people decided in the midst of that whole incident theyd had enough, MacLean said. McElroy was spinning so hard out of control, I have no doubt he would have tried to kill my dad again, given the chance. Skidmore is down from 450 (when I was there) to 325. Ken Rex made bail and was out within a day or so, and went looking for Trena. By the time their second child was born, McElroy found another girlfriend, Sally, who was only thirteen, while Ken was around twenty-seven. But Skidmore is still Skidmore. Blood covered the inside of the vehicle, as well as Trena, who was sitting in the passenger seat. They slept in shifts, with some friend or family member keeping an eye on the street. Her lawyer has said she did not want to speak with reporters. Someone had to put an end to it. Now that the hearing had been delayed, and McElroy no doubt knew who the witnesses were, the entire town felt a sense of impending doom about what was to come. Death. When you park in front of the old D & G. McElroy may have been shot there 30 years ago (next July), but in some ways it could have been last July. They became disenchanted with the legal processes, yet frightened by Mr. McElroy's volatile disposition. Both were fuming over the seemingly insignificant incident. Required fields are marked *. . A lot of old timers complain that they dont know many of the other residents, a lot of whom work in surrounding communities. Henry stopped the truck and Ken Rex approached the passenger side, the window rolled down, the barrel of the 12-gauge trained on Henry. This went on for months, thanks to his trial being subject to constant delays. But if tried by a jury of their peers, I doubt anybody around here would have convicted the shooters. On July 10, 1981, the justice system let the people of Skidmore down, and when it did, they did something that changed their own lives and the town forever. To use this feature, use a newer browser. GREAT NEWS! Recent leaks into killing of town bully Ken Rex McElroy - Reddit SLAIN BULLY'S TOWN LOOKS BACK WITHOUT PITY Trena McCloud's Civil Suit Against Skidmore, Missouri Revealed Hed leave, then hed come back, Monte said. Im having trouble downloading the pictures, but should have them up soon. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. His conviction was for second-degree assault and he was sentenced to just two years - for shooting someone in the neck. The mere mention of his surname was enough to cause anxiety, if not full terror. ''We follow new leads, but there aren't many,'' Mr. Baird said. McElroy Williams. The murder of Ken Rex McElroy took place in plain view of dozens of residents in Skidmore, Mo., and will most likely never be solved. '', Mr. McElroy was widely regarded as an armed tough who stole livestock and anything else he could. He told them he was coming to pick up his son, and if anyone tried to stop him, he would kill them. Bo survived, McElroy was arrestedbut he got out on bail, and began harassing the officer who arrested him, Richard Stratton. The story of Ken Rex McElroy began on June 1, 1934. It has been a year since Kenneth Rex McElroy, described as the town bully, was shot to death on the main street of this farming community. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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. We went everywhere we could, but justice would stay delicately out the way, she said. We have set your language to 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. General Mills Recalls Gold Medal Flour Due To Salmonella Risk, 3 Soldiers Killed After 2 U.S. Army Helicopters Crash In Alaska, What To Do When Neighbor Dogs Jump On You, Poop Wherever [Block Talk], Bugs, Insects, Spiders Spring To Life; Let Some Bee, Squish Others, Allergy, Hay Fever Sufferers See An Early Start To Pollen Season, Morel Mushrooms Popping Up In Woods Across America: Where To Find Them, The Great American Solar Eclipse Of 2024 May, Ahem, Eclipse 2017. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Although Ken Rex was married to his second wife Alice, he could not help but notice the pretty girl with long blonde locks. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Estes, the sheriff some tried to implicate in a conspiracy, is dead. They just went stone silent. July 10, 1981, his reign of terror came to an end. However, most of his sexual affairs werent with women, but rather underage girls, with whom he collectively had at least ten children. While the meeting was going on, McElroy was back in the D&G Tavern drinking with Trena. True Crime and the Satisfaction of the Unsolved Mystery When the meeting ended, the group made their way across the street to the tavern to confront McElroy. Search above to list available cemeteries. Learn more about managing a memorial . Looking back, the justice system had as much to do with killing Ken McElroy as anyone in Skidmore did.. ''And I wouldn't tell you if I did.'' Beside him was his wife, Trena. More Options. Ken Rex McElroy was not a nice man. Harry MacLean, author of "In Broad Daylight". She went right back to the McElroy farmhouse with her son. I was a witness , not a shooter we all talked & took a vow of silence , NO MATTER WHAT to our death bed. One account even said that McElroy rode into town on a horse and was shot and killed, Baird, the former prosecutor, said. When you didnt know where he was, you didnt dare take the chance of not being on your guard.. He had been charged with more than 20 felonies, robbing, raping, burning, shootings. But it was too late. The Story Of Ken McElroy, The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town Not a one of 'em felt sorry for him. If they thought it was getting too out of hand, they would send one of us up and down the aisle. Your email address will not be published. The Story of the trials, life and death of Ken Rex McElroy and the Town of Skidmore, Missouri. Please enter your email and password to sign in. 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. As a result, he was no stranger to the Nodaway County Sheriffs Dept. Debbie Ann McElroy Every school has a bully or bullies, and every small town has that family or families. Sorry! Ken Rex McElroy (1934-1981) - Find a Grave Memorial
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