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And Mr. Baird, all these years later, is still unwilling to give his own view on whether justice was served even though or because the killer was never tried. A writer and storyteller out in the world to write about True-Crime and History. He grew up hearing the story. McElroy wound up shooting Bowenkamp in the neck, nearly killing him. McElroy and Trena returned to the truck, where he lit a cigarette while she was in the passenger seat. But the silence of the townspeople held. Evelyn lived cross the street, and he made sure she could see them. And his deeds were as daunting as his appearance. [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. He raped McCloud repeatedly. 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. Anyone can read what you share. His unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. When talking about McElroy, MacLean wondered how he was able to be so crafty. He was as mean as he looked, but there was more to his baleful demeanor, said Colorado lawyer and author Harry MacLean, who lived with a prominent Skidmore farm family off and on for about five years while he researched In Broad Daylight, a New York Times bestseller chronicling McElroys life and death. You know what he was like. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Meanwhile, McElroy and his wife arrived at the D&G Tavern for a morning drink. She died in 2012. Ken Rex Melroy was born on June 1st, 1934 to a family of poor tenant farmers who moved to Skidmore. Boyer was out showing a trainee the ropes when he got the call of a shooting in Skidmore. None of the witnesses called an ambulance or gave information about a shooter. [1] To date, no one has been charged in connection with McElroy's death. Best client I ever had, McFadin said in an interview. Those who spoke out were taciturn. On July 10th, 1981 Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead in the street in broad daylight infront of 60 witnesses. Trena McElroy remarried and had a fairly normal life, refusing interviews after she left Skidmore. The group heard McElroy and Trena McCloud were spotted heading to the tavern nearby. Reporting on what you care about. Filmmaker Avi Belkin's 'No One Saw a Thing . [2], In all, he was indicted 21 times but escaped conviction each time, except for the last. Evelyn tried to explain what had happened, that nobody had accused the children of stealing, and Trena said, Why would my effing daughter lie? . The grocer lived and McElroy was again arrested and charged with attempted murder. Were the citizens justified in taking matters into their own hands? Ken was 18 and Oleta was 16. When word spread that McElroy was in town, a couple of the men walked from the Legion hall to the D&G. Calling the sheriff about his threats was risk few were willing to take not that it would have done much good, Goslee said. Mr. McElroy was quickly rearrested after he appeared in town with a rifle, but he was again released. Murder is still murder. Born in 1934, Ken Rex McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. [14] Trena remarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri, where she died of cancer on her 55th birthday on January 24, 2012.[15]. SKIDMORE, Mo. 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.. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. Just to be aware, he explained. After dropping out of school in the eighth grade, it didnt take long for Ken McElroy to fall into a life of delinquency. As of 2019, many of the main players in McElroys story have died, including McFadin, Trena McElroy, Bowenkamp and the rancher accused of pulling the trigger, MacLean writes in his blog. McElroy was getting into his pickup truck with his wife Trena on the main street of Skidmore where there was a crowd of 30 to 50 people. It was so out of the blue, almost to the point of being surreal, said Monte, who occasionally worked in her parents store. The objective is to promote history on Medium and demonstrate the value of historical writing. 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. Its been over 30 years. He said he was not at all disappointed to leave office with the case still unsolved. No one was ever accused of shoplifting, or stealing. 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. 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. The FBI entered the case stiff-arming and threatening people, is how Monte, the Bowenkamps daughter, relates it. If they thought it was getting too out of hand, they would send one of us up and down the aisle. Everyone in town seemed to know McElroy had done it, yet he spent only a single night in jail for nearly killing the man. To the residents of the small town, he was the town bully. You dont take cases to trial to see what might happen, the former prosecutor said. [6] Trena and her baby were placed in foster care at a home in Maryville, Missouri. 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. I have no doubt hed have tried to kill my mom. There wasnt much parental supervision, but McElroy had a knack for taking care of himself. 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. 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. When the call went out, State Police Cpl. Harry MacLean, author of "In Broad Daylight". The town has seen more than its share of tragedy. 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. The person(s) responsible for firing the shots that killed McElroy remains unsolved. And he has already asked the sheriffs office to re-examine some of the unsolved cases. Many buildings are closed and falling apart. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Few were criticized as mightily as Baird over the lack of prosecution in McElroys murder. Local authorities, including a coroners jury and a local grand jury, and even the FBI, investigated the killing but to no avail. Anthony was born on August 27 1890, in Shelton, Knox County, MO, USA. 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. Once, he even got out and fired a shotgun up in the pine tree by their house. 1954: While working for his sister's husband in construction, McElroy suffers a traumatic head injury that leaves him with lifelong pain. Carjackers Steal More Cars Many With Kids Still Inside, After Indulgent Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday Signals Abstinence, Fasting. July 10th, 1981: The townspeople gather around Ken's truck once he and Trena exit the bar. The son of a bitch would just as soon shoot them as anyone else.. His unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. That was the last failure of criminal justice.. Ken Rex McElroy, a notoriously brutal man who had terrorized Skidmore, Mo., for years, was killed in 1981. There has been books written, movies, documentaries and more made about the killing. 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. Those in attendance felt the system had failed them, and it seemed like none of the authorities could stop McElroy. His hunch paid off, and McElroy found himself handcuffed and charged with assault. It's hard to believe that this small town was once a bustlingcommunity. A man who turned out to be McElroy pointed a shotgun at me, Margaret tells A&E True Crime. His foot fell to the accelerator when he was shot, causing the engine to run at full bore. Someone warned her, Youre about to meet Ken Rex McElroy, Monte said. The sheriff suggested they form a neighborhood watch and advised the group not to confront the man. There was a kind of silent charity on the part of my parents, and they never prosecuted. Many buildings are closed and falling apart. 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. McElroy was spinning so hard out of control, I have no doubt he would have tried to kill my dad again, given the chance. When the shooting ended, McElroy was slumped over the steering wheel. The noted sites in the story are gone or boardedup. 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? On July 8, 1980, McElroy drove to the alley behind the Bowenkamp general store. An extensive federal investigation did not lead to any charges. In August of 1980, McElroy made attempts to intimidate the Bowenkamp family and their supporters to prevent them from testifying. This past weekend marked the 40th anniversary of the killing of Ken Rex McElroy of Skidmore. It was a matter of self-preservation. He quit.. Author Harry MacLean wrote a book McElroys story called In Broad Daylight. Yet the identity of McElroys killer is a public secret Skidmore has kept for 38 years. 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. The streak ended when a jury convicted Mr. McElroy of second-degree assault in the grocers shooting. He went about making public threats against the grocer while armed with a rifle. However, in 1981, Trena told People magazine that the fire was a result of "faulty wiring.". Witnessing the murder were McElroys wife, Trena, screaming in the passenger seat and dozens of local residents. And despite there being dozens of witnesses, no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with McElroys murder. In 1981, McElroy was convicted of shooting . Shortly after, McElroy was arrested and charged with attempted murder. 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. No one called for an ambulance. How did this uneducated person how is he able to outwit the criminal justice system for 20 years? said MacLean. Weighing in at approximately 270 pounds with bushy black sideburns, McElroy held the entire . Missouri-based journalist Steve Booher described the attitude of some townspeople as, "He needed killing. 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. It's said the county's law enforcement officials were afraid of encountering McElroy, who was known to be heavily armed. The murder occurred in broad daylight, with as many as sixty eye-witnesses present . [4], McElroy fathered more than 10 children with different women. What started with hunting raccoons escalated into petty crime until McElroy ultimately emerged as a full-fledged criminal. However, an incident would occur in 1980 that changed everything. McElroy for the most part escaped prosecution and, certainly, conviction for various crimes. He was a goodhearted person. Allegedly, even the mayor was in on it. His successor, Robert Rice, already knew how Mr. McElroy died. The verdict was second-degree assault and two years. In the ensuing confrontation, McElroy shot Bowenkamp in the neck; Bowenkamp survived, and McElroy was arrested and charged with attempted murder. McElroy was a big man with cold eyes who always carried a gun. They settle in Skidmore. Everyone involved continues to keep the secret and gives no answers. [3] McElroy was acquitted. MacLean doesnt believe the men gathered at the Legion hall that morning ever made a group decision to kill McElroy. The murder occurred in broad daylight, with as many as sixty eye-witnesses present, including the wife of the deceased. E-mail: ramzywritersofficial@gmail.com. How is this man not in jail? Monte said, repeating the question asked by many when he showed up in Skidmore the morning after his release. 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. Ken McElroy died in a hail of gunfire on the morning of July 10, 1981, while sitting in his truck outside a local tavern.