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. Ken Rex McElroy (1934-1981) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree Fidelity wasnt a strong suit of Ken Rex, or of any interest to him at all for that matter. Browse All 237,537 Images. What happened in Skidmore that day wasnt much different than the completely predictable result from shaking a carbonated beverage until the top finally blows. The Tavern, a quonset hut set on a cement floor, stunk irredeemably of grease from all the burgers fried up in there over the years. Refusing to argue, he and Lois went home. Skidmore townsfolk may not all have liked how he was killed it was murder, after all but when he died, most of the towns 435 residents let out a heavy sigh of relief. Burial. 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. Just the name Ken Rex McElroy feels bigger than it appears on paper. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Thanks for your help! The Story of the trials, life and death of Ken Rex McElroy and the Town of Skidmore, Missouri. 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. If Trena did have a choice, it would never fall to the bus driver to protect the little girl if she chose to not go with Ken Rex. It wasnt long before he became a violent menace, his more serious crimes including rape, assault and child molestation. Nobody tried to hang them for finding a way to kill a germ. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Dozens of them gathered at Skidmores American Legion hall on the morning of July 10, 1981. McElroy had just finished another stint at a local tavern when he stumbled back into his pickup truck. He forced the two women and the children into his truck and drove them back to the farmhouse. This was a punch in the gut to everybody in Skidmore. 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. McElroy, known as 'Kenrex' by his friends and his enemies, had an extensive arrest record. , Wife says one of 60 vigilantes killed husband - UPI Archives Alices stepfather, in so many words, told McElroy to shove it. A system error has occurred. This is the story of a bully, and to the town of Skidmore Missouri he was the meanest, nastiest, bully that has ever lived. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. But having this thug with serious rage issues breathing down their necks 24/7 meant it wasnt easy. System , , . Failed to delete flower. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Im having trouble downloading the pictures, but should have them up soon. Recent leaks into killing of town bully Ken Rex McElroy - Reddit Ken McElroy 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. Failed to delete memorial. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. In April 1980, two of McElroys daughters were shopping at a local corner store. POPULATION: ONE BAD MAN - PART I - Wagner & Lynch Law Try again later. She took her complaint to at-the-time Nodaway County Sheriff Roger Cronk. He had steel blue eyes that would bore a hole right through you. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Who Killed Ken Rex McElroy: Town Keeps Its Secret For 38 Years 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. Had I sought out the Clements and their crowd, I would have gone to the Elks Club in Maryville on Saturday night, the scene of my almost-violent encounter with Del and his friends years ago. 0 cemeteries found in Saint Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri, USA. M Logitech Co., Ltd. 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. McElroy was charged with arson, rape and brandishing a deadly weapon. Thanks for your help! No. This is not the story of a brutal man that terrorized his family and did bad things. The group outside the tavern had grown and began jeering as they saw the couple emerge from the tavern. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. He had time to work his system and get what he wanted. Although Ken Rex was married to his second wife Alice, he could not help but notice the pretty girl with long blonde locks. A federal grand jury was convened. What could legally be done about McElroy, they asked Sheriff Danny Estes, who had been elected months earlier. He showed back up in front of their house that night, and he and Trena sat there and watched them, Monte said. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Debbie Ann McElroy I found on Findagrave.com. Retaliation would be severe. Please try again later. 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. I was a witness , not a shooter we all talked & took a vow of silence , NO MATTER WHAT to our death bed. And just over the horizon, beginning Aug. 1 on Sundance TV, is No One Saw a Thing, a six-part immersion in rural Missouri and the notorious 1981 vigilante killing of Ken Rex McElroy. When either woman did raise his cheating as an issue, he simply beat them and tortured them as a reminder that they were not entitled to issues or the bringing of them up. He had been charged with more than 20 felonies, robbing, raping, burning, shootings. 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. Someone had to put an end to it. After McElroy fired a gun outside her house, Evelyn Sumy appealed to Dave Dunbar, the town marshal. Ken Rex McElroy was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in St Joseph, Missouri. Two people decided in the midst of that whole incident theyd had enough, MacLean said. A hearing was scheduled, in which the witnesses would testify that they had seen McElroy in the bar in possession of a loaded weapon. Nearly 30 years of For example, one of the owners of the D&G tavern would send her young children to the grocery store for paper towels, keeping the children innocently unaware they were telegraphing an urgent message for the Bowenkamps to call the police. Much of his cash, however, went to Richard Gene McFadin, his lawyer. The more McElroy got away with, the more it seemed as though he was exempt from the law. A polite person would say that Ken Rex came from humble beginnings, but politeness doesnt fit in a story about Ken Rex McElroy or the Town of Skidmore, so we will forego any. Investigators found shell casings from two weapons a .22-caliber Magnum rifle and an 8 mm Mauser, a German World War I-era long-range rifle. They surrounded McElroy, shouting at him that they had had enough and that his days were numbered. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. True Crime and the Satisfaction of the Unsolved Mystery Del Clement, the man Trena named as McElroys killer, died of cirrhosis of the liver in 2009. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. McElroy was arrested and charged with arson, assault, and statutory rape. She died in 2012. 24 Jan 1957. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? I went to his gravesite a few years after he died , & took a piss on his grave, thats how much I thought of him", https://www.harrymaclean.com/blog/no-death-bed-confession/. Several patrons witnessed McElroys display at the tavern and called the prosecutor, who revoked McElroys bail. Trena, who was twenty-three by this time, began yelling at the clerk, which drew the attention of the stores owners, Ernst and Lois Bowenkamp. A clerk saw what happened and warned the girl that she better return the candy or pay for it. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. To use this feature, use a newer browser. The Story Of Ken McElroy, The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town It has a bar, and music on the weekend. Faulkner wrote that The past is never dead. Injured at work? Adoption, paternity, divorce, or guardianship? The murder of Ken Rex McElroy isnt unsolved in the typical sense of the word. 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. ''Sure, I want this thing solved. Please reset your password. It should have been open and shut - there were dozens of witnesses, and the shooting occurred in broad daylight - but it wound up being anything but. Skidmore is down from 450 (when I was there) to 325. His foot fell to the accelerator when he was shot, causing the engine to run at full bore. 1, it is murder. Absolutely not, he said. It sounded like the Wild West out there.''. McElroy and Trena got up without saying a word, pushing their way through the crowd towards the exit. 2. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Just as he was taking his first drag, the sound of two gunshots rang out. For more information or to visit the website go to www.holmanhowe.com. Oops, we were unable to send the email. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? The townsfolk were infuriated. The couple then moved to Colorado. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. By 14 years old Trena was pregnant with their first child. Three grand jury investigations and an FBI probe resulted in no indictments and no trial. Again, there were no indictments, and the McElroy murder case was tossed back to Baird. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. You dont have a town full of people who were hiding a guilty conscience, he said. If those responsible for killing McElroy are vigilantes, its because the justice system made them that way, Monte said. When Estes and state troopers arrived back in town, the streets were empty and quiet, save the rumbling, smoking engine of McElroys truck. When he caught up to the bus, Ken Rex would start honking his horn and driving up to the window where the bus driver could get a good look at him. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Mr. McElroy was hit in the head and neck. 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. 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. Talked to a lady who grew up close to skidmore. McElroy for years had terrorized the small town of Skidmore Missouri, and was considered the town bully. Make sure that the file is a photo. So is Stratton. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Ken Rex McElroy was murdered on July 10, 1981, in one of the most bizarre cases authorities had ever encountered. Every school has a bully or bullies, and every small town has that family or families. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Add to your scrapbook. We stood up and did the right thing. Joyce Monte, daughter of injured grocer. However, the outcome of the conviction was a slap in the face for Bo and Lois Bowenkamp. Lois soon became fed up and told the McElroys to leave the store and never come back. Ken Rex grew into a large and intimidating figure. 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. McElroy tracked the women down, beat them both severely, and brought them home.