#ken mcelroy

[luminouslumity]

I wasn't expecting Ryan to cover this, but I'm definitely not complaining! I've always found this story fascinating!

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

The Killing of Ken Rex McElroy

Ken Rex McElroy grew up in a poor family and left school by the eighth grade. It was believed that he was possibly largely illiterate and at 18-years-old, he was injured by a metal slab falling on him at a construction site. The incident left him with chronic pain and some attested his bizarre and violent behavior to a head injury as a result of the accident. McElroy was reported as being a 270 pound giant of a man and a local farmer described him “I think that Ken simply wanted to be big and important and have people afraid of him when he walked down the street. And he got that. They were.” McElroy made a decent living by leasing the land off of his farm, trading and racing dogs, as well as allegedly stealing livestock, grain, alcohol, gasoline, and antiques. He was in constant trouble with the law. His lawyer estimated that he was charged with various crimes at least 3 times a year. By some counts, he was indicted as many as 21 times but escaped conviction all but once. McElroy used to brag that his lawyer, Richard Gene McFadin, also represented the Mob and would keep him out of jail. Another tactic McElroy would use to avoid jail time was to intimidate witnesses by following them or park outside their homes and watch them until they were no longer willing to testify. Some of his bigger crimes were robbery, harassing/assaulting women, destroying property, threatening lives, and shooting at least two people, all of which he avoided jail for. Police were also afraid of confronting McElroy since he was almost always heavily armed and didn’t think twice before shooting a cop. The people of Skidmore felt abandoned by the justice system that couldn’t stop McElroy from causing havoc in their town. On April 25, 1980, in Ernest “Bo” Bowenkamp’s general store, the store clerk, Evelyn Sumy, would ask McElroy’s 8-year-old daughter, Tanya, to return a piece of candy that she didn’t pay for. When McElroy learned of the situation, he became so enraged that he began stalking the Bowenkamp family. On July 8, 1980, McElroy drove to the alley behind the general store, once there he threatened Bo Bowenkamp and shot the 70-year-old grocer in the neck at close range with a shotgun. This was the second time he had shot someone (the first time was local farmer Romaine Henry whom McElroy shot in the stomach after Henry was chasing him off of Henry’s land). Miraculously, Bo Bownkamp survived the shot, and McElroy was arrested and charged with attempted murder. His preliminary trial was set for August 18, 1980, and, in his usual fashion, McElroy tried to intimidate the Bowenkamp family and supporters from testifying. Bowenkamp’s wife said the following: “You can’t know how intimidating it was after that. Before his trial, he’d drive up to our house in his pickup at night and just sit there. Sometimes, he would fire his gun. It was frightening.” Nevertheless, McElroy was able to delay the trial almost 5 months to June 25, 1981. During this time, the acting prosecuting attorney resigned and a new prosecutor, David Baird, was assigned the case. It is rumored that McElroy bullied the previous prosecutor to leave. Baird was only 3 years out of law school but accomplished the impossible. He was able to convict McElroy of a crime. Granted, he was only convicted of second-degree assault. The jury set a maximum sentence of two years and the judge freed him on a $40,000 bail bond pending the appeal. This is because Baird lessened the charge from “attempt to kill” to “knowingly caused serious physical injury.” Soon after he was released, he was bizarrely spotted with a rifle and bayonet at the town’s local bar, D&G Tavern, where he was making graphic threats about killing Bo Bowenkamp. He was then arrested and then quickly released for violating bail by being armed. On July 10, 1981, there was a local meeting at the town’s Legion Hall, just down the street from the D&G Tavern. As many as 60 residents attended, including the mayor and the sheriff. During the meeting, the whole topic of discussion was what they could do legally to prevent McElroy from harming anyone else. County sheriff, Dan Estes, suggested a neighborhood watch but the mindset was said perfectly by an attendee: “we simply felt that the system had failed us. We all knew what McElroy was like, and there he was again and again. It seemed like no one could stop him.” During the meeting, a local said that they had spotted McElroy and his young wife, Trena, on their way to grab drinks at the D&G Tavern. The meeting was quickly adjourned and the 60 odd people who were at that meeting quietly descended on the tavern, flanking McElroy’s truck. Some of the attendees went into the bar and waited for McElroy to finish his drinks. Upon returning to the truck, where Trena was sitting in the passenger seat, McElroy lit a cigarette. Trena then reported glancing over her shoulder and saw someone point a rifle towards the back of the truck, take aim at McElroy, and then shots were fired. McElroy was shot at several times and hit twice, killing him. In all, there were 46 potential witnesses to the shooting, including Trena.  No one called for an ambulance. Only Trena claimed to identify a gunman however, every other witness either was unable to name the person who had pulled the trigger or claimed not to have seen who fired the fatal shots. The DA declined to press charges. To this day, the person who shot Ken McElroy remains unknown.

[moonlightmurder]

Through his life time, Ken Rex McElroy was charged with more than 20 felonies, including rape, robbery, and shootings. He was never convicted. Even the cops were afraid of him. Before his death, he was finally convicted of assault for shooting Ernest “Bo” Bowenkamp in the neck, a grocer in Skidmore but freed on bail while his appeal was pending. At a meeting, the townspeople decided to get ride of him themselves.

On July 10, 1981, Ken Rex McElroy, nicknamed The Town Bully by the press, was shot by 2 men in broad daylight in downtown Skidmore, Missouri, in front of 40+ witnesses. To this day, no one has been charged with the killing.

According to the autopsy report, Ken Rex McElroy was shot in the back of the head. Another bullet was found in the neck and two bullets in the back.

[1863-project]

I just found out about the Ken McElroy case from 1981 a few nights ago and it’s now the only thing I think about when I’m trying to sleep at night so there’s that

[neverhavingtogiveareason]

KENREX, The Other Palace - Theatre Review

KENREX, The Other Palace - Theatre Review

[oddmanoutninja]

Ken McElroy Murder Case

Ken McElroy Murder Case In this video, I uncover the events leading up to the death of Ken McElroy. Doing a deep dive into what made Ken McElroy start down a path of destruction, and the fallout from the town after he took his final breath. Concluding with a powerful message you don’t want to miss! Thank you for watching! Support the channel here:…

Ken McElroy Murder Case

[historic-mysteries]

The Story of Ken McElroy and the Vigilantes of Skidmore, Missouri

In front of 30-45 people, Ken McElroy was shot dead. He was so hated for terrorizing the entire town, but justice never seemed to find him.

Ken McElroy was a middle-aged married man with out of control sideburns and a burly physique. The morning of July 10, 1981, was a hot one in Skidmore, Missouri. McElroy had just finished another stint at a local tavern when he stumbled back into his pickup truck. Beside him was his wife, Trena. A number of local residents – as many as 30-45 – had gathered in the immediate vicinity of his Chevrolet. In front of all of those witnesses, McElroy was shot dead. Oddly, all the people outside of the vehicle claimed that they did not see anything.

[historic-mysteries]

The Story of Ken McElroy and the Vigilantes of Skidmore, Missouri

In front of 30-45 people, Ken McElroy was shot dead. He was so hated for terrorizing the entire town, but justice never seemed to find him. So, the town took matters into their own hands. Nobody made a peep about the identity of the vigilante shooters and to this very day, the case remains unsolved.