He was struck by bullets from at least two Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Trena McCloud's Civil Suit Against Skidmore, Missouri Revealed This is not the story of a brutal man that terrorized his family and did bad things. Failed to delete memorial. He would sit outside a witnesss home, and shoot those cold blue eyes and the death that sat fixed behind them into the psyche of his target. 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. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. On of his hands came to him one afternoon and reported that someone was on the property shooting a firearm. A clerk saw what happened and warned the girl that she better return the candy or pay for it. Nearly 30 years of silence about the killing of a bully - STLtoday.com In April 1980, two of McElroys daughters were shopping at a local corner store. At least some of the witnesses surely knew who fired the bullet that shattered the back window of McElroys truck and blew off the back of his head. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Its probably accurate that few outside of McElroys family shed tears over his death, but many Skidmore residents still struggle with the spectacle of a man violently and publicly killed. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. They know the story of Ken McElroy, but they werent here when it happened. He was a womanizer, too. The media descended on Skidmore after the killing, an event that continues to define the people of the small town to the world at times with wildly exaggerated versions of what happened. McElroy slumped forward onto the steering wheel. McElroy tracked the women down, beat them both severely, and brought them home. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. To describe McElroy as intimidating is putting it lightly. It could be all in my mind, but I dont think so. I was in and around Skidmore for three days and two nights, and encountered no trouble. When he found where Trena was staying he began relying on his old tactics of intimidation. Kenneth M. McElroy, 60, of Butler passed away Tuesday at Butler Memorial Hospital. . On July 10th, 1981 Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead in the street in broad daylight infront of 60 witnesses. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. 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. Failed to report flower. Need help writing a will or setting up a trust? Ken Rex McElroy (1934-1981) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree Try again. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. As Trena told the story to reporters, a group of men followed them as they left the D&G. But Skidmore is still Skidmore. McElroy, known as 'Kenrex' by his friends and his enemies, had an extensive arrest record. Learn more about managing a memorial . As far as I could find, McElroy was married three times. This is far from what happened in the case of McElroy. I was a witness , not a shooter we all talked & took a vow of silence , NO MATTER WHAT to our death bed. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21971/ken-rex-mcelroy. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. An outsider has taken to buying residences, and storing tremendous amounts of junk in the yards. Skidmore is down from 450 (when I was there) to 325. You know what he was like. Life revolves around work, but that is a value that townspeople say Mr. McElroy discarded early in life. In Broad Daylight Classic Print Edition. By the time their second child was born, McElroy found another girlfriend, Sally, who was only thirteen, while Ken was around twenty-seven. ; Julie Tia of Jensen Beach, Fla. and Tonia Goben of Springfield; five brothers, Jerome McElroy of Seattle, Wash.; Juarez McElroy and Ken McElory, both of Springfield; Reno McElroy of Pittsburg, Pa. and Derome McCloud of Lebanon, and a number of nieces and nephews.All arrangements for Debbie Ann McElroy will be private under the care and direction of Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Lebanon. 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. The older daughter paid for her items, but as they were leaving, the younger daughter grabbed some candy out of a jar and headed for the door. Ken Rex McElroy was born in poor and squalid conditions. SLAIN BULLY'S TOWN LOOKS BACK WITHOUT PITY She had seen a man named Del Clement (the co-owner of the D&G Tavern) standing across the street with a rifle, at which point she told Ken they needed to get out of there because he was going to get shot. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. In the months before McElroy went to trial, the Bowenkamps and Sumy went to bed scared, woke up frightened and lived in terror with every breath. They were running away, seeking refuge away from Ken Rex. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. She said her dad told her that del clement lived a rather miserable life after this happened. 24 Jan 1957. The county prosecutor, David Baird, said there was not much more he could do. Retaliation would be severe. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If they thought it was getting too out of hand, they would send one of us up and down the aisle. By some miracle Romaine Henry lived. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. He had a legendary status, and it all got to be bigger than he was. In fact, anywhere between thirty and ninety people witnessed the shooting of the 270lb brute of a man on that hot July day in 1981. Just the name Ken Rex McElroy feels bigger than it appears on paper. Resend Activation Email. Debbie Ann McElroy, age 54 of Conway, Missouri, passed away Sunday, June 14, 2020 at her home in Conway.She was born July 5, 1965 in Skidmore, Mo. A pact of silence was made between the witnesses. People Projects Discussions Surnames ; six sisters, Tina Chapman of Savannah, Mo. U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current, U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. A lot of them didnt even tell their wives and children. , . The McElroys eventually left the store, but when Bowenkamp closed up that night, he was outside, waiting. A lot of old timers complain that they dont know many of the other residents, a lot of whom work in surrounding communities. When Henry responded that he didnt even have a car like that, Ken Rex told him that he was a Lyin S.O.B. and pulled the trigger. Faulkner wrote that The past is never dead. He was nonplussed. No. Try again later. It was reportedly so severe that he needed a steel plate implanted in his head. Ken McElroy was a middle-aged married man with out of control sideburns and a burly physique. She went right back to the McElroy farmhouse with her son. The justice system had failed them once again. spur of the moment that got completely out of hand how do I know I was one of the people who witnessed the killing , or as some people say , murder all of us took an oath , the shooters & the other witnesss .it was surreal as to what happened he sat their [in his pickup truck] , just like in the movie calmly & looked in his mirror to see the crowd behind him , he knew I believed that it was the end for him & that he was about to die , no way in hell was that crowd letting him leave. to Kenneth and Sharon Fossinger McElroy. No one was ever accused of shoplifting, or stealing. Just a single name can cause a physical reaction when uttered out loud in a room filled with those in the know. Evelyn lived cross the street, and he made sure she could see them. to Kenneth and Sharon Fossinger McElroy.She was preceded in death by her father.Debbie was born in the Skidmore area and attended school there. Not a one of 'em felt sorry for him. Trena was admitted into foster care with her son. Brace yourselves. He had time to work his system and get what he wanted. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. . Nobody tried to hang them for finding a way to kill a germ. By this point in his life Ken Rex had become a master of escaping punishment. No one bothered to turn it off. Burial. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. Add to your scrapbook. McElroy moved out of his family home to be with Alice, but this relationship was no different from his previous ones. There is a problem with your email/password. Still, the panel didnt return an indictment, giving rise to conspiracy theories about a law enforcement coverup, also a theme in No One Saw a Thing.. Family members linked to this person will appear here. As the story has been told by MacLean and others, McElroy showed up at the D&G tavern and pool hall the next day toting a rifle with a bayonet a violation of his bond and threatened to finish off the Bowenkamps. ''It doesn't make for a real talkative environment. Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Richard Stratton, the only lawman in northwest Missouri ever known to stand up to McElroy, hunted McElroy down and arrested him on an attempted murder charge. Injured at work? But not one person has come forward. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. The law had plenty of chances, plenty of times to lock him up., Added Monte: Justice failed everybody. , Thank you very much for the update on your recent trip. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Someone warned her, Youre about to meet Ken Rex McElroy, Monte said. After her husband's death, Mrs. McElroy moved away. Skidmore is down from 450 (when I was there) to 325. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. The other charges against Ken Rex would be dropped because the case was impossible to prove without either Alice or Trena testifying, and by this time both women were refusing to. Talked to a lady who grew up close to skidmore. McElroy dropped out of school in the eighth grade. Somebody opened the passenger door and pulled Trena out of the truck and into another building nearby. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. From a 2016 post from a person with the username "witness2akilling": "it [the killing] wasnt planned . GREAT NEWS! Drag images here or select from your computer for Debbie Ann McElroy memorial. Failed to delete memorial. When word spread that McElroy was in town, a couple of the men walked from the Legion hall to the D&G. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. FBI Closes Inquiry Into the Killing of a Town Bully Recent leaks into killing of town bully Ken Rex McElroy - Reddit We didnt have sufficient evidence to go to trial.. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Learn more about merges. Women had a harder time with it than the men. MacLean told Inside Edition: Whatever had been done might not be morally right, but he needed killing. McElroy got a divorce from Sharon (or Alice, honestly Im not sure who he was married to at the time) and married Trena so that she would not be compelled to testify against him. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. 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. Much of his cash, however, went to Richard Gene McFadin, his lawyer. 31 Mar. Bully's Death Unsolved Five Years Later Despite Dozens of Absolutely not, he said. Before driving away, McElroy stopped to light a cigarette. Skidmore residents were pleased that (some) justice was finally being served. The sheriff said, If you have to shoot him, let us know and well come get him before he starts stinking, Monte said. 6. After the photos. He was known as "the town bully", and his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. Bo survived, McElroy was arrestedbut he got out on bail, and began harassing the officer who arrested him, Richard Stratton. Wife says one of 60 vigilantes killed husband - UPI Archives His conviction was for second-degree assault and he was sentenced to just two years - for shooting someone in the neck. Verify and try again. Ken Rex McElroy was not a nice man. Ken Rex McElroy was shot in broad daylight on July 10, 1981, as he sat with his wife, Trina, in the front seat of their pickup truck in Skidmore. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. The Craziest Cold Case in History The Murder of Ken Rex (D & G stood for Del and Greg Clement. He liked young underage girls starting around twelve to fourteen. With the charges still looming over him, Ken Rex acted fast. They settle in Skidmore. Harry MacLean, author of "In Broad Daylight". Ken Rex McElroy was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in St Joseph, Missouri. System , , . WebKenneth Rex McElroy "Bully" Murder AS her daughter Tami listens, Trena McElroy retells how she watched her husband's life shot away by a man she and her attorney describe Ken Rex fell quickly in lust with Trena. We have set your language to This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Despite two grand jury investigations, no one has been charged in the killing. Unsurprisingly, Skidmore residents were upset by the police presence in town. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? She died of cancer in 2012 at the age of just 55. . (source: Inside Edition). Secretly, Skidmore was extremely thankful to him. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. This is a carousel with slides. Ken McElroy - Wikipedia McElroy Williams. Was justice served? McElroy had been indicted a total of 21 times for crimes such as: child molestation, arson, cattle rustling, and stealing. However, he lived only to experience the next chapter in the saga of being a victim of Ken Rex McElroy. True and tried, Ken Rexs tactics did work. ). This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Itll be a day or two. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. System No one was surprised. He told them he was coming to pick up his son, and if anyone tried to stop him, he would kill them. Eventually, Trena grew tired of the foster house and the rules she was expected to mind under, after all she was still a young girl, and she ran away. As a result, he was no stranger to the Nodaway County Sheriffs Dept. It was either going to be him, or somebody else., Investigators never got anyone to confess or give information about who had fired the lethal shot. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. He forced the two women and the children into his truck and drove them back to the farmhouse. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Ken Rex McElroy I found on Findagrave.com. Tony and Mabel were uneducated, and spent the early years of their marriage moving around Missouri and Kansas working as tenant farmers before eventually settling outside of Skidmore in Nodaway County. 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. 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. . Instead of leaving, McElroy turned around and shot Henry in the stomach with his shotgun. 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. MacLean doesnt believe the men gathered at the Legion hall that morning ever made a group decision to kill McElroy. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. just happened . Will people who were there start to leak information as time goes on? 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. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. One time, a farmer named Romaine Henry caught McElroy trespassing on his property and attempted to chase him off. The plan was to discuss how they were going to protect themselves from McElroy for the next two weeks until the hearing. It would nave to say they did not feel a sense of collective relief. The fact that he was always armed and had no issue with pointing the barrel end of any firearm at a person didnt hurt either. Oops, something didn't work. If those responsible for killing McElroy are vigilantes, its because the justice system made them that way, Monte said. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. This browser does not support getting your location. Enraged by Alice leaving with his son, McElroy called the home and began threatening Alice and her family. Debbie Ann McElroy One man said to an officer examining the scene: What are you doing here? Please try again later. , However, a new cafe opened across the street, in the old post office, in front of which the shooters were standing when they opened fire. Our story begins when Ken Rex courting his third and final wife, Trena McCloud. Del Clement has since died, and he never confessed. Once you boil away to the facts of what occurred, you can probably point to hundreds of similar reports every week across the United States., If McElroy had been shot by a lone gunman on a dark road at night, it would have made the Maryville paper for a day, MacLean said. WebGenealogy for Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1982) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. You dont take cases to trial to see what might happen, the former prosecutor said. Thanks for your help! McElroy pretty much got whatever he wanted, and women were no exception. Made A Vigilante Pact To Kill Ken Rex McElroy ''And I wouldn't tell you if I did.'' There may never be an answer to the question of who killed Ken Rex McElroy. They worked as sharecroppers and moved often before settling in Skidmore. Many speculate that McElroy also threatened the jury. Ken McElroy, town bully and victim (photo: thelineup.com) From the beginning of his life, on June 1, 1934, Ken Rex McElroy seemed destined for a trouble and cruelty. ; Oleta McElroy-Anderson of Conway, Tammy Wertenberger of St. Joseph, Teresa Dorris of Helena, Mo. Hed leave, then hed come back, Monte said.
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