I was in town to spend time with the Goslee family, who had put me up and supported my research for many years, and had received considerable grief for doing it, and to attend a barbecue put on my Dave Dunbar in Lamoni, Iowa. McElroy tracked the women down, beat them both severely, and brought them home. He accused Romaine Henry of being a dirty S.O.B. and said that Henry had been at his place in a white Pontiac. Just the name Ken Rex McElroy feels bigger than it appears on paper. However, he had gotten away with all of them. What could legally be done about McElroy, they asked Sheriff Danny Estes, who had been elected months earlier. One assumption Skidmore hasnt been able to shed is that McElroys killing was an act of vigilante justice. The Story of the trials, life and death of Ken Rex McElroy and the Town of Skidmore, Missouri. 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. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Debbie Ann McElroy I found on Findagrave.com. Everyone was keeping an eye on us. On the south side of the Garden of the Last Supper memorial. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. The son of a bitch would just as soon shoot them as anyone else.. She went right back to the McElroy farmhouse with her son. 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. A trucker had warned that I had better not write about Clement at all anymore, and another had said my facts were wrongthat Del was a wonderful human beingand that I should in fact just forget about the whole thing, since everyone else had. By the time McElroy was shot dead under the glare of the morning sun on July 10, 1981, everybody feared his hair-trigger temper and brooding presence. It wasnt long before he became a violent menace, his more serious crimes including rape, assault and child molestation. But even more frustrating was the ineptitude of law enforcement in their handling of the monster that terrorized them day in and day out. 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. He was the 15th child of 16 born to Tony and Mabel McElroy. 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. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Just a single name can cause a physical reaction when uttered out loud in a room filled with those in the know. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Unresolved: The Town That Killed Ken McElroy KENNETH MCELROY OBITUARY. We stood up and did the right thing. True and tried, Ken Rexs tactics did work. Browse All 237,537 Images. The county prosecutor, David Baird, said there was not much more he could do. To describe McElroy as intimidating is putting it lightly. For years residents had watched Mr. McElroy, 47 years old at his death, wiggle out of one legal problem after another. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. It really is that it was never spoken of they had an instinctive reaction to close up. 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. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. She said her dad told her that del clement lived a rather miserable life after this happened. She let it be known that she had gone ''somewhere in Missouri'' because someone might try to kill her. The truck engine burned up in the half-hour he was left slumped in the cab, his foot lodged on the accelerator. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. The death of the 47-year-old McElroy, who was known as a thief with a violent temper, drew attention for its resemblance to Wild West, vigilante- style justice. He waved the gun around inside the tavern, proclaiming that he was going to finish off Bo Bowenkamp. She was taken to a foster home in Maryville with the couples baby. Retaliation would be severe. His foot fell to the accelerator when he was shot, causing the engine to run at full bore. Ken Rex fell quickly in lust with Trena. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Alices stepfather, in so many words, told McElroy to shove it. They felt a sense of safety in numbers. A shotgun in his hands, Ken Rex turned toward the truck as it approached. 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. How could it? 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. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. Ken Rex McElroy (1934 - 1982) - Genealogy You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Ken Rex McElroy (1934-1981) - Find a Grave Memorial Oops, we were unable to send the email. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. He would also follow them home, sit outside in his truck and stare at them with his dark, sinister gaze for hours on end. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Lois soon became fed up and told the McElroys to leave the store and never come back. Ken Rex moved her out of her parents home and into his, which he still shared with his wife Alice. Skidmore is down from 450 (when I was there) to 325. Ken McElroy in U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Ken Rex McElroy in FamilySearch Family Tree. They surrounded McElroy, shouting at him that they had had enough and that his days were numbered. Despite his conviction, he was still the arrogant goon he had always been. The clerk, Evelyn Sumy, was at the back of the store when the doors swung open. He ruled with an iron fist, inciting fear and causing a persistent sense of dread amongst townsfolk. We didnt have sufficient evidence to go to trial.. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? It was not the kind of justice they shouldve gotten, 60-year-old Joyce Monte, the Bowenkamps daughter, told Patch in a telephone interview from her home in Oklahoma.