Ken McElroy
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Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 – July 10, 1981), dubbed the town bully, was gunned down on the main street of Skidmore, Missouri while 45 residents watched but no one was ever prosecuted for the crime.
The vigilante act evoked memories of the 1931 killing of Raymond Gunn, also in Nodaway County, Missouri, which was witnessed by 2,000 to 4,000 people with no prosecution resulting.
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[edit] Town Bully
McElroy owned and lived on a farm. He was accused of rustling livestock, stealing grain and farm chemicals, and farmhouse burglary, primarily for salable antique items. He worked the four state region of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska making it difficult for authorities to connect his crime.
McElroy escaped conviction for any of the crimes (despite 22 indictments) often by intimidating witnesses. In a town of less than 450, McElroy would park outside an accuser's house perhaps 100 times brandishing his guns. His Kansas City attorney Richard "Gene" McFadin was called in repeatedly to handle the legal matters.
McElroy was a dog breeder and trainer, and his coonhounds won many prizes and sold for good prices. For many years, he was a well-known figure in hunting circles in his home area, and many people who only knew him through hunting could hardly credit the stories about him.
On one occasion a highway patrolman pulled McElroy over following the rape of a 12-year-old school girl, only to find himself retreating as McElroy emerged from his pickup truck and leveled a sawed-off shotgun at the officer. No warrant was ever issued for McElroy's arrest over that incident.
McElroy had a penchant for young girls and many bore him children. He escaped a rape charge with Trena McElroy by marrying her.
The entire town lived in absolute fear, with anyone who crossed McElroy (and usually their relatives, as well) sure to get phone calls, night visits, and death threats.
[edit] 1981 assassination
In 1980, a scuffle between one of McElroy's children and 70-year-old Bo Bowenkamp over paying for a candy bar at Jim's Grocery escalated with McElroy once again adopting his intimidation practice of stalking Bowenkamp. McElroy fired a shotgun at Bowenkamp at near point blank range at the store. Bowenkamp survived and McElroy was convicted of attempted murder.
Free on bond for 25 days and awaiting an appeal, he boasted to anyone within earshot about an assortment of ghastly and sadistic things he intended to do to the grocer, to jurors, and to others who had the audacity to back a campaign to force the police to deal with him. On the morning of July 10, 1981, townspeople met at the Legion Hall in the center of town with Nodaway County Sheriff Dan Estes to discuss how to protect themselves. Estes suggested they form a Neighborhood Watch.
Shortly after Estes left for the county seat in Maryville, Missouri, McElroy drove into town and parked across from the Legion Hall at the D&G Tavern, brandishing a gun and bragging about what he was going to do. A group of between 40 and 60 local men gathered outside. After he got back in his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, at least six and possibly eight shots were fired, two of which hit him. He slumped over the steering wheel on the car horn.
By the time Estes returned, the crowd had dispersed. The victim's wife, Trena McElroy, who was sitting beside him, identified the shooter. However, since nobody else would corroborate the story, prosecutor David Baird refused to prosecute. A federal investigation was also unable to bring the killer to trial.
[edit] Aftermath of Shooting Incident
In 1984 Richard McFadin filed a $5 million wrongful death civil lawsuit in on behalf of Trena McElroy against Sheriff Estes, the Skidmore mayor and Del Clement (who had been accused by Trena as the killer). The lawsuit was dropped, however an out of court settlement was reached. The defendants settled out of court for $17,600, with the county paying $12,600, Skidmore $2,000 and Clement $3,000. No one admitted guilt. They said the settlement was made to avoid costly legal fees should the suit go forward.
The preacher who did the service at Ken's funeral moved because of threats he received.[citation needed]
In the fall of 1982 the farmhouse on Valley Road where Ken McElroy lived burned down.
Trena remarried and moved away from Skidmore. Other McElroy children still live in the area.
60 Minutes did a profile on the case.
The case came into the spotlight again in 2004 when Bobbie Jo Stinnett was murdered three blocks from the McElroy shooting site. That murder generated headlines around the world because her unborn baby was ripped out of her womb (the baby, named Victoria Jo Stinnett, is still living, however, at about three years old, and with her father, Zeb).
[edit] Books and Movies
The story of the murder was described in the book In Broad Daylight by Harry M. Maclean (ISBN 0-440-20509-3). It became a made-for-tv movie in 1991 starring Brian Dennehy and Marcia Gay Harden. Though the title remained the same the bully was given the fictitious name of Len Rowan. Also, when vigilantes murder the bully, they turn against the townspeople and are later apprehended. A police officer conveniently tells the perpetrators that "there is no room in this country for vigilante justice."
Another film dealing with the murder of McElroy was made recently by Connecticut filmmaker Ralph Server and takes the opposite view. It is called Without Mercy and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival in 2004. The film suggests that government will at times go to extremes not to punish lawbreakers and allow them to commit terrorist acts, as was the case with McElroy. But the townspeople owned guns and they used them to make the point that when government fails the people must take matters into their own hands.
In his autobiography, "King of the Ring: The Harley Race Story", pro wrestler Harley Race speaks of a physical confrontation he once had with McElroy.
To this day, McElroy's death remains an unsolved mystery.
