Ken Rex McElroy (June 1, 1934 – July 10, 1981) was a resident of Nodaway County, Missouri, near the town of Skidmore. Known as "the town bully",[1] his unsolved (as of 2011) murder became the focus of international attention. Over the course of his life McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including pedophilia, rape, arson, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary.[2]
In all, he was indicted 21 times, but escaped conviction each time, except for the last.[2][3] In 1981, McElroy was convicted of shooting and seriously injuring the town's 70-year-old grocer, Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp, the previous year.[1] McElroy successfully appealed the conviction and was released on bond, after which he engaged in an ongoing harassment campaign against Bowenkamp, the town Church of Christ minister, and other individuals who were sympathetic to Bowenkamp. He appeared in a local bar, the D&G Tavern, armed with a semi-automatic military rifle and bayonet, and later threatened to kill Bowenkamp.[1][4] The next day, McElroy was shot to death in broad daylight while he sat with his wife, Trena, in his pickup truck on Skidmore's main street.[2] Evidence indicated that he was struck by bullets from at least two weapons, in front of a crowd of people estimated to be between 30 and 46.[1] To date, no one has been charged in connection with McElroy's death.[1]
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McElroy was born in 1934, the fifteenth of sixteen children born to a poor, migrant tenant-farming couple who had wandered between Kansas and the Ozarks before settling outside Skidmore. He dropped out of school early, quickly establishing a local reputation as a raccoon hunter, cattle rustler, small-time thief and womanizer. For more than two decades, McElroy was believed to have been involved in theft of grain, gasoline, alcohol, antiques and livestock but avoided convictions when charges were brought against him 21 times—often after witnesses refused to testify because he allegedly intimidated them, often by merely parking outside their homes and watching them. He was represented by Kansas City, Missouri defense attorney Richard Gene McFadin.[5]
After fathering more than 10 children with various women, he pursued his last wife, Trena McCloud, when she was 12 years old and in eighth grade in Skidmore. She became pregnant when she was fourteen, dropped out of ninth grade, and went to live with McElroy and another woman named Alice. Sixteen days after Trena gave birth, she and Alice fled to Trena's mother's and stepfather's house. According to court records, McElroy tracked them down to bring them back, and then went to Trena's parents home while they were away, shot the parents' dog, and burned the house to the ground.[6]
The most comprehensive account of the events involving McElroy's life and the incidents surrounding his criminal activities and ultimate death is In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri by Harry N. MacLean (Harper & Row, 1988). The book was a New York Times bestseller and the winner of the Edgar Award for true crime writing.
In June 1973, McElroy was indicted for arson, assault and rape based on Trena's story. He was arrested, booked, arraigned and released on $2,500 bail.[6] Trena's baby was placed in foster care at a home in Maryville, Missouri. McElroy was accused of sitting outside the foster home and telling the foster family that he would trade girl for girl to get his child back since he knew where the foster family's biological child was. Additional charges were filed against McElroy.[7] The trial was delayed to 1974 when McElroy in short order divorced his second wife Sharon and married Trena -- threatening to burn down her mother's new home if her parents didn't agree -- who was the primary witness. The statutory rape charges were then dropped against McElroy.
On July 27, 1976, Skidmore farmer Romaine Henry said McElroy shot him twice with a shotgun after Henry challenged him for shooting weapons on Henry's property. McElroy was charged with assault with intent to kill. McElroy denied he was at the scene. As the case dragged out without a court date, Henry said McElroy had parked outside his home at least 100 times.[8] At the trial, two raccoon hunters testified they were with McElroy the day of the shooting away from Henry's property. Henry was forced to admit in court, under questioning by McElroy's attorney Richard Gene McFadin, that he had concealed his own petty criminal conviction from more than 30 years previous.[9] McElroy was acquitted.
In 1980, one of McElroy's children got into an argument with a clerk in a local grocery store owned by 70-year-old Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp and his wife, Lois, allegedly because her younger sister tried to steal some candy. McElroy began stalking the Bowenkamp family, and eventually threatened Bo Bowenkamp in back of his store with a shotgun in hand. In the ensuing confrontation, McElroy shot Bowenkamp in the neck; Bowenkamp survived, and McElroy was arrested and charged with attempted murder. McElroy was convicted at trial of assault, but freed on bail pending his appeal. Immediately after being released, McElroy had gone to the local bar, the D&G Tavern with an M1 rifle, making graphic threats of what he would do to Mr. Bowenkamp.[10] This led to several patrons deciding to see what they could legally do to prevent McElroy from harming anyone else. Nodaway County Sheriff Dan Estes suggested they form a Neighborhood Watch.
On the morning of July 10, 1981, after his appeal hearing was again delayed, townspeople met at the Legion Hall in the center of town with Sheriff Estes to discuss how to protect themselves. During the meeting, McElroy arrived at the D&G Tavern with Trena. As he sat drinking at the bar, word got back to the men at the Legion Hall that he was in town. After telling the assembled group not to get in a direct confrontation with McElroy, but instead seriously consider forming a Neighborhood Watch Program, Sheriff Estes jumped in his police cruiser and drove out of town. The citizens decided to go to the tavern en masse. The bar soon filled completely. After McElroy finished his drinks, he purchased a six pack of beer, left the bar, and entered his pickup truck. While McElroy was sitting in his truck he was shot at several times and hit twice, once by a high powered rifle, and once by a .22 rimfire rifle. In all, there were 46 potential witnesses to the shooting, including Trena McElroy, who was in the truck with her husband when he was shot. Only Trena claimed to identify a gunman; every other witness either was unable to name an assailant or claimed not to have seen who fired the fatal shots.[11] The DA declined to press charges. An extensive Federal investigation did not lead to any charges.
On July 9, 1984, Trena McElroy filed a $6 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Town of Skidmore, County of Nodaway, Sheriff Danny Estes, Steve Peters (Mayor of Skidmore), and Del Clement (whom Trena accused of being the shooter, but who was never charged). The case was later settled out of court by all parties for the sum of $17,600, with no one admitting guilt, for the stated reason of avoiding costly legal fees should the suit proceed.[12]