McElroy swaggered around town as he always did and sat drinking for hours at his usual haunt, the D&G Tavern. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Faulkner wrote that The past is never dead. System , , . When a wife a Ken Rex McElroy came into town with a black eye, or busted lip, or broken bones of all varieties, the townspeople were not likely to guess or wonder at what malevolence may have befallen the lady. He was very cunning, MacLean told Patch. Faces turn away at a strangers approach. POPULATION: ONE BAD MAN PART I. ''There were a couple of bangs,'' said Mr. Hartman, whose office is near the tavern, ''and at first I thought it was firecrackers. 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 murder of Ken Rex McElroy isnt unsolved in the typical sense of the word. Then, on a warm July night, McElroy shot my dad as he sat on the back loading dock of his store, waiting for an air conditioner repairman, Monte said. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. This browser does not support getting your location. Thank you very much for the update on your recent trip. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Skidmore is a town of 440 people, 80 miles northwest of Kansas City. Please try again later. Those who witnessed the killing didnt speak of it again, not because they were part of a conspiracy, MacLean believes, but because theyre stoic by nature. 0 cemeteries found in Saint Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri, USA. Verify and try again. They are our real life bogey men, and the fear that they give us also leaves us fascinated. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. We stood up and did the right thing. Ken Rex McElroy was born in poor and squalid conditions. , Thanks for your help! Born in Overland Park, Kansas, on June 1, 1934, McElroy was the fifteenth of Tony and Mabel McElroys sixteen children. Enraged by Alice leaving with his son, McElroy called the home and began threatening Alice and her family. When you didnt know where he was, you didnt dare take the chance of not being on your guard.. The Story of the trials, life and death of Ken Rex McElroy and the Town of Skidmore, Missouri. 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. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Around forty of them stood outside, while another twenty crowded into the small tavern. 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. This account has been disabled. In order to stop him from doing so, McElroy carried on with his usual scare tactics he told him he would kill his entire family if he testified, followed him and sat outside his house for hours. Please try again later. One assumption Skidmore hasnt been able to shed is that McElroys killing was an act of vigilante justice. An outsider has taken to buying residences, and storing tremendous amounts of junk in the yards. Then, on July 9 1981, Richard McFadin got the hearing delayed for two weeks. Bill Everhart, mayor of the town of 440 people, says it could have been avoided had the courts cracked down on McElroy. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Beside him was his wife, Trena. Both were fuming over the seemingly insignificant incident. On his release, McElroy strolled into the D&G Tavern, holding a rifle with a bayonet attached. Learn more about managing a memorial . Drag images here or select from your computer for Debbie Ann McElroy memorial. First Names. They know the story of Ken McElroy, but they werent here when it happened. Some of these things are simply assumed to be factual, Baird said. There are a bar, a grain elevator, a bank, Mom's Cafe, B & B Groceries and a hardware store, but agriculture is the main business. However, he lived only to experience the next chapter in the saga of being a victim of Ken Rex McElroy. How is this man not in jail? Monte said, repeating the question asked by many when he showed up in Skidmore the morning after his release. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Debbie McElroy (224629012)? McElroy dropped out of school in the eighth grade. They became disenchanted with the legal processes, yet frightened by Mr. McElroy's volatile disposition. CASE #8: THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF KEN REX MCELROY Few residents seem to care. But having this thug with serious rage issues breathing down their necks 24/7 meant it wasnt easy. Trena McCloud's Civil Suit Against Skidmore, Missouri Revealed He would sit outside of their house in his truck for hours in the evening. Ken Rex moved her out of her parents home and into his, which he still shared with his wife Alice. As the author of In Broad Daylight, I draw plenty of attention whenever Im in Skidmore, or Maryville, or anywhere in Nodaway County. Year should not be greater than current year. Livestock owners looked the other way when a few head of cattle or hogs vanished in the night or gas barrels used to fuel farm implements were noticeably emptier. McElroy No one called for an ambulance. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Life revolves around work, but that is a value that townspeople say Mr. McElroy discarded early in life. Skidmore Forever the Town that Killed Ken Rex McElroy Ken Rex McElroy He had a legendary status, and it all got to be bigger than he was. Several patrons witnessed McElroys display at the tavern and called the prosecutor, who revoked McElroys bail. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Debbie Ann McElroy I found on Findagrave.com. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Still working within the justice system, witnesses who saw McElroy with the gun gave the information the county prosecutor needed to request a bond revocation hearing. Born in Overland Park, Kansas, on June 1, 1934, McElroy was the fifteenth of Tony and Mabel McElroys sixteen children. While driving down a gravel farm road that abutted his property, Henry came upon a figure and a vehicle that he recognized instantly, Ken Rex McElroy. Trena McElroy remarried and had a fairly normal life, refusing interviews after she left Skidmore. Ken Rex McElroy was not a nice man. 24 Jan 1957. He accused Romaine Henry of being a dirty S.O.B. and said that Henry had been at his place in a white Pontiac. 'No One Saw a Thing': A town torn apart by 38 years of violence You dont have a town full of people who were hiding a guilty conscience, he said. At over six-feet tall and nearly 300 pounds he was a formidable presence by sight alone. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Ken Rex McElroy I found on Findagrave.com. No one called an ambulance. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. McElroy was hardly a loving husband and regularly beat Sharon. The trucks windows were shattered; at least one of the bullets hit McElroy in the back of the head. Everyone in town seemed to know McElroy had done it, yet he spent only a single night in jail for nearly killing the man. FBI Closes Inquiry Into the Killing of a Town Bully The law had plenty of chances, plenty of times to lock him up., Added Monte: Justice failed everybody. Maryville, Missouri, lawyer David Baird, the Nodaway County prosecutor at the time, said the crime is fairly unremarkable in the context of current-day gang shootings witnessed by many, but seen by few willing to risk their safety by ratting out the crew. Somebody would hear his name, and the legend grew bigger. Learn more about managing a memorial . Of course, McElroy had a gun. Ive never thought there was a series of phone calls that went around dont say this or that. Those farmers have known each other since they were children. Itll be a day or two. His lawyer managed to delay the process for so long, however, that Trena, who was still a child and very nave, got bored of foster care and ran away. Not long after moving into McElroys farmhouse, both Trena and Alice (Ken Rex and Alice remained together despite him moving Trena in) fled to Trenas parents home. They know the story of Ken McElroy, but they werent here when it happened. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. ). McFadin was creating delay after delay in order to prevent the case from going to trial, and time was all that Ken Rex needed in order to avoid facing a jury. What set off McElroy and put the local grocer in his crosshairs was the pettiest of offenses. Bo survived, McElroy was arrestedbut he got out on bail, and began harassing the officer who arrested him, Richard Stratton. There was an error deleting this problem. There is no denying that McElroy was a skilled criminal; his long career of breaking the law resulted in pockets permanently stuffed with $100 bills. Verify and try again. 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. Trena McCloud first caught Ken Rex McElroys eye when she was twelve years old. He intimidated people by driving by at night and firing a shotgun blast, putting a rattlesnake in their mailbox, etc. A hearing was scheduled, in which the witnesses would testify that they had seen McElroy in the bar in possession of a loaded weapon. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. She took her complaint to at-the-time Nodaway County Sheriff Roger Cronk. 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. Who Killed Ken Rex McElroy: Town Keeps Its Secret For 38 Years Family members linked to this person will appear here. They just went stone silent. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. You just didnt do that.. Yet in a conspiracy of silence that has spanned the past 38 years, the townsfolk have held the secret close. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/224629012/debbie-ann-mcelroy. No one bothered to turn it off. McElroy died at the scene, surrounded by the people he had terrorised for decades. On leaving school (and likely even before) McElroy began stealing items such as antiques, alcohol, grain and gasoline. They delivered messages in code. 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. ''We follow new leads, but there aren't many,'' Mr. Baird said. Wife says one of 60 vigilantes killed husband - UPI Archives July 10, 1981, his reign of terror came to an end. They were running away, seeking refuge away from Ken Rex. He had been charged with more than 20 felonies, robbing, raping, burning, shootings. I was a witness , not a shooter we all talked & took a vow of silence , NO MATTER WHAT to our death bed. For years residents had watched Mr. McElroy, 47 years old at his death, wiggle out of one legal problem after another. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. She died of cancer in 2012 at the age of just 55. However, most of his sexual affairs werent with women, but rather underage girls, with whom he collectively had at least ten children. The citizens of Skidmore Missouri apparently protecting the person or persons firing the shots. The Story Of Ken McElroy, The Vicious Bully Killed By His Town 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. They include the 1981 vigilante murder of town bully Ken Rex McElroy, whose killing by multiple gunmen was witnessed by dozens of residents, yet no one was Blood covered the inside of the vehicle, as well as Trena, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Skidmore looks different. System We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Place. Learn more about merges. She ended up dropping the charges. (source: Inside Edition). The next morning, people gathered once again, this time at the American Legion hall located across the street from the D&G Tavern. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. I went to his gravesite a few years after he died , & took a piss on his grave, thats how much I thought of him", https://www.harrymaclean.com/blog/no-death-bed-confession/. Longstanding Grudges. Ken Rex took, and the only thing he ever gave was fear. When you park in front of the old D & G. McElroy may have been shot there 30 years ago (next July), but in some ways it could have been last July. In the end, fear is what killed him, Goslee said. Investigators found shell casings from two weapons a .22-caliber Magnum rifle and an 8 mm Mauser, a German World War I-era long-range rifle. Before I left on my trip to Skidmore, I wondered on this blog if I would encounter any difficulty with local residents who had recently expressed concern, to put it lightly, over my characterization of shooter Del Clement as a short, hot-tempered drunk. . Adoption, paternity, divorce, or guardianship? To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.