Posted on 07/18/2021 3:08:16 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Tucked away in the northwest corner of Missouri is a small, dusty town 46 miles north of St. Joseph with a decades-old secret.
This past weekend marked the 40th anniversary of the killing of Ken Rex McElroy of Skidmore. And despite there being dozens of witnesses, no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with McElroy’s murder.
In short: no one saw anything.
Ken McElroy died in a hail of gunfire on the morning of July 10, 1981, while sitting in his truck outside a local tavern. He was known as the town bully, but they may be putting it mildly.
Missouri killer: DNA evidence helps solve 1956 cold-case In the decades preceding his murder, McElroy terrorized the denizens of Skidmore. He was accused or suspected of dozens of crimes, including theft, livestock rustling, burglary, arson, assault, rape, and child molestation. He was charged 21 times in theft cases but was said to have avoided conviction through witness intimidation, either by direct confrontation or by parking his truck outside their home.
McElroy raped a 12-year-old girl and, to avoid statutory rape charges, he divorced his wife at the time and married the child when she was 14 – and pregnant with their baby. McElroy burned down the girl’s home and shot her family’s dog to force her parents to agree to the marriage. He torched the home and shot the dog—again—after the girl went into hiding with her and McElroy’s baby.
In July 1976, McElroy pulled a shotgun on farmer Romaine Henry and shot the man in the stomach. Henry survived and McElroy was charged with assault with intent to kill. However, when the matter came to trial, McElroy’s attorney produced a pair of witnesses who testified they were hunting with McElroy that day and he was nowhere near the scene of the shooting. McElroy was found not guilty.
In 1980, McElroy shot the 70-year-old town grocer in the neck following a months-old dispute over an accusation about a piece of stolen candy. The grocer lived and McElroy was again arrested and charged with attempted murder. McElroy was convicted of assault but let out of jail awaiting appeal. He went about making public threats against the grocer while armed with a rifle.
Pam Hupp charged with murder of Betsy Faria; prosecutor seeking death penalty On the morning of July 10, 1981, several townspeople met with the Nodaway County sheriff at a local hall to discuss what could be done about McElroy. The sheriff suggested they form a neighborhood watch and advised the group not to confront the man. Meanwhile, McElroy and his wife arrived at the D&G Tavern for a morning drink.
After the sheriff left town, the group walked from the hall and went down the street to the tavern. McElroy eventually left the tavern and got into his pickup truck with his wife, but the mob of people followed the pair outside. According to reports, some 50 people were outside the tavern when the shooting started.
McElory was struck by two different firearms and died behind the wheel of his truck. McElroy’s wife was not injured and escaped the vehicle. According to a report, no one called an ambulance.
Local authorities, including a coroner’s jury and a local grand jury, and even the FBI, investigated the killing but to no avail. McElroy’s wife named one person as a possible gunman, but no one could—or would—identify who fired the shots. She eventually filed a wrongful death against the town, the county, and some citizens but the matter was settled out of court.
McElroy’s wife—whom he victimized as a child—remarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri. She died of cancer on Jan. 24, 2012; it was her 55th birthday.
The case inspired a book, In Broad Daylight by Harry McLean, and a 1991 TV movie of the same name starring Brian Dennehy. A&E, Rolling Stone, Playboy, 60 Minutes, and other media outlets covered the story in print or television. In 2019, the McElroy killing was the subject of a docuseries on SundanceTV. Buzzfeed’s Unsolved Network produced a 24-minute true crime documentary on the shooting.
There ought to be a category for ‘feel good news’
check out the movie on this with Brian Denehey - it very good and it’s on YouTube. Very accurate and faithful to the book.
The movie with Brian Dennehy playing John Wayne Gacy was creepy as all hell.
I saw that. Guess the town had enough.
Thank you, I will do that. Brian Dennehy was always one of my favorite second tier actors… One of those guys that you recognize, was always working, but never quite made it to the big Hollywood star.
I appreciate the tup, thank you!
This was a really good movie. I was riveted to it. Dennehy did a great job at this part.
Sometime look the movie up ‘In Broad Daylight’ with Brian Dennehy. It’s a pretty accurate portrayal of what went down. Good movie.
Sorry, didn’t see all the other same responses... just got to your comment.
I remember reading about this case way back. Not an easy one to forget.
> Local authorities, including a coroner’s jury and a local grand jury, and even the FBI, investigated the killing...
Maybe if they’d put that effort in when the guy was committing rape, arson, assault, etc. people wouldn’t have been driven to do the laws job.
Dennehy was a character actor, not a leading man type. Some of those character actors are the best.
All of those guys were scared of him LOL He wuz meaaaaaaaaaaaan.
Guadalcanal diary, Marietta, or both?
All good, thank you!!!
Yes, he always turned in a good performance in whatever he played in. I always remember him from “First Blood” as the sheriff that provoked the ire of John Rambo…
He was also in “Cocoon” too if I recall correctly.
So, the cause of death was Acute Lead Poisoning...?
No cardiac arrest.
Vigilante justice is much better than no justice at all.....Vigilante Justice is JUST better than what we have now.
Yep.
The Soap Box, the Ballot box, the Jury Box... They should always be tried first. But the ammo box should always be kept ready should they fail.
Knowing it is there will keep the first three honest.
It takes a village...
Lived in a town years ago. Some yew York city types moved in. A couple if years after I left the city scum got some local kids hooked on heroin. One cold winter night all the city types houses burned to the ground. Just overwhelmed the volunteer fire department.
Cities all left the town.
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