unless the last living person of that oath is on their deathbed & decides to tell who the shooter was, the shooter that they all covered for. RELATED: 10 Of The Best Docuseries You Should Be Watching Now Each episode is around 40 minutes each and contains dramatic and intimate . 1) There was nothing Alpha about Ken or you,look what happened to Ken. Skidmores best days are behind it, sad to say, unless Cheryl Brown decides to get involved again. Not knowing who Ken was before someone had told him. You steal, and think that makes you a man? She is a person of great personal integrity and not prone to exaggeration or gossip. & those who witnessed the crime are accessories to murder- plain & simple skidmore will always have mcelroys ghost hanging over the town. Yea he stole hogs, but no ones perfect. I really have no quarrel with what happened to McELroy. Woulda, coulda, shoulda done some yung folk sum good. WE ALL DID TILL DEATH . If I had a dime, no make that a nickel, for every time someone said they were going to kick my ass I would be richer then I am now from all the robbin and stealin lol. off of RT. Tina, Teresa and Tammy. You sound like a pussy with little man syndrome. She was convinced the townspeople were still bent on killing her as well. Ken Rex and his memory live on and he is a hero to some I am just letting you all know that. Del did not die the way you described. The gas station across from Sumys a rat infested mess. It would take a heavy zoning push to straighten the guy up, and my guess is nobody in own cares to undertake the chore. One problem solved, but obviously from the tremendous amount of crime in that county, not the ONLY problem. Just after the killing two of the Mcelroy children moved into our nieghboorhood in St Joe. Services noon Tuesday, November 28, at Mrs. J.W. was it because she met someone , or just to get away ? Trena divorced her husband, and Ive been told lives in Columbia. Thats all i have to say about that. Unless I missed something, I do not see anyone being connected with that gun, the one that shot the fatal bullet. Not that it really matters, I suppose. If it was spontaneous there would have been at least one person who wouldnt have known to keep their mouth shut. How fitting. The bullet must have been mis-identified as an 8 mm bullet; just 2 thousands of an inch different. I agree that Ken McElroy haunts the town, and always will. Other accounts say an 8 mm. Law Enforcement did NOTHING. ..why do you think those small Who else would shoot a man in the back of the head as he sat in his truck? It would appear that you are using the connotation for coward, (i.e. I wont speculate as to who it was you met. And the only women you get are the ones you buy on the street corner. A guy I know used to go to school at NWMSU in Maryville, and a friend of his who was a deputy sheriff told him to stay the hell out of skidmore, because Ken Rex didnt like college kids too well. He simply declined the offer knowing that the cattle were hot. I know how you feel about Skidmore. Being shot in the back of the head means nothing, anywhere to take him down was what was necessary.. And if not, a few dollars to the right lawyer would suffice. Actually, I think Del Clements act was totally impulsive. Can you give the straight scoop on that?. He picked on the weak. She was always a heavy smoker, and I heard that it was from lung cancer, although I dont knwo for sure. Been in some trouble. My grandfather rarely left his farm farther than 20 or 30 miles. I blogged about the death and posted her obituary. those involved who took the oath to keep silent will take it to the grave with them. The movie people couldnt get releases from many of those involved, so they just decided to change all of the names. Harry, I enjoyed In Broad Daylight immensely. Are you a friend or relative of Ken McElroys? But looking at this case through the lens of 2021, you can see how he clearly terrorized people. Hi Harry. I find it fascinating. Years ago I met one of the gunmen, he was a polite gentleman. My son still has the book In Broad Daylight because I was married to Kens nephew. My point on his courage was, that I doubt he would have done it if he had been face to face with McElroy. I would appreciate if you would please address a couple of questions. I should have stated that years ago I was introduced to one of the alleged gunmen. So why was there NO bullet recovered and inspected? I bet he actually felt the large numbers would inhibit action against him. I heard some similar stories about McElroy being harassed by the locals, but not from a family member herself. This year being the 40th anniversary of the killing, brought it back into focus for me. The town has not changed much, a few places have really gone to hell; I have pics of the junk place that man needs to be strung up. McElroy moved out of his family home to be with Alice, but this relationship was no different from his previous ones. Ken Rex was an alpha male, much like myself. Well then grow a pair and do something about it. I bet not one of them had the gnads to look him in the eye and do it, even with the crowd around let alone one on one, both with guns in hand. Kenny boy didnt seem to have a problem threatening anybody old or smaller than him. On the other hand i used to work with a gal who told me that her ex-husband had been a bartender in Skidmore. We have gotten NO RELIEF from Law Enforcement whatsoever. I think youd do it justice. thats why this towns are falling into disrepairnot just Skidmore! I got a copy of one of the pictures taken during the autopsy, but chose not to use it. My god, the ferocity of the guy to have the balls to shoot an old aged pensioner inthe neck, what guts! The man Im thinking of, one time, was merely asked by the Los Angeles Police to move his double parked 18 wheeler. they say if you walk the streets of downtown skidmore mo you can see kens ghost every now & then, that you can still feel his presence in town . which he still shared with Sharon and their two kids. As the old proverb says; Desperate times call for desperate measures.. I would suggest youve had a very comfortable life not only financially but in your career. A whole new book could start here. so, so, sad. Shot in back or front makes no difference. A World War II survivor, she continued to work. Del Clement died without a word about who shot Ken McElroy. The boys mostly moved to St Joe. My feeling is that he did, but he could not show fear. 1952: Ken McElroy marries his first wife Oleta. R.I.P Kenrex. .. enough was enough, McElroy had pushed his last button & lit the fuse that led to his death , he sat their , just like in the movie calmly & looked in his mirror to see the crowd behind him , he knew I believed that it was the end for him & that he was about to die , no way in hell was that crowd letting him leave. Sad but true. This was verified. It is very obvious the whole thing was planned. You should check out the history of FALLS COUNTY TEXAS sometime. Sorry, Ive never heard that name. and yes he kept harassing the clements and you are right. Or could it have been a semi-auto pistol? You can also find the movie by the same name on You Tube. skidmore is not a tuff town at all. You are very talented and a brilliant writer, your story is in line with the tales told but maybe you can do better, I remember when this crime occurred. You are all over the place. I was 13 when my father myself and my two sisters. another male mcelroy in a small town. this town shut its mouth , nobody talked & nobody will , i know del clement is the one who supposedly fired the fatal shot but no one really knows. Would love to know what has happened to Kens women & children, as well as the major people associated with this story. If someone would have cut his hands off for stealing some years before it got so bad things wouldnt have gone as far as they did either.. I read the shell casings found in the street were from a .22 mag and a 8 mm German or Swedish Mauser. Gary N. Dowling Thank you for the reply. He told you to get your facts straight but didnt offer the facts that he claims were genuine. The locals had a lot of fun with the Playboy author, feeding him all sorts of bullshit, then seeing him run it down or put it in his article. I hope thats not true, but it wouldnt surprise me if it was. She hesitated to bad mouth him, however, for the sake of the kids. Ive read both the kindle version of your book with the epilogue, and the short update, The Story Behind I see where D. is implicated using the 30-30, and G. with the shotgun, but who had the 22? ZZ. My husband, on the other hand, believed it but we didnt talk about it much. The good people there, many of them are defenseless against these thugs. In my view, the story is a story that will stand in the annals of crime in America, whether I wrote it or someone else did. He was most certainly not. Walked out the door. If I had been there, I would have been under the pool table with the rest of the town. Yes, Ill admit its rather ghoulish, but as time moves on and the principal players pass, they become less based in reality for the reader and more like characters in a great play. t was Mr Sumy. Thus, the debris pile I see is on the south side of the road just before the second turn at the corner at mile 2, and then on the west side of that same road after it turns southbound. This makes it EASY for Thugs to dispose of peoples property out of state. skidmore will never be the same since the passing of mcelroy . Such evidence is allowed into courts of law as an exception to the hearsay rule on the theory that someone on his deathbed would have no reason to lie. I have to wonder also if the town had turned in the killers, if it would have fared better than it has? They should be strung up for the way they did it. I think he was trying a stare down and lost. Why bring the past back up?? Many people i knew standing around. Watch the new and 7th season of BuzzFeed Unsolved: True Crime! I also was good friends with David Baird. I went to his gravesite a few years after he died , & took a piss on his grave, thats how much I thought of him . I was in Skidmore last Thursday. Real tough guys dont need a crew. its to bad he died the way he did . Doesnt Ken have a daughter in law named Tonya? I dont really like murder but there are times I understand it. Rod Rex, You sure are full of your 68 350 pounds of muscle. i lived 14 miles from town and there were 20now nothing!! Thanks for the great book and your comments. Most of the guys in NW MO can take care of themselves and would not be afraid of Ken if they had a gun in their hands. The only thing you can say for sure is that law enforcement in that part of the country was as worthless as t*ts on a boar! Nothing more was saidbut obviouslythe town had already vetted me. Why didnt you used them? 3. Im pleased that your grandfather and you liked the book so much. This book is still very important because of this unique situation which involved the people of northwest Missouri. I have watched the show about it and each time I have seen it, I myself have been frustrated at the situation and I didnt even live there. Two questions have occurred to me.The first, being that there may have been three shooters, but only one fatal shot. Too bad it had have been done sooner. I have a question and a statement. Those people TRIED to get some relief, they were ignored. Want more true crime? BB, mr. maclean, i was just wondering what did the people of skidmore think about trena. If that had happened, I doubt there would have been much of an outcry, and surely no book entitled In Broad Daylight. She owed her new life to the town is an interesting idea and one I hadnt thought of. There are always many sides to a person. I remember playing with her brothers and little sister as a child. Let this story be told and retold and commented upon as warning to bullies and scumbags that if they want to bully people sooner or later, one way or another, they are going to get what is coming to them, one way or another. a town so fed up with what was going on that it finally took justice,if thats what you want to call it-into their own hands & then all involved took a vow of silence. If youre such a big bad ass why carry a gun and have a crew? According to the Movie (which was shot near Elgin Texas) a Missouri State Trooper had to Break the Law and threaten McElroy with murder to get him to stop stalking the Troopers wife and family. Tonight I rooted for the New England Patriots to beat the Chiefs! Some of the witnesses to the crime left town, and as time wore on a few of them died. Has the road been renamed and is the farm still in existence? I think when the last person involved in KRMcs killing dies, then the truth will be told. I would say that the shotgun was the first thing fired then shots rang from the other 2 guns, one being fired instantly after the shotgun blast which took out the window. Ken would had sooner or later murdered. Your book, I guess, is a part of our family history, in a weird way. Well, Skidmore was fed up. The murder occurred in broad daylight, with as many as sixty eye-witnesses present . Over time lawlessness usually kills a community whether it is Rural or Urban. There were a few. Thanks for writing. At far right is McElroy's former wife Alice Woods. the skidmore we got away with murder museuem. Id really like to read that !! A more recent movie Without Mercy is available but am always concerned about Hollywoods artistic license production option when it comes to making it more appealing (even though I did not notice it in your movie) and was wondering if you have viewed it? He ( the shooter) brought peace & saved the lives of many. the reason ken was a bully is he got tired of folks picking on him. Looked at your bio. How old are you, 12? Rolling Stone and Playboy both did long, overblown pieces on the story. Im not condoning vigilante justice, but shouldnt i have a reasonable expectation of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Ken was 18 and Oleta was 16. . Was it the standard blub the names were changed to protect the innocent or another reason for not using the real names/places in your movie? She related that while McElroy had his problems he was also being harassed. He leaves Sharon to move in with Alice. (Tongue firmly in cheek.). She left with her kid and Alice and her the night of the shooting. You wouldnt find one, it didnt exist. i dont know ? My grandpa has always maintained that he was at the Albany court house awaiting ken Rex for his trial. But we exchanged some small talk, and I left. 1. (May 1, 1939 June 9, 2014). I dont think Del knew he was actually going to shoot McElroy until an instant before he reached inside the truck and grabbed his rifle. I read your book and think it is great. A bullet must have been recovered from the crime scene. After Sally had had three kids, Ken kicks her out of the house. But with time I enjoy the outrage I can provoke on YouTube by maintaining Ken Rex was merely a bad ass, and youre all just jealous. The city hall has moved into the old bank and B & B is shuttered and closed. I just heard that a new cafe has opened in Skidmore, in the old B & B grocery store. We traced most of the roads you described in the book with cheat cards I had made lol. I also understand that he lost his job as an auctioneer in St. Joe because of this problem. Del was a weasel. Youre right about how the shooting went down. The likelihood that a serious offer was made and accepted seems highly unlikely, given McElroys reputation and his many friends in the area. When the legal system was unable to catch him, the community took it upon themselves to stop him themselves. It didnt have to end like this if the law did their job. Ask yourself: who smiles instantly after beating the criminal rap in court? Gary N. Dowling, 75, of Mission, TX, and formerly of the Maryville and Skidmore, MO, area, passed away on Monday, June 9, 2014, at his home in Mission, where he had lived the past several years. It brings the story and characters up to date. I know you have a lot of loyalty to the town, but how do you balance that with the law? what a fascinating story. You or your crew. If an eyewitness had turned in the killers in, it would have been a spectacular trial, likely ending in an acquittal. He was a nice, smart kid, but he had blue eyes and a compelling stare. Watch the 60 Minutes episode here. Tell me what happened when Alice and the kids move in. he was seriously evil. this town is declining at a rapid pace , soon , skidmore will be a ghost town with nothing but mcelroys ghost roaming the streets & empty buildings. The women in own tended to be a little kinder to her. Ken Rex McElroy was born June 1, 1934 to a family of poor tenant farmers who moved near the town of Skidmore, Missouri. I was born in St. Joe; lived there until I married in mid 70s. I have read all the comments, here are some comments that I am sure most wont like, but hey, to each their own right? Good riddance to bastards like Ken! My grandfather loved this book, I believe, because he had heard stories about McElroy through various coffee shops and cafes. Way Way before 1981. The death of Ken Rex McElroy is a perplexing case that has hung heavy over the town of Skidmore, Missouri for decades. Ken McElroy did this to Alice, and probably Trena too. I have no intention of taking the law in to my own hands, however I had to close my Business ELEVEN YEARS Ago, to sit here and GUARD the property. Who was the the second alleged shooter? scared to death of the dude . The gas station across from Sumys is falling down, the roof has caved in. Further on, not too far, is the lot where Kens house once stood. Over and out. Ken Rex McElroy, a notoriously brutal man who had terrorized Skidmore, Mo., for years, was killed in 1981. The image by Google is dated 2019. I happened on this story a couple of years ago via the Sundance program. Didnt want to put it down! Nothing will ever come to light. The people commenting were not representative of the town. As for the guy threatening you, he literally wrote like everyone else in his level of life. She had our food ready to go Still, thanks for writing there are two sides to every story. I have yet to read In Broad Daylight but will be purchasing it very soon. I also did a Google Street View of the town (last updated in 2009) and it looks really sad. In Broad Daylight Classic Print Edition. Never saw anyone over 64. Check out Sheriff Brady Pamplin and his son Brady Pamplin Jr. who became Sheriff as well. Del Clement died suddenly of a massive coronary event in January of 2009. she had to move,didnt have a choice. I never met or knew Del Clement so I cant comment on him. if thats true she rode shotgun for ken near the end , shE was real lucky somebody didnt put a bullet in the back of her head too, so the townspeople cut the head off the snake , so to speak & killed ken. Remember how young she was when he got a hold of her. so , ill just stay where I am outside of kc . Why no photos of Del ? I bought a pop, and asked where the Bowencamps were buried. Its CIRRHOSIS of the liver NOT sclerosis of the liver. Shooting him was a justified act of self-defense for everyone. Yes, Bo died before the book was published. Yet, it was in fact the very same legal system that allowed Ken McElroy to get away with what he did for all those years, also failed to bring his killers to justice. Someday he would get even. The photo was too graphic, in my mind, for a book. As we a narcissistic psychopath that made even the mafia look simple in comparison.. the day they snapped, it was when the last straw had been broken and good people were desperate & did a desperate thing. He rushed us out to the car. How do they know that he was shot with a .22 and a .308 if they didnt run ballistics? Just after the killing two of the. He had no respect for the law or those who enforced it. The case was in court but released as the victims could not identify the assailant due to it being dark. Sheesh. Not a single bullet was recovered? McElroy was supposedly harassing the Clements at their ranch, threatening to shoot their horses, parking alongside the pasture, draping a rifle out the window. BB. Unfortunately the town does seem to be a long downhill slide, with people leaving and places closing. Over the years I spent there researching In Broad Daylight I never heard another name seriously mentioned as the rifleman. If in fact Del Clement was the shooter, I was curious as to why he would have shot McElroy. But if you read the 2007 version of In Broad Daylight, which contains an epilogue bringing the case up to date, youll get some interesting information on who were on the other two guns. I remember as a kid Ken stealing grain in middle of night from our grain bin. Meanwhile, the town struggles for its existence. Was he mentally disturbed? Quick hits for stories like this are a joke. This is the Home County of Kenneth McDuff, you have heard of him Im sure. In your first edition on page 293 you refer to three men with guns a shotgun, 30-30, and a .22; Were you referring to specific individuals or taking poetic license? I worked with a guy in the 80s that said he had met Ken a couple at times and that he come across as a real a-hole. Its what someone says, not how they say it. Thoroughly engrossing, its easy to see how this became a bit of an obsession for you, for lack of a better word, and Ive turned a few of my friends onto the subject along the way. While I personally know nothing of the case other than what Ive read over the years- One thing I wonder about Were ANY of the towns weapons confiscated and or tested to ballistics back then? Mr. McClean, no disrespect intended, I understand this is a best seller for you and become a part of your life and your research entitles you to some first hand accuracy, but it seems that you have spent some time on Mr. McElroy and what made him tick and his character makeup. I believe there was a third gun, but whether it fired or not is another question. so if your ever passing through skidmore -remember , those people got away with murder, you could be in town talking to someone, passing someone on the street & they could hve been the shooter or a witness to the crime. There has been no prosecution in the death of Ken Rex McElroy. Theres a big difference between a .22 and a .22 mag. Thats how human nature works. The classic print edition is now available at: http://tiny.cc/KeepsakeEdition Bullets for the 32 W.S. Probably sobut I also think it might have been mitigated to manslaughter or justifiable homicide. I believe that the shooting was wrong , as someone said on here it was murder , but the law failed to do its job & they are also responsible for that mans death . And his ex wife Sharon is also a very kind woman. I think he probably knew it was the end for him, and I think he might have welcome it, at some level. Doesnt matter if he dies in bed, in a nursing home, hell have to face what ken McElroy dida God who has granted mercy, until one daytake Jesus as your friend, before he becomes your judge instead. The victim was simply entering a store and was accosted on his way out. Made me do a bit of searching on my own recently. And yes, Dennehey was excellent. AND INTO ADULTHOOD. But the system did not work, and throughout history when that happens, when it gets BAD enough, people will act. It has made a pauper out of me. I know there were plans to combine school districts, but Im not sure if that;s happened. on the SKIDMORE TOPIS PAGE someone put a post on their something about a photograph a man had taken that morning , he was at the gas station caddy corner & saw something going down , pulled out a camera & snapped off a few shots & threw camera back in car .

Angel Ray Keala Hammett, Articles A