Kenneth Rex McElroy was an American criminal and convicted attempted murderer who resided in Skidmore, Missouri, United States.
21 Facts About Ken McElroy
1.
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Ken McElroy was known as "the town bully", and his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention.
3.
In 1981, Ken McElroy was convicted of attempted murder in the shooting of the town's 70-year-old grocer Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp.
4.
Ken McElroy successfully appealed the conviction and was released on bond, after which he engaged in an ongoing harassment campaign against Bowenkamp and others who were sympathetic to Bowenkamp, including the town's Church of Christ minister.
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The next day, Ken McElroy was shot and killed in broad daylight as he sat with his wife Trena in his pickup truck on Skidmore's main street.
6.
Ken McElroy was struck by bullets from at least two different firearms, in front of a crowd of people estimated as numbering between 30 and 46.
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Ken McElroy was born on June 1,1934, the 15th of 16 children born to a poor, migrant tenant-farming couple named Tony and Mabel Ken McElroy, who had moved between Kansas and the Ozarks before settling outside of Skidmore.
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Ken McElroy dropped out of school at age 15 in the eighth grade and quickly established a local reputation as a cattle rustler, small-time thief, and womanizer.
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Ken McElroy was represented by defense attorney Richard Gene McFadin of Gallatin, Missouri.
10.
Ken McElroy met his last wife, Trena McCloud, when she was 12 years old and in eighth grade and he was 35.
11.
McCloud's parents initially opposed the relationship, but Ken McElroy threatened them into agreement by burning down the house and shooting the family dog.
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When Trena's parents were away, Ken McElroy went to their home, where he burned the house down and shot the McClouds' new dog.
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Ken McElroy was arrested, booked, arraigned, and released on $2,500 bail.
14.
Ken McElroy sat outside the foster home for hours at a time staring at it.
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Ken McElroy told the foster family that he would trade "girl for girl" to get his child back, since he knew where the foster family's biological daughter went to school and what bus route she rode.
16.
On July 27,1976, Skidmore farmer Romaine Henry said Ken McElroy shot him twice with a shotgun after Henry challenged him for shooting weapons on Henry's property.
17.
In 1980, one of Ken McElroy's children got into an argument with a clerk, Evelyn Sumy, in a local grocery store owned by 70-year-old Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp and his wife Lois, allegedly because the young Ken McElroy child tried to steal some candy.
18.
Ken McElroy began stalking the Bowenkamp family, and eventually threatened Bo Bowenkamp in the back of his store with a shotgun in hand.
19.
Ken McElroy was convicted at trial of assault, but freed on bail pending his appeal.
20.
Ken McElroy was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in St Joseph, Missouri.
21.
On July 9,1984, Trena Ken McElroy filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Town of Skidmore, County of Nodaway, Sheriff Danny Estes, Steve Peters, and Del Clement.