alice woods ken rex mcelroy
I just finished the book Judgement Day and although not as detailed as yours I also enjoyed it. The third person with the shotgun was always a theory, but never proven. I admire the town for keeping their mouths shut, and the people who took up arms and took care of business. This book will still be important 100 years from now not only for the decendants from this area but for the entire midwest and beyond. Rod Rex you might be a narcissist but you certainly arent any man. wow- denehey played the part like no one could have & spooky of the real life resemblence of denehey to mcelroy-literally gave me shivers. I used to trade rides to NWMSU with one of McElroys relatives. McElroy moved out of his family home to be with Alice, but this relationship was no different from his previous ones. As the old proverb says; Desperate times call for desperate measures.. I identify with the descriptions of rural Missouri,in that timeframe,growing up at that time in the same setting in central Missouri. He was a member and enjoyed his friends at the Maryville Elks Lodge #760; he was a member of the Town and Country Saddle Club at Skidmore, MO. In the movie they show the 1st person grabbing what could be a .22 or 22 mag, 2nd person grabs a 30-30 and the 3 person grabs a shotgun from the trunk of a car. WE ALL DID TILL DEATH . Same title. Del was a weasel. What they were afraid of was prosecution. I feel for the people of Skidmore. Harry, Small minded backwards,2 pack a day hillbillies like yourself are very easy to deal with so I will break down your 4 points real quick. His second wife, Alice Wood. It was at this time that he died in what appeared to be a freak accident. Several people in town said to me of the shooters: They should be given a medal for what they did and strung up for the way they did it. He died of electricution when he made contact with a high voltage line while stepping out of the car. which he still shared with Sharon and their two kids. I can promise you youd not roll over me. He did not die in the spring, he did not die slowly. I should have stated that years ago I was introduced to one of the alleged gunmen. Id like to get the reaction of other readers. The day I stopped through even the bar was closed..do you know if the bar is even open anymore? Never saw anyone over 64. Bear, I loved Skidmore in late 70s and early 80s. i seriously doubt the town would have done better then its current state, its a very small village in the middle of nowhere. McElroy was supposedly harassing the Clements at their ranch, threatening to shoot their horses, parking alongside the pasture, draping a rifle out the window. 2. When we went on the N.W.O. Would love to see the picture you have. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) PURCHASE A LICENSE Standard editorial rights Custom rights How can I use this image? I agree with you that we need to be careful about judging the town of Skidmore. Harry, I enjoyed In Broad Daylight immensely. Tell me what happened when Alice and the kids move in. 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. She left with her kid and Alice and her the night of the shooting. Thank you. 1. There is also a bit of the Stockholm Syndrome, where the captive begins to identify with captor, liked Patty Hearst. if they wanted to kill her , they would have just shot her along with ken,THEY LET HER LIVE. Us types know that when we live by the sword we will die by the sword and thats whats scares the crap out of you common folk. The book Judgment Day was a joke, luckily for me or Id never have gotten a contract to write the story. He ( the shooter) brought peace & saved the lives of many. The posts didnt sound like it. Gary N. Dowling Other accounts say an 8 mm. Didnt want to put it down!! My question is: Is there any interviews or documentation regarding Trenas opinions on McElroy as she got older and remarried? Cheryl Brown was always the force behind the Punkin Show and the Festival, and I guess she finally had enough. As for the guy threatening you, he literally wrote like everyone else in his level of life. Eventually sitting on a sidewalk across the street from what was the D&B. I hadnt heard the one about him selling cattle in the parking lot. it just is.. it was Justice. 60 Minutes covers the killing of Ken Rex McElroy. It was on the west side of the road. A bullet must have been recovered from the crime scene. Its CIRRHOSIS of the liver NOT sclerosis of the liver. Where I live we have had a NON Stop Crime Waive since 1971. I found Trena in an Obituary this year. Can you direct me to where this information is? He simply declined the offer knowing that the cattle were hot. To the residents of the small town, he was the town . I keep going back to the though of if he knew it was the end for him. If the action against McElroy was spontaneous, wouldnt Clement expect to be held accountable for his actions? they could have very easily put a bullet in the back of her head too. I havent been back to Skidmore in a couple of years, so Im not sure about whether the post office is still open or not. And the only women you get are the ones you buy on the street corner. Can I get in touch with you at your email? 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. His problems, but who dont? As we While you all are shakin in your boots your women will be coming to me, women love a real man, and so will your property. You should go to Piedmont Alabama and research the Ronnie Chandler story. I think youd do it justice. 3. He leaves Sharon to move in with Alice. I believe Ken got what he deserved. I know there were plans to combine school districts, but Im not sure if that;s happened. He had no social security number and never filed a tax return. 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? The nice pickup Kenrex And Trina had just gotten into. And even if something of a glimmer came to pass, who would believe it after all this time? So Ken had. You steal, and think that makes you a man? Whats a drunken short man routine? I used to visit a town (Ransom, Illinois) which is very similar in size and population and it is experiencing a similar decline which I believe is more due to economics and changing times than anything else. I dont like people taking the Law in their own hands, but in THIS CASE I see nothing else they could do. No one recognized him, even though he stopped in several places. I search the internet and couldnt find a link to them. one of those rare moments in time, )thank goodness) where law & justice divided the world and a small town from the world. Required fields are marked *. Hell, at my age, JFK has always been the guy who got his head blown off in Dallas, if youll forgive me for being blunt. period. Can you talk a bit more about the series? Over the years I spent there researching In Broad Daylight I never heard another name seriously mentioned as the rifleman. I live about an hour away from this area still. While I understand that Harry MacLean and one of the alleged shooters have bad blood between them. Years ago I met one of the gunmen, he was a polite gentleman. ), and it looks pretty nice. as for the earlier post of the person defending McElroy being a bully , why dont you bring your tough guy act to skidmore , before you do Id suggest that you pick out a nice plot & make sure your life insurance is up to date . Sitting just the next table in front of Kenrex and Trina..we were told by the owner that you need as we paid for our items he followed us out the door & watched us get into our car & leave. They were stationed on Skidmore's major. A misanthrope that even treated his dogs, that he apparently loved, badly. I dont see a valley road..maybe it was renamed? a) Ken moved out of his family home so he could be with Alice. Standing at his truck, watching McElroy sit calmly in this truck with his wife, as if he owned the street, the twon, someone shouted Shoot the sonofabithch! and he grabbed his rifle. I also was attempting to use Google Earth to observe the former Ken Rex house. I remember playing with her brothers and little sister as a child. I raised it as a topic of discussion, since they shot McElroy in the back. A mean drunk if you could not defend yourself a backpedalling coward if you could. The worst by this individual was still to come for this town and they knew it. Ive lived in both large cities and small, rural towns, and without the farmers, small towns will struggle to survive. dennehey , when I saw him on tv just brought back all the memories . NO one talks about it, not even to family who werent there that day.. it happened they decided what they felt they needed to do after and it was done. This was not a planned shooting so the idea was to shoot quick and avoid as many witnesses as possible. if i was a true crime writer this is a story i wouldve liked to write. i told this guy ( didnt know his reputation at the time) to back off he gave me an icy cold stare , he did in fact have an imitadation factor about him. I wouldnt be surprised if they werent reading from prepared scripts. Shot in back or front makes no difference. He ended up having six children and many grandchildren. I honestly dont think it matters who killed McElroy; might as well say all of Skidmore committed a justifiable homicide, in self defence. There has been no prosecution in the death of Ken Rex McElroy. To this day, locals are not welcoming to strangers. I think one of the rifles used in McElroys shooting was a Winchester 94 (or Marlin 336) chambered in 32 Winchester Special. It tells in some detail the process of writing and researching the book, particularly the difficulty when the town was closed up around the killers. How fitting. There does not need to be a reeenactment. Its in the book In Broad Daylight, toward the end. Do you believe that Baird agreed to allow you access tot he files because he already knew they were gone? By this time we was turning at top of the hill In No One Saw A Thing we only saw her defending him but I wonder what her opinion was when she was older and able to feel her freedom from him and the rest of his family. did they like her or not , was she mean too ? This does not mean I think that Ken did not deserve his fate or that I support his actions in any way, I simply believe that he should not have been murdered in the way he was. Were the cops afraid of him? Del Clement died without a word about who shot Ken McElroy. What would you say to him? He was constantly committing crimes and threatening the townspeople. To all my haters: just be glad I dont live around you because Id be doin a helluva lot more then just parking outside your house! But there are a lot of these places, the killing in public and a rural towns solidarity which I am sure is based somewhat on Loyalty and for others FEAR. Let this stand as a testament of human nature and what people are capable of when deep-rooted survival instincts are aroused by fear, oppression, and the feelings of hopelessness. or was he just so mean & un approachable that it wasnt worth the effort. Ken McElroy did this to Alice, and probably Trena too. And I dont have a good opinion of them. Seemed like they made up a few facts as they went along. I agree with almost everything you said. Some of the witnesses to the crime left town, and as time wore on a few of them died. He planted many evil seeds and when he reaped them they all sprang up at once. I later heard that there were suspicions that he had been driven off of the road. Been in some trouble. During our many trips this subject came up and she gave an entirely different perspective on the story. The people commenting were not representative of the town. He was a Korean war vet. Is there a part of you which may sympathize with the certain aspect in his personality which suggests that, at his core, he felt inferior to land-owning farmers? 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. Do you think it might be Delta RoadI was looking on Google earth. I would appreciate if you would please address a couple of questions. another male mcelroy in a small town. It is a FARM by the way. He was the Skidmore bully. I was good friends with the town Marshall, David Dunbar. In this age of instant access to information whereby nothing is left to the imagination and anything may be dialed up in the space of a few keystrokes, its interesting how the coroners photos you mentioned are unavailable, seemingly anywhere. I would assume, although I dont know, that Sheriff Estes took then when he left office. Also didnt Cheryl marry the town mayor or sheriff? None broke stride, or looked at me, but i am sure they new i was a stranger, in town. There might be some truth to it, but, frankly, most of the people I knew were scared to death of the man and wouldnt have done anything to draw attention to themselves. Someone who has passed on from this life. After Sally had had three kids, Ken kicks her out of the house. He had been drinking that morning, and had a helluva temper. Did Baer ever provide you any additional details that would have changes your conclusions? Sickening There was reasons Kenrex was the way he was.. That area. Ken Rex McElroy was a bully to put it mildly. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I can assure you Skidmore has moved on. 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. I have pictures of that mess as well. Slowly, the cast of characters is passing on, but there are still plenty of people alive who witnessed what happened on the mainstreet of Skidmore that morning in July 1981. The victim was simply entering a store and was accosted on his way out. Enjoyed your book, its a fascinating case. its almost like you were their . thanks-nicole. 1) There was nothing Alpha about Ken or you,look what happened to Ken. As cities become larger, small towns (those beyond the suburban area of cities) become smaller, and unless family farmers have some price support, its unlikely theyll survive, and many small towns will die with them. The movie was shot in Elgin, Texas, which youll note bears no resemblance to Skidmore. The same cops who ignored McElroys crimes were rousting them trying to find his killers. Del Clement died of liver disease this last spring. I need to ponder a few things before I attempt to ask any more, and I will let you know how the trip fares. Life forced us to leave the area for a time and we totally lost contact with the family. Anywhere from 30 to 90 people watched the 47-year-old McElroy die in an act that ended his decade-long reign of terror over the people of Skidmore. Maybe in 30 or more years you will know there names but i wont be saying because there is still a lot of Mcelroy decents around these parts. SOMETIMES I WONDER IF OL KEN IS IN HELL IHE MADE LIFE MISERABLE FOR EVERYBODY IN SKIDMORE . Once the grocery store goes, then goes the bank, and the gas station, and theres little left. Dont kid yourselfthere are no tough guys left after one minute in hell. Write a new book become current find similarities that parallel life but quit riding the wind out of this. Ken McElroy got what was coming to him. When you keep pushing people around, eventually they get fed up. Sad but true. The classic print edition is now available at: http://tiny.cc/KeepsakeEdition I read one of the posts saying, if this had gone to trial, they [shooters] would have been acquitted. But, I also believe so much evidence was either contaminated by bystanders or simply was taken away. He was friendly and gave me directions to the cemetery. Well, Skidmore was fed up. Im back and have a few pictues that I will post to my site once I have gone through them all. I dont know how I missed your book then, but so glad I have read it now. This was before I knew my first husband. I just heard that a new cafe has opened in Skidmore, in the old B & B grocery store. The photo was too graphic, in my mind, for a book. and it holds to this day. One thing I wanted to do and did not was park my truck in the same spot as McElroys and then take a photo from the vantage point of the shooter, but after having everyone in town wave to me and be overly nice I just could not bring myself to do that. Even though Ken Rex was married to his second wife Alice, he couldn't help but notice the pretty girl with long blonde hair. I had NO idea he was related and he had grown up in California, so he didnt really talk about his moms family. Theres much speculation about where the files are, who took them, but speculation only. .. And yes, Dennehey was excellent. we tolerated him doesnt meen we liked him. Just after the killing two of the Mcelroy children moved into our nieghboorhood in St Joe. Finally, there is some confusion on the rifles used. Another note about Del, he was not a fighter, he wouldnt have started a fight. Thanks again for your time and have to admit I am fast becoming a Skidmore junkie. Thats how Ken McElroy felt. Another thing I was thier the night in the bar when you were asking all the questions and I dont remember Del being hostile. I just came across Harrys description of the location of the McElroy house. I dont agree with calling him a coward, at least not for the shooting. Or could they have been tested back in the day? This is the second time i have read In Broad Daylight. I am not sure if he was the same Mr Sumy in the book. In the book, I tried to present the towns side of the killing and to question those who said it is always wrong to take a life outside of the law. Hi Harry I loved reading the book I have a question I know there was a made for TV movie made, have you been approached on making a newer version of a movie? I heard some similar stories about McElroy being harassed by the locals, but not from a family member herself. Hell, he might have actually been loving the anger he was generating. Thanks for the comment. and to your footnote I was born close this town but have since move. 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.. Looking at Google Maps, it appears the Delta runs North/South from V, and then after the first curve, runs East/West for a bit, and then after another sharp curve, heads North/South again. You are all over the place. Theres a big difference between a .22 and a .22 mag. The food was quite good and the young waitress was very hospitable. He rushed us out to the car. He died quite suddenly and for those of us who loved him too soon. I hope you feel superior. This man was a domestic terrorist whose actions were deadly to anyone and everyone that crossed him. Thank you Harry for your good work. Should i not expect that the legislative and judicial branches would then come to my defense? This year being the 40th anniversary of the killing, brought it back into focus for me. He was known as "the town bully", [1] and his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. Ding dong, the witch is dead. June 16th, 1934: Ken Rex McElroy is born to Mabel and Tony McElroy, the thirteenth out of fourteen children. Id me interested in your thoughts and facts. Someone who was loved. As to Kens last moments. Who else would shoot a man in the back of the head as he sat in his truck? I would really love to find out what happened to all of his children, and women, as well as if you or the authorities have any new leads to speak of. I am sure that CC was not meaning a threat, I do not know who CC is but I thank him for standing up for Del, when Del has passed from this life. My husband, on the other hand, believed it but we didnt talk about it much. Meanwhile, the town struggles for its existence. He told me Ken had a presence but that he wasnt scared or intimidated by him. walked around the back of the old grocery, then looked at the buildings and grocery, out front. Walked out the door. Which now, has me asking a ton of additional questions, thoughts, etc. skidmore is not a tuff town at all. If youre 68 youre outside the height limit to be a Marine. The justice system failed in releasing this revengeful, dangerous man back to his community. He may be a lot f things, but hes not a coward in this one instance. Well then grow a pair and do something about it. c) McElroy became verbally and physically abusive, so she took their son and moved to live with her mother and stepfather a town over from Skidmore. I seriously doubt you are 68 and 320 and all muscle. McElroy should have been taken care of by law enforcement officers and the courts. If an eyewitness had turned in the killers in, it would have been a spectacular trial, likely ending in an acquittal. He told you to get your facts straight but didnt offer the facts that he claims were genuine. Well done. Woulda, coulda, shoulda done some yung folk sum good. I loved those kiddos very much and taught there for a few years before stopping to raise my family. the townspeople like much of the US actually believed in the law and kept hoping it would do its job. 6. I couldnt help getting the willies. I thing Mcelroys spirit does haunt the place. Or is it a numbered road?? I remember Alice and thinking she is not much older then me yet she is with this guy and Treena is having his baby, and yet she was just a child I came from a town just like thathad 1500 people and now has 230. farmers used to go to town to buy their shoes for the kids and groceriesnow there are no farmers. There are always many sides to a person. The murder occurred in broad daylight, with as many as sixty eye-witnesses present . Skidmore is just one of many victims of small town plight. After you turn off V, you go a few miles, hit a curve, and Tims house is on the right. It was somehow fitting, therefor, that McElroy was shot sitting in his pickup in front of the D & G. Your all wrong. err sorry my grammars for crap) what he had done might be exactly that way. McElroy was hit by a car in the middle of the day while driving his vehicle McElroy was riding his big vehicle with his spouse, Trena, the day he died. He probably thought it would make him a bigger man in the eyes of the townfolk something he always wanted. I really have no quarrel with what happened to McELroy. If it was spontaneous there would have been at least one person who wouldnt have known to keep their mouth shut. It would take a heavy zoning push to straighten the guy up, and my guess is nobody in own cares to undertake the chore. measure .321 in diameter; bullets for the 8 mm measure .323 in diameter. In this case, Ken pushed an entire town to their breaking point. The town cannot seem to catch a break it seems. Honestly, she has the townspeople to thank for that because his death was the reason she was able to move on and find her happiness with another man. I suspect there are hundreds more out there. just happened . He was the fifteenth of sixteen children born to a poor, migrant tenant farming family. just like a true coward. Then the shooter and his cousin ran to there truck pulled there rifles out then my mom grabed me by the wrist pulled me inside and heard a few shots sounded like a few from a 22 caliber then one big really loud shot id say a hunting rifle from my shooting experience. Good Time Charlies is very clean and much nicer than I had expected. Are you a friend or relative of Ken McElroys? He was an outlaw. Ken Rex and his memory live on and he is a hero to some I am just letting you all know that. Not a single bullet was recovered? Thanks again for sharing you trip there with us. The property appears fenced off & unused but adjacent to a larger property containing a current and newish residence. I was born in St. Joe; lived there until I married in mid 70s. Was anyone from Law Enforcement in that area ever disciplined or fired for their utter failure in protecting the people of the area from this piece of trash? Real men dont have to take little girls, they can get real women. Does this not imply a certain degree of courage? As I understand it and read your post, you were on the same corner as my grand father that morning opposite of Sumys. Ive read these posts and seems you have taken inventory of the participants but given the protagonist a bit more recognition. I know how you feel about Skidmore. 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. Hi Im looking into this case as part of my Extended Project Qualification and would like to know whether or not you believe that McElroys murder was justifiable? The town died after this event. Harry, what is your opinion on what happened to the killing files in the Sheriffs office? OK, I did as you requested and I picked up a copy of the 2007 edition and read the epilogue. I would love to read your writings about this town and man! Theres what appears to be a formerly occupied lot on the south side of Delta, just before the second sharp curve. 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. I remember Ken well. maybee its time for facts and proof to come out now. Ive been watching No One Saw a Thing on Sundance. I will stress again that his death was very unexpected. So the debris pile falls at the 2 mile point. Again, awesome book!! He had no respect for the law or those who enforced it. Especially because you researched it so heavily in Skidmore for YEARS. 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. Obviously a rifle. Gary N. Dowling ive had nightmares ever since that day off & on . I spent many many weeks and weekends with my grandparents there. 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? How many more people had to be shot and live in abject heck before the law did anything about this evil SOB? RELATED: 10 Of The Best Docuseries You Should Be Watching Now Each episode is around 40 minutes each and contains dramatic and intimate . When I met him, he was a sophomore in college, which amused me greatly, to think of one of Kens kids being a college graduate. 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. Judging from the photos on FB, it appears that it may be where the Bowenkamps grocery store was located (judging from photos I saw in your book In Broad Daylight, and some YouTube videos that tourists have posted). Ken Rex McElroy, a notoriously brutal man who had terrorized Skidmore, Mo., for years, was killed in 1981. If youre such a big bad ass why carry a gun and have a crew? I spent three years in Skidmore, and all I ever heard was that Clement was a mean drunk and had a bad temper. The women in own tended to be a little kinder to her. Tina, Teresa and Tammy. Born in 1934, Ken Rex McElroy was a resident of Skidmore, Missouri. On my first day of teaching, a little hand went up in the back of the class and this sweet boy said, Youre uncle shot my dad. 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 . I was 13 when my father myself and my two sisters. We traced most of the roads you described in the book with cheat cards I had made lol. That was what infuriated the townspeople. the skidmore we got away with murder museuem. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. her husband was murdered & she could;nt stick around town looking over her shoulder everytime she stepped outside, wondering if somebody was going to get her too , besides they burned the house down anyway didnt they? I read your book and think it is great. Del and my grandpa has hauled cattle together.
