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Skidmore's Bully - Ken Rex McElroy episode artwork

May 7, 2025 40 min

Skidmore's Bully - Ken Rex McElroy

from TrueCrime.FM

🎧 Patreon (Ad-Free & Uncensored Episodes): https://www.patreon.com/c/beachhouse34 On July 10, 1981, in the tiny town of Skidmore, Missouri, a man climbed into his pickup truck along with his wife and then...shot in broad daylight in front of dozens of witnesses. The man was Ken Rex McElroy, a local terror with a long rap sheet, a history of violence, and a reputation for evading justice. After it was over, no one called for help. No one admitted to seeing the shooter. No one was ever charged. In this episode, we take you through the chilling events of that day, the decades of intimidation that led up to it, and the silence that followed. Was this murder—or vigilante justice? What happens when a community feels abandoned by the legal system and takes matters into its own hands? The book In Broad Daylight: https://a.co/d/7rJadyk Sources: New York Times – “Slain Bully’s Town Looks Back Without Pity” https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/11/us/slain-bully-s-town-looks-back-without-pity.html A&E Real Crime – “Ken Rex McElroy Vigilante Murder” https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/ken-rex-mcelroy-vigilante-murder-skidmore-unsolved Wikipedia – “Ken McElroy” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy Inside Edition – “The Unsolved Murder of Missouri Town Bully Ken Rex McElroy: No One Saw a Thing” https://www.insideedition.com/the-unsolved-murder-of-missouri-town-bully-ken-rex-mcelroy-no-one-saw-a-thing-54856 Historical reporting from Newspapers.com archives, including articles from: St. Joseph Gazette Springfield Leader St. Joseph News-Press The Springfield News Columbia Daily Tribune Daily American Republic

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On July 10, 1981, in the tiny town of Skidmore, Missouri, a man climbed into his pickup truck along with his wife and then...shot in broad daylight in front of dozens of witnesses. The man was Ken Rex McElroy, a local terror with a long rap sheet, a history of violence, and a reputation for evading justice. After it was over, no one called for help. No one admitted to seeing the shooter. No one was ever charged.

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Skidmore's Bully - Ken Rex McElroy

0:00 40:29

Chapters

  1. 1:17 Small Town + Bully = Vigilante Justice?
  2. 2:17 D&G Tavern
  3. 2:45 Ken
  4. 4:05 Aftermath
  5. 4:23 Ken
  6. 6:00 Skidmore
  7. 6:24 Ken
  8. 13:57 Skidmore
  9. 15:31 Trina
  10. 17:20 Marker
  11. 17:28 Skidmore
  12. 19:09 Skidmore
  13. 20:00 Bowenkamp Grocery
  14. 20:41 Bo Bowenkamp
  15. 21:24 Skidmore
  16. 24:07 American Legion
  17. 25:02 D&G Tavern
  18. 25:58 Truck Pic
  19. 27:26 Pic of Gathering Around Truck
  20. 39:04 Bartender

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