(Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) PURCHASE A LICENSE Standard editorial rights Custom rights How can I use this image? Ken McElroy robbed, raped, burned, shot, and maimed the citizens of Skidmore, Missouri, without conscience or remorse. The Chilling Murder of Skidmore Town Bully Remains a Mystery - Medium "Skidmore still hush on killing of town bully", Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=In_Broad_Daylight_(book)&oldid=989647348, Non-fiction books about murders in the United States, Articles lacking in-text citations from October 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Eberhart, John Mark, "Silence prevails In Broad Daylight: Books new epilogue offers details in 1981 fatal shooting of man in Skidmore, Mo. She identified a man People magazine later named as Del Clement as the one who had held up the rifle and shot McElroy. var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'? Ken Rex McElroy (1934-1981) - Find a Grave Memorial She married him, blamed the arson of her family home on faulty wiring, and stood by him through all of his horrendous behaviour. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. She was led into the nearby bank. He immediately went back to Trenas parents and forced them to grant their permission for Trena to marry him. However, in 1981, Trena told People magazine that the fire was a result of "faulty wiring.". But she was the only one talking. She was present at the time of his death. Trena McElroy, McElroy's spouse, finally implicated Del Clement, a local rancher and business person. Trena looked around, then behind them. McElroy for years had terrorized the small town of Skidmore Missouri, and was considered the town bully. McElroy, a functionally-illiterate fifth grade dropout who, while always unemployed, always seemed to have money, and was 47 years old at the time of his murder. Skidmore is a small farming town in the northwest corner of the state of Missouri. Before then he just knew he had been adopted. This should have been the reprieve from terror that the citizens of Skidmore so desperately needed. Knowing McElroy's reputation, the couple feared it wouldn't be long before his harassment turned violent. By this point, Trena had been through the ringer. He was known as the town bully, a big man with bushy sideburns and cold eyes who carried a gun and had plenty of money, even though he rarely worked. He went to the D&G Tavern carrying a bayonet attached to an M1 Garand rifle. He had motive. He fathered at least 13 children with three different wives, but author Harry N. MacLean believes McElroy fathered more than 20 children with at least four women. He wanted to live the high life, and in order to do so, he had to do whatever it took. The person(s) responsible for firing the shots that killed McElroy remains unsolved. Then, in 1980, a piece of candy triggered a series of events that would ultimately seal Kens fate. The county, the state, and even the federal government all failed to identify who had fired the shots. With several eyewitnesses present, state's attorney David Baird convened a jury trial, confident that a culprit would be apprehended. McElroy discovered Bowenkamp on the shop's dock in July of that year, looking for a technician. Related: Is Charles Manson Behind The Unsolved Murder Of Reet Jurvetson? Nothing worked. to Kenneth and Sharon Fossinger McElroy.She was preceded in death by her father.Debbie was born in the Skidmore area and attended school there. In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri details the case of Ken Rex McElroy and his 21-year reign of terror throughout four counties in northwest Missouri, and the ultimate murder of McElroy, who was shot to death as he sat in his pickup truck on the main street of the town. On July 10, 1981, McElroy was murdered in broad daylight while sitting in his car, next to his wife Trena, in front of the Skidmore pool hall. Finally, the residents of Skidmore thought. He stalked them, and harassed them in his usual manner. Unfortunately, McElroy successfully had the trial delayed, much to the community's chagrin. 78-115 m (256-377 ft) 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km 2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. In this article, we will examine the implications of this law and the broader issue of discrimination against transgender individuals in the United States. McElroy's murder took place in front of as many as 45 witnesses.