Over the course of three decades spent viciously bullying the people of Skidmore, Missouri, Ken McElroy was charged with assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, animal cruelty, burglary, and attempted murder. But finally, on July 10, 1981, the fed-up people of Skidmore decided they’d had enough of their town bully. That day, two people shot McElroy to death on the town’s main street in broad daylight in front of 50 witnesses — and no one called an ambulance or ever said a word to the police. To this day, no one has been charged with his murder.⁠

So the townspeople held a meeting. On July 10, 1981, they gathered together and met with the Nodaway County sheriff to discuss the situation with McElroy. The sheriff suggested they form a neighborhood watch and refrain from confronting McElroy.

The townsfolk had other plans.

Once the sheriff had gone, the group walked down to the local tavern where McElroy was having a morning drink with his wife. Again, keep in mind that this was the same wife he victimized when she was a child. After some time, McElroy decided to leave, and the mob followed. Outside, they surrounded his pickup truck and confronted him — then, several shots rang out.

In the crowd, it was impossible to say who had shot McElroy. He was struck by two different firearms and bled out behind the wheel of his truck. No one called an ambulance.

And although several investigators would come knocking, trying to find out who had killed Ken McElroy, the truth would remain the town’s most coveted secret.

Decades Later, The Town Of Skidmore Refuses To Say Who Killed Ken McElroy
“Once the shroud of silence fell, there was going to be no one talking,” Cheryl Huston later said of the killing. The people of Skidmore had long put up with McElroy’s intimidation, thievery, and abuse. In a sense, they felt that his murder had been their justice.

Of course, law enforcement couldn’t view it the same way. Police, and even the FBI, tried to get to the bottom of the murder, but the townspeople kept their lips sealed. Thirty years later, prosecutor David Baird retired from his office with the case file still open.

“You could talk to everybody in this case, and they’d give you a different answer,” he later said. “I’m never going to answer that question. It’s never going to happen.”

Speaking about the incident decades after it occurred, retired Missouri Highway Patrol trooper Richard Stratton said he understood why the people of Skidmore felt they needed to take matters into their own hands.

“Those were fathers and grandfathers on the street in Skidmore that day,” he said. “Ordinary, hardworking people. They did what they did because we didn’t do our job. Then they went home and kept their mouths shut and kept them closed all these years. There wasn’t much David Baird could do about that.”

To this day, no one will say who murdered Ken McElroy.

His former lawyer summed it up best when he said, “I know why they didn’t talk — they were all glad he was dead. That town got away with murder.”

If you liked reading this story on Ken Rex McElroy, the bully who was killed by his town, check out the story of Buford Pusser’s cold-blooded revenge. Then you can read about chilling cold cases where the murderers and victims were both unknown.