


McElroy was born in 1934, the 15th of 16 children born to a poor, migrant tenant-farming couple named Tony and Mabel (née Lister) McElroy, who had moved between Kansas and the Ozarks before settling outside of Skidmore. To date, no one has been charged in connection with McElroy's death. He was struck by bullets from at least two different firearms, in front of a crowd of people estimated as numbering between 30 and 46. The next day, McElroy was shot to death in broad daylight as he sat with his wife Trena in his pickup truck on Skidmore's main street. He appeared in a local bar, the D&G Tavern, armed with an M1 Garand rifle and bayonet, and later threatened to kill Bowenkamp. 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. In 1981, McElroy was convicted of attempted murder in the shooting of the town's 70-year-old grocer, Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp. In all, he was indicted 21 times but escaped conviction each time, except for the last. Over the course of his life, McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, animal cruelty, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary. He was known as "the town bully", and his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention.

Ken Rex McElroy (J– July 10, 1981) was an American criminal and convicted attempted murderer who resided in Skidmore, Missouri, United States. Bo Bowenkamp (survived in attempted murder)
