Ken Rex McElroy (1981)
- Strange Case Files
- Jan 4
- 4 min read
The Killing a Town Refused to Explain
A Town That Already Knew His Name
Skidmore, Missouri was small enough that reputations settled in quickly and stayed there. People noticed who lingered, who caused trouble, and who made others uneasy. By the late 1970s, one name carried a weight no one else’s did: Ken Rex McElroy.
For years, McElroy was feared. Court records and contemporary reporting describe repeated intimidation, threats, assaults, and retaliation against people who challenged him. Witnesses often refused to testify. Cases were filed, then quietly collapsed. Over time, many residents came to believe the law did not protect them where McElroy was concerned.
That belief was shaped as much by what happened inside homes as by what happened in public.
Multiple Wives, Many Children
McElroy was married four times and fathered at least seventeen children. These children were born to three of his wives and to other women outside of marriage, including underage girls. Some were raised by their mothers. Others were placed for adoption. Because several births occurred outside formal records, historians and investigators consistently describe the number as “at least” seventeen.
His family life was unstable and often overlapping, marked by control that extended beyond his immediate household.
Trena McCloud
The clearest documentation of that pattern comes from his final wife, Trena McCloud.
McElroy met Trena when she was twelve years old. He was thirty five. According to court records, he repeatedly sexually assaulted her. Her parents opposed the relationship and refused to consent to a marriage. McElroy responded with threats and violence. The McCloud family home was burned. Their dog was shot.
Trena became pregnant at fourteen, dropped out of school, and went to live with McElroy while he was still married to another woman. He later divorced and married Trena. Court documents indicate the marriage prevented prosecution for statutory rape because Trena was the only witness.
In June 1973, based largely on Trena’s account, McElroy was indicted on charges including arson, assault, and statutory rape. He was arrested, booked, arraigned, and released on $2,500 bail. Trena and her baby were placed in foster care in Maryville, Missouri.
McElroy began appearing outside the foster home, sometimes sitting for hours and watching it. He told the foster family he would trade “girl for girl” to get his child back, demonstrating that he knew where their biological daughter went to school and which bus route she rode. Additional charges were filed.
McElroy remained free.
Sixteen days after Trena gave birth, she fled with McElroy’s former wife to her parents’ home. McElroy tracked them down and forced them to return. While the McClouds were away, their home was burned again and a replacement dog was killed.
Violence Without Consequence
In July 1976, Skidmore farmer Romaine Henry reported that McElroy shot him twice with a shotgun after Henry challenged him for firing weapons on Henry’s property. McElroy was charged with assault with intent to kill. He denied being present.
As the case dragged on without a court date, Henry later said McElroy parked outside his home repeatedly, estimating it happened at least one hundred times.
At trial, two raccoon hunters testified they were with McElroy elsewhere on the day of the shooting. During cross examination by McElroy’s attorney, Richard Gene McFadin, Henry was forced to admit he had concealed a minor criminal conviction from more than thirty years earlier. The disclosure damaged his credibility.
McElroy was acquitted.
To many in Skidmore, the pattern was unmistakable. Violence was alleged. Charges were filed. Time passed. The case collapsed.
Again.
The Bowenkamp Shooting
The only incident that finally resulted in a conviction occurred in 1980 and involved local grocer Ernest “Bo” Bowenkamp.
The dispute began after allegations that McElroy’s family had stolen candy from the store. When Bowenkamp attempted to address it, McElroy responded with threats. During a later confrontation, McElroy shot Bowenkamp with a shotgun.
Bowenkamp survived.
McElroy was arrested, tried, and convicted of attempted murder. For the first time, Skidmore saw what appeared to be accountability. But McElroy was released on bond while his appeal was pending.
He returned to town.
July 10, 1981
On the morning of July 10, 1981, McElroy drove into Skidmore with his wife and parked his pickup near the town’s main area. It was daytime. People were present. Nothing about the moment was hidden.
Gunfire erupted.
McElroy was struck by bullets while seated in or near his truck and died at the scene. His wife survived with injuries.
A Silence That Endured
Dozens of people were present, yet no one identified a shooter. No one claimed to have seen who fired the shots. State investigations stalled. A federal grand jury later examined the case and returned no indictments. No charges were ever filed.
Aftermath: Ken Rex McElroy
McElroy was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri.
On July 9, 1984, Trena McElroy filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Town of Skidmore, Nodaway County, Sheriff Danny Estes, Skidmore mayor Steve Peters, and Del Clement, whom she accused of being the shooter. Clement was never charged.
The lawsuit was later settled out of court for $17,600. No party admitted wrongdoing. The stated reason for settlement was to avoid the cost of prolonged litigation.
Trena later remarried and moved to Lebanon, Missouri. She died of cancer on her fifty fifth birthday, January 24, 2012.
An Unresolved Ending
More than forty years later, the killing of Ken Rex McElroy remains officially unsolved.
Those who were there that day have largely maintained the same position they did in 1981.
They saw nothing. They know nothing. They have never said more.
Skidmore’s story endures not because of mystery alone, but because it reveals what happens when a community believes the law no longer protects them.
In Skidmore, the final response was silence.
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