Bizarre: the murder of Ken McElroy is one out of thousands

True crime enthusiasts, I know you're reading along, I have something for you again. This time not a tip for a documentary or a podcast, but an introduction to one of the strangest cases you will ever read about. Yes, we're going to talk about the murder of Ken McElroy. That's one that is still unsolved, despite the fact that he was shot in broad daylight in 1981, with his wife next to him on a busy street. Whut?

Ken McElroy was born in 1934, and he had a total of 15 siblings. His parents were Tony and Mabel McElroy, a poor couple who eventually settled with their family in Skidmore, Missouri. Just a quick aside: what kind of criminal name is Skidmore? You just know from reading that name that things are grim there.

McElroy dropped out of school at fifteen, and from then on, things went downhill quickly: he gained a bad reputation and was caught multiple times for minor offenses. He was said to have stolen gasoline, alcohol, and groceries. In fact, he was arrested about 21 times, but ultimately never convicted, reportedly because he was able to intimidate witnesses so they wouldn't dare go to court.

Eventually, he fathered more than ten children with many different women. At the time of his death, he was married to Trena McCloud, whom he met when she was only twelve (!) years old. Pay attention and a trigger warning: from now on, this story takes a very dark turn with references to rape.

Trena was not yet in high school when she met McElroy. He raped her multiple times. Her parents were — understandably — against their relationship, but McElroy didn't take that well: he burned down their house and shot their dog. Out of sheer fear, both parents agreed to Trena and Ken's marriage. At fourteen, she became pregnant for the first time by Ken, dropped out of school, and moved in with Ken and Alice. Who was Alice? Ken's second wife, from whom he wanted to divorce quickly. According to the law, Trena was too young to have sex with, but by marrying her, he could avoid punishment. Here's how it works: when people are married, they cannot testify against each other, and Trena was the only witness to that rape. Yep, really a nice guy, that Ken McElroy...

After Trena gave birth to her child, she fled with Alice from Ken. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful, as they went to Trena's parents where McElroy tracked both women down again, set her parents' house on fire for the second time, and shot their dog again.

Eventually, he was arrested for the rape of Trena, as well as for arson and assault. After his release, it quickly became clear that he would not really change his ways, as in 1976 he shot multiple times at Romaine Henry, a farmer with whom he had a dispute.

McElroy grew older (he eventually reached 47 years) and his ten kids did too, who began to terrorize the village of Skidmore. They robbed a supermarket, took candy, and father McElroy began to threaten the owners (an elderly couple) so they wouldn't file a report. Eventually, that confrontation escalated so much that McElroy shot the man of the couple in the neck. Fortunately, he survived the attack, and McElroy was arrested again.

However, he was allowed to spend the time between hearings in freedom. In the local bar, he sat with a rifle, a pen, and a paper, drawing what he would do to this man once the trial was over. And then the plans of the residents of Skidmore began: what could they do against this Ken McElroy? Was there anything legal they could think of to stop this man once and for all?

On July 9, 1981, Ken McElroy bought a six-pack of beer and got into his pickup truck, where Trena was sitting in the passenger seat. At that moment, gunfire was opened on McElroy from somewhere in the street; multiple shots were fired. The bullets were identified as coming from different firearms, so there must have been multiple shooters.

And now for the most bizarre part: in total, 46 people witnessed this execution, including his wife Trena. No one called an ambulance. The people who spoke to the police said they hadn't seen anything, and the local detective refused to make it a case. Journalists writing about this case and speaking with residents of Skidmore all wrote one thing: ‘He asked to be killed.’

This is honestly the only case I've read about so far where you actually wish someone to meet their end this way, but where an entire town has to come together to achieve that. It's been over forty years now, and still, no one in Skidmore is willing to open their mouth to tell who fired the shots. They think it's all tidied up.

Want to read more about this case? Watch this documentary on YouTube, or Read this topic on Reddit.