Conspiracy of Silence: The Town That Killed Ken Rex McElroy

1981, Skidmore, Missouri. Ken McElroy, the “bully of Nodaway County,” is gunned down in the street – in broad daylight, and in front of his wife and an untold number of witnesses. Despite multiple investigations and grand juries, nobody has ever been indicted in the case, thanks to an airtight conspiracy of silence among neighbors. But what’s the real reason they’ve all refused to talk? Help us reach 10k followers on Instagram! @⁠theconspiracypod⁠ Try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE at https://ziprecruiter.com/THEORY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 0:06Speaker 00

  It’s July 27, 1976, a humid summer day in the rural town of Skidmore, Missouri. Forty-one-year-old Romaine Henry is hard at work on his farm when gunshots ring out down the road. Hopping in his truck, he drives over to investigate. Then, he sees it. A green pickup. It stops him dead in his tracks. Like nearly everyone else in Skidmore, Romaine knows exactly who that truck belongs to. Ken Rex McElroy, the bully of Nodaway County. A man so feared, it’s hard to separate the rumors and legends from the facts of what he has done to this town.

• 0:50Speaker 00

  And every one of the stories, real or exaggerated, is horrifying. Once Romaine recognizes Ken’s truck, he tries to drive around the situation. No confrontation with Ken ends well. But Romaine’s trapped. And suddenly, there’s Ken, walking toward him down the middle of the road, brandishing his notorious shotgun. Ken screams at him, accusing Romaine of visiting his house, of visiting his wife. He demands to know if Romaine drives a white Pontiac. Romaine swears up and down he doesn’t own such a car, and he doesn’t know what Ken’s talking about.

• 1:35Speaker 00

  But Ken won’t have it. He stalks right up to Romaine’s truck and shoots him twice. The first blast hits Romaine in the stomach, the second grazes his head. Romaine falls to the ground outside his truck, bleeding as he tries to think. His next move may determine whether he lives or dies today. Then, he hears Ken struggling with his shotgun. Romaine seizes the opportunity and, clutching his wounds, he hoists himself up behind the wheel of his vehicle, he throws it into gear and hightails it, making it out alive. Before long, Ken McElroy is charged with felony assault.

• 2:18Speaker 00

  A trial takes place the following year, and yet, even with a credible witness, the surviving victim, Ken and his trusty lawyer get an acquittal. The prosecutor is shocked, I mean, the case seemed open and shut. How could this man go free? As for the residents of Skidmore, well, they’re less surprised by the outcome. Because Ken McElroy has a way of never paying too heavily for his crimes. Theft, abuse, harassment, nearly killing another local man, Ken makes his neighbors’ lives hell.

• 2:58Speaker 00

  He terrorizes his town, and yet it seems like he always squirms free. Until one day in 1981, when the residents of Skidmore band together to kill Ken McElroy. The vigilante shooting takes place in broad daylight, in the middle of the town’s busiest street, with multiple witnesses present. And to this day, nobody has ever admitted who pulled the trigger. Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast. I’m Carter Roy. New episodes come out every Wednesday.

• 3:42Speaker 00

  We would love to hear from you, so if you’re listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts, or check us out on Instagram at the conspiracy pod. This episode includes discussions of gun violence, physical and sexual abuse, child molestation, death, and murder. Consider this when deciding how and when you’ll listen. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by 7Up. Ever notice lemon is everywhere? Lemon recipes, lemon album names, lemon yellow fashion, and when it comes to lemon lime sodas, why is lemon always first? There’s a reason.

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• 6:02Speaker 00

  There’s a story that’s been told about Skidmore, Missouri, ever since the morning of July 10, 1981. And that’s the day residents of the small town banded together to kill 47-year-old Kenneth Rex McElroy, widely considered the meanest and most dangerous guy around. It’s said that several men surrounded Ken’s truck and opened fire, and that even more townspeople watched it all happen from a few yards away, and yet, during the investigation, nobody involved would admit who killed Ken. Every single person believed to be present claimed they didn’t get a good look.

• 6:44Speaker 00

  The prosecutor in the case, David Baird, may not have believed them, but with no witness testimony, he didn’t have the evidence to secure a conviction against any one perpetrator. And you can’t convict an entire town on a criminal charge, so the case languished. Now, as the story goes, the people of Skidmore insist justice was served. When nobody else was willing or able to put a stop to Ken McElroy, they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands. And maybe they kept quiet about the truth all these years because they want to protect

• 7:25Speaker 00

  a vigilante whose actions they stand behind. But that might not be the full story. The population of Skidmore in northwestern Missouri has never surpassed 630. It’s more like a community of farming families. Practically all of the businesses in town fit within one block, and it’s the kind of place where everybody knows everybody. And that everybody definitely includes Ken McElroy. Born in the middle of the Great Depression, Ken lives in and around Skidmore from an early age. By middle school, he already has a reputation as somebody you don’t want to mess with.

• 8:09Speaker 00

  When he drops out of school in the eighth grade, he’s already sporting the greaser, slicked-back hairdo he’ll wear for the rest of his life. Even at a young age, Ken cares about looking good. He’s sensitive about how he presents himself. He comes from a huge family. He’s the 15th child born to his parents, and they don’t have a lot of money. But he never wants people to know that about him. He’s determined to change his lot in life, but not by climbing any corporate ladder. Aside from a week-long stint here and there, Ken never holds a desk job or farms the land like his neighbors. Instead, he steals.

• 8:52Speaker 00

  It's not long before law enforcement officers from Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa know his name. They're often on the lookout for the man with the dyed black hair and long sideburns. But rather than Ken avoiding the cops, well, usually the other way around, Ken spends his evenings swiping just about anything he can get his hands on. But his specialty is livestock, cattle and hogs. He'll steal people's dogs, too, if he knows he can get good money for them, and he usually can. According to one estimate, he boosts about $100,000 worth of animals in just a three-month span in 1970.

• 9:33Speaker 00

  Around this time, all of Ken's crimes start to catch up with him, to an extent. Author Harry N. McLean, in his book In Broad Daylight, writes that 19 felony charges are filed against Ken between 1969 and 1970. Everything from cattle rustling to burglary to assault. Ken is reportedly abusive to his girlfriends and wives, all of whom are underage when he begins dating them. In 1961, when Ken's 26, he takes up with 15-year-old Alice. Fast forward to 1972, and Alice has had enough of Ken's violence.

• 10:14Speaker 00

  She flees to her mother and stepfather's home, taking along the son she shares with Ken. But Ken won't leave her alone for long. He harasses the family for months. Sometimes, he sits outside Alice's stepdad's house with his gun. He calls and threatens to shoot all of them. Once he allegedly does shoot Alice's stepdad in the leg, that results in an assault charge. But by now, Ken is learning how to work the system. He's figured out there are loopholes he can exploit. One is to delay every case any way he can.

• 10:54Speaker 00

  For that, he hires Gene McFadden, a lawyer Ken comes to rely on to get him out of scrapes. Gene is a pro at finding reasons to delay, say by having a trial moved to different jurisdictions, which buys Ken some time to exploit his other favorite loophole. Ken's motto is essentially, if there is no witness, there was no crime. When it comes to Alice's stepdad, who claims Ken shot him, well, Ken has his own way of dealing with someone like that. While Gene works the court system, Ken works on intimidating his witnesses. While his case is still pending, Ken goes free on bond, and one night, he follows Alice's stepdad to a bar.

• 11:38Speaker 00

  In front of a crowd, Ken pulls a knife and a gun, screaming that he will kill the man if he testifies against him, which results in Ken getting arrested and charged again. So, now, that's two criminal cases pending for Ken. Yet his plan works. Even though Alice's stepdad doesn't back down, Ken gets other witnesses from the bar to bend to his will, like the bartender. Originally, he's all set to testify for the prosecution, but suddenly, he changes his story and claims he didn't see what happened in his bar that night. Ken actually does get convicted in the second case for accosting Alice's stepdad in the

• 12:22Speaker 00

  bar, but he appeals, and for unclear reasons, the case is dismissed. And his other charge, the one for shooting Alice's stepdad in the first place, well, that case never goes to trial. It moves so slowly through the system, delay after delay after delay, that Alice's family simply gives up. It's not hard to see why the people of Skidmore might be getting frustrated. If the stories of Ken's long list of crimes is true, then he hardly ever gets caught. And when he is arrested, he goes free on bond, so he's back on the streets by the next day. And should he actually have to go to court, he knows how to work the system and bully

• 13:07Speaker 00

  witnesses. It's a play he runs over and over. Now, remember Romain Henry, the farmer I told you about earlier, the one who Ken shoots in the stomach in 1976? Ken gets acquitted in that trial, too, by following the exact same script. Initially, there are witnesses who can place Ken in his green truck on the road near Romain's farm around the time of the shooting. But wouldn't you know it, by the time the trial rolls around, only one man is willing to testify. Meanwhile, Ken has two friends who say he was with them that evening. He has an alibi.

• 13:47Speaker 00

  Okay, so, here's the thing about, uh, Skidmore, Missouri. It may be a small town, and people know each other, but it's not the kind of place where everybody knows everything about their neighbors. The folks here are independent. In fact, they pride themselves on that independence. This was once the edge of the western frontier. It's a friendly place, as long as you don't stick your nose into other people's business. But at this point, Skidmore residents have been putting up with Ken McElroy for decades. They're probably starting to feel like he's made himself their business.

• 14:32Speaker 00

  And then, two more of his crimes come to light that seem to be the final straw. Like I mentioned, Ken is always dating girls. Not women, girls. He starts seeing Trina McLeod when she's only 12 or 13. And during her first semester of high school, Ken gets her pregnant. In 1973, Trina attempts to escape from Ken. Just as Alice had done, Trina hides out at her parents' house. One day, she says she's sitting in a car outside her parents' place when allegedly, Ken walks into their home, holding a gas can. She can't see what happens next.

• 15:16Speaker 00

  All she knows is that when Ken leaves, smoke is already billowing out of the windows. The house catches fire. Ken gets arrested and charged again, and Trina gives a deposition about what she saw. She also details why she was trying to leave Ken, alleging that he often abused her. And while reviewing Trina's testimony, a judge realizes he has something that could finally put Ken McElroy behind bars. On top of arson, the judge charges Ken with eight counts of child molestation, because Trina, who he has a baby with, is still very much underage.

• 15:59Speaker 00

  She's 15 at the time this all occurs. It's never been a secret that Ken targets girls, but now, the law might finally have something to say about that. Ken probably realizes he's in hot water, a lot hotter than usual. So far, his attempts at harassing his witness, Trina, haven't paid off. So he comes up with a plan B. He tells McFadden, his lawyer, that he needs to get in touch with his estranged wife. He needs a divorce pushed through right away. Why? So he can marry Trina and keep her from testifying against him. And Trina goes along with it. Author Harry McLean offers a few possible reasons why she does this.

• 16:44Speaker 00

  As a child, Trina didn't always have stability, or money, or protection. And, at least in her view, Ken seems to offer her all of that, even if he's the person she needs the most protection from. Not to mention, she's still a child. She shouldn't really be judged for her decision, because we don't know much about the circumstances. It's actually Trina's mother who gives legal consent for Trina to marry Ken. Now, the prosecutor in the arson and child molestation case faces a dilemma. Trina technically can still testify against Ken, but the jury will probably wonder why she went and married him if he's such a bad guy.

• 17:26Speaker 00

  Furthermore, after the hasty marriage, Trina asks to drop the charges against her husband. Once again, Ken weasels his way out of trouble. But what he does next will rally the entire town against him.

• 17:49Speaker 00

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• 19:17Speaker 00

  The B&B Grocery Store is situated in what could be called Skidmore's downtown area. It's small, about one block. From the B&B, you can see the bank, the American Legion Hall, the cafe, the post office, and the local tavern, which is nearly an exhaustive list of all of the businesses in Skidmore. The grocery store is owned by the Bowen Camp family, Lois and Ernest, who goes by Bo. Their daughter Cheryl helps out now and then, and they employ one of Lois's best friends, Evelyn. On April 25, 1980, Evelyn's behind the cash register when two girls enter the store. One is a teenager, the other is maybe four years old.

• 19:59Speaker 00

  They're definitely there together, and they appear to be sisters. Evelyn describes their encounter like this. While the older sister gathers a couple of items, the four-year-old surveys the candy racks. After the teenager pays for her things, they turn to leave, and Evelyn notices the younger girl is about to walk out with her treats without paying. Evelyn says that all she does is ask them to return the candy. She watches as the older girl takes the candy out of the little one's hands and returns it to the shelf, which sends the four-year-old into a bit of a tantrum, pretty typical for kids her age. She tries to grab the candy again, but is thwarted by her big sister. Based on Evelyn's account, it sounds like nobody does anything wrong here.

• 20:43Speaker 00

  She does her job, a preschooler wants some candy, her older sister keeps her sibling in check. Things like this probably happen in grocery stores every day. But what Evelyn doesn't know yet is that the two girls are Ken McElroy's daughters. Because, by the way, Ken has something like 16 to 19 children at this point. Between multiple wives, longtime partners, and girlfriends, even historical records can't agree on how many kids he fathered, which explains why Evelyn has no clue who she's dealing with that day in the store. A short while after the two girls leave, Evelyn and Lois get a visit from Trina and Ken.

• 21:25Speaker 00

  Flashing his pocket knife, he demands to know who called his daughter "a liar." Tempers flare, but Ken actually does let Evelyn explain her side of the story, and the whole showdown ends quietly and uneventfully. The owners of the B&B Grocery think, well, that's the end of the matter. But that's not how Ken operates. That same night, Bo and Lois hear cars circling outside. Ken drives his green truck, and Trina rides behind him in another vehicle. They keep passing slowly by, staring out the window at the Bowen Camps. And this doesn't happen at the grocery store. No, Ken has followed them to their home.

• 22:08Speaker 00

  Lois calls the deputy sheriff to report Ken's antics, but she's simply told not to worry. Over the next few months, Ken carries out a relentless harassment campaign against the Bowen Camps, almost like it's his full-time job. He stalks them outside their home and their store. He fires his shotgun into the air to scare them. Lois feels compelled to purchase her own gun for protection. All along, she reports most of the incidents to the sheriff and other agencies too, and they do take down the information. Occasionally, they'll even do a safety check, though they usually show up long after Ken has cleared out.

• 22:50Speaker 00

  Lois would say law enforcement is barely doing their job. As far as she can tell, nobody interviews Ken or really investigates the situation. Things come to a head on July 8, 1980. It happens to be Bo's 70th birthday, but in light of all the trouble they've had with Ken, the Bowen Camps treat it like any other day. That evening, after the grocery store closes, Bo hangs around outside on the side loading dock when he sees Ken approaching. They exchange a few tense words. When Bo orders him to get off his property, Ken turns and leaves, but he returns a moment later with his shotgun.

• 23:31Speaker 00

  The next thing Bo knows, he is on the ground, bleeding profusely from his neck, and Ken is already gone. About half an hour later, Bo is transferred to the hospital. Miraculously, the pellets Ken shot him with missed his jugular vein and his carotid artery by a small margin. He survives. Before the night is through, Bo is able to tell patrolmen exactly who did this: Ken McElroy. Now, the whole town is enraged. If Ken thinks he can shoot kindly old Bo Bowen Camp over a disagreement, nobody's safe.

• 24:13Speaker 00

  However the sheriff's office may have handled things, once Ken shoots Bo, they start conducting their investigation right away. And Ken, well, he's caught as he tries to flee the area with Trina. He's arrested on the spot and spends the night in jail. But we know how that usually ends. Even though Ken's charged with first-degree felony assault, he's released on bond. The very next day, he's right back in Skidmore, a free man. And he doesn't seem worried about any consequences. He's busy bragging to anyone with an earshot about how he nearly killed Bo. Ken's next hearing is over a month away.

• 24:56Speaker 00

  He's going to be on the streets, at least until then. Of course, he has that talented lawyer, McFadden, so the trial doesn't roll around until the following year in 1981. The residents of Skidmore still have some hope. Surely, he can't get out of this one. Ken's defense team is apparently trying to claim Ken had to shoot 70-year-old Bo in self-defense, and the evidence doesn't seem to support their theory. Lo and behold, Ken is actually convicted. For the Bowen Camps, it probably doesn't feel like a total victory. Ken is only sentenced to two years, but still, they've won.

• 25:36Speaker 00

  But then, Ken gets out again less than a week later. See, McFadden files an appeal right away. While Ken's awaiting the results of that appeal, he's allowed to walk free on bond. Has he learned his lesson? Well, according to Bo's daughter Cheryl, Ken goes right back to sitting outside their store in his truck. On June 30, Ken stops into the D&G Tavern, the bar adjacent to the grocery store. He's a regular customer there, but today, he does something that stands out to everybody present. Ken brings in an M1 rifle, the kind with a bayonet attached.

• 26:18Speaker 00

  And reportedly, he uses it to demonstrate to other bar patrons what he plans to do to Bo Bowen Camp. The way Ken is talking, it sounds like Bo's life is in danger. At this point, the residents of Skidmore have had it, both with Ken and the apparent lack of protection from him. One man actually leaves the bar, retrieves his own rifle, and takes his post up the street from the B&B Grocery Store. His name is Pete. He's a longtime Skidmore local, and he's prepared to defend Bo himself if he has to. Luckily, it doesn't come to that. But Pete has another idea. He gets the sheriff, Danny Estes, to involve the county prosecutor.

• 27:03Speaker 00

  They sign an affidavit explaining that they were witnesses to Ken threatening Bo. A motion is filed to revoke Ken's bond. That doesn't work either. Finally, everyone around town seems to agree, this can't go on. On the morning of July 10, townspeople gather at the American Legion Building in Skidmore. They're meeting to discuss what's to be done about Ken McElroy. Accounts vary, but either the meeting breaks up naturally, or it ends abruptly when someone spies Ken's truck parked down the street, right in front of the D&G Tavern.

• 27:45Speaker 00

  The D&G is an off-white, boxy establishment made of corrugated steel and zero windows. Ken's inside with Trina, drinking a beer. So he has no idea that a few dozen men make their way down the street from the American Legion Hall, heading straight for him. He can't see them until they all file into the small space, one by one. Now Ken seems to take the hint that it's time to leave. He gathers his things and heads toward his truck. Outside, he and Trina climb into the cab and realize they are not alone. People are following them out of the bar.

• 28:28Speaker 00

  Some walk up the street and stop, turning back to watch. A few others surround Ken's truck on all sides. Nobody knows for sure how many are involved. 60 Minutes will later report it was only a dozen men. Others say it was more like 50 to 60. We know at least two of them, maybe more, trained their guns on the truck and opened fire. The rear window behind Ken shatters. He suffers a fatal shot to the head. Someone pulls Trina out of the passenger side door. She's ushered, shaken but unharmed up the street. In front of the tavern, the vigilante killing is over in a matter of seconds.

• 29:10Speaker 00

  The sheriff and the prosecutor decide to call in NOMIS, the Northwest Missouri Investigation Squad. Ken may have been considered the town bully, but his death still has to be investigated. NOMIS can be called upon to head up special criminal cases, like when there's no telling how many people in a small town might be involved in a man's death. For five days, NOMIS works around the clock. They are able to trace the trajectory of the two bullets they believe hit Ken. That leads them to two separate piles of shell casings. One in the middle of the street, directly behind the truck. Another, a pile of 22 caliber shell casings is farther up the street.

• 29:53Speaker 00

  As for the murder weapons, though, investigators never find them. Now, one story goes that when the shooting was over and everyone hustled to their vehicles and drove off, the actual killers convened at a farm and destroyed the rifles. Over time, investigators realize with frustration that other than the shell casings, stories are practically all they'll have to go on. And the people of Skidmore? Hmm, well, they're not naming any names. Residents won't say who for sure stood outside Ken's truck that day, who had a firearm with them, or who pulled the trigger.

• 30:38Speaker 00

  NOMIS leaves without a clear answer. Other investigators pick up the case, but they can't get anyone to stick to a witness account either. A few will admit they were there at the scene of the crime, but everyone has some excuse for why they didn't see who shot Ken. And they give some version of, "I heard gunfire and hit the deck, and when I got up, everyone was walking away." I have no clue who did it. Investigators are pretty sure there's a conspiracy of silence in Skidmore, like the county prosecutor, David Baird. David's young, and he's fairly new to Nodaway County. He didn't even want this job.

• 31:20Speaker 00

  David says that when the position was offered to him, his dad talked him into it. He thought it would be a good experience and that things would be slow. He told David, "Nothing exciting ever happens in Nodaway County." And now, less than a year into the gig, David's heading up the biggest case to ever come out of Skidmore. But David does have one witness who's willing to talk: Trina McElroy. And she says she knows exactly who killed her husband. According to Trina, during the attack, she watched one man come out of the tavern and cross the street, where he reached into his Ford pickup and retrieved a rifle. Trina believes the shooter was a man named Dell Clement.

• 32:03Speaker 00

  And no, I haven't mentioned his name yet. He hasn't really figured into the story until this moment, except that he's part owner of the bar. He's the D in DNG Tavern. Ken and Trina go there all the time, so she claims she recognized him easily. Side note: Dell owned a .3030 rifle. An autopsy showed that this type of bullet did hit Ken, but that wasn't the shot that killed him. That came from the .22. Theoretically, Dell could have owned another firearm that was disposed of, as rumors suggested, but from where David Baird, the prosecutor, is sitting, his witnesses' story doesn't perfectly line up with the forensic evidence.

• 32:47Speaker 00

  Nonetheless, David wants to get Trina in front of a jury. She's a grieving widow. She was also a victim of the violence that day. Her account may be the best evidence David will ever get, the best chance he'll have of closing this case. In 1982, a grand jury is convened. This will allow him to present his case, including Trina's testimony, and it may be his only shot at securing an indictment. But there's a big problem. The grand jury doesn't believe Trina. We don't know why. Perhaps it's because she was often present when Ken would allegedly harass people. As one Skidmore resident tells the docu-series, "No one saw a thing."

• 33:30Speaker 00

  By the time Trina's grown up, the town sees her like Bonnie to Ken's Clyde. In the end, the Nodaway County grand jury elects not to file charges against anyone. And that's more or less the story that's been shared about Skidmore, Missouri for the past 45 years. That the town banded together to take out a dangerous nuisance. That a town made up of fiercely independent individuals found community in a secret that they shared. They protected one another, first by carrying out a vigilante killing, and then by taking part in a conspiracy of silence. But some say that's not the full story.

• 34:14Speaker 00

  These voices say details have been omitted. The truth has been twisted. Witnesses have supposedly been threatened into taking part in that pact of silence. Ken McElroy's adult children have alleged the real reason nobody in Skidmore would talk wasn't because they believed in justice being served. It's because they feared the ramifications of speaking out against the perpetrators, a group which, they believe, included members of local law enforcement.

• 34:50Speaker 02

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• 35:20Speaker 00

  When residents of Skidmore, Missouri gathered in the American Legion Building on the morning of July 10, 1981, one person was definitely present: Nodaway County Sheriff Danny Estes. He admits as much. Others have said the townspeople made it clear to Estes that the law needed to handle Ken McElroy before somebody else did. Estes says that at the conclusion of that meeting, he got in his car and started driving to Maryville, a neighboring town. He didn't even make it there before getting the call that Ken had been shot. Many people, including residents of Skidmore, question that story, though.

• 36:02Speaker 00

  A handful of witnesses remember that the meeting broke up because someone saw Ken's truck pull into the tavern down the street. If that's true, they find it pretty odd that the sheriff, the guy who knows all about the simmering tensions between Ken and the rest of the town, would innocently leave that situation. Following the vigilante killing, there's already speculation flying. Did Estes know what was going to happen? Did he really drive halfway to Maryville, or did he just wait outside of town for the deed to be done so that he could try to be the first officer on the scene? Or, as some have alleged, was Estes actually a witness to the shooting?

• 36:46Speaker 00

  And this isn't just idle speculation. It's not just gossip. These allegations become the basis of an eight-month-long federal grand jury investigation. If a government official like Estes was involved, that would be a violation of Ken's civil rights. Now, the FBI gets involved, and they subpoena half the town, maybe even more. It's said that nearly every adult in Skidmore is interviewed. The FBI goes after everyone, not just Sheriff Estes, and it's not hard to see why. If you look at photos of Ken's truck at the crime scene, it's riddled with bullet holes. Clearly, there were several people involved.

• 37:30Speaker 00

  Estes always maintains he didn't have anything to do with the shooting, although he has a strange way of driving home at that point. Some years later, he gives an interview shown in the docu-series, "No One Saw a Thing." Estes says, quote, "If I was gonna shoot that son of a bitch, I would have gotten him pissing off the porch about 7 o'clock in the morning, and I would have been a long, long, long way away, and no one would have known it."

• 37:59Speaker 00

  According to a handful of Skidmore residents, one unnamed source claims she did see Estes at the shooting. As she watched it all play out from the window of a nearby business, the woman says she looked across the street from the D and G Tavern and there was Estes on a roof, shooting at Ken like a sniper. We don't know exactly what evidence is presented to the federal grand jury. In the end, they don't indict Estes or anyone else, and Estes is never prosecuted in the Ken McElroy case. Federal investigators do, however, manage to get three affidavits. These come from witnesses who claim they can identify at

• 38:39Speaker 00

  least one shooter. And we have to assume that none of them name Estes, because that's what the FBI was really there to investigate, whether an authority figure violated Ken's rights. The agents have no choice but to close their case and turn those three affidavits over to local prosecutors. Except, nothing ever becomes of them. Nodaway County Prosecutor David Baird says he could only go to trial if he had enough evidence to convict someone, and he felt strongly that he didn't. As a last ditch effort to get justice for her husband, Trina McElroy files a civil lawsuit

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  in 1984. She claims the town was prejudiced against Ken. To hear her tell it, people in Skidmore never really knew him. They'd only heard years' worth of gossip. Trina's suit accuses Dell Clement, the tavern owner, Sheriff Danny Estes, the town mayor, Steve Peter, and the entire town of Skidmore. Eventually, the matter is settled out of court for a reported $17,000. Trina insists she took the settlement because she began to fear for her safety. And she's not the only McElroy to suggest the town had it out for her. Ken's now adult children say they recall a couple of scary instances in Skidmore, when someone

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  drove by their house and fired shots at them. At the time, they were just little kids. And this happened after Ken was already dead. A short while later, Ken's old house mysteriously burned down. After Trina settles her civil suit, she moves away, never comes back. All of Ken's children eventually leave the small town too. They say they don't feel safe. But here's the thing about Skidmore, Missouri. That pervasive feeling of unease and danger, it doesn't solely apply to the McElroy family. The tale about a small town banding together

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  over a shared secret, all in the name of the greater good? Well, some residents say that's just a nice little bedtime story. A fairy tale about a bunch of underdogs slaying a dragon. As the years progress, more and more folks are willing to admit that the way Ken was dealt with never sat right with them. He may have been a villain, but he was far outnumbered, and they shot him in the back of the head. Some will go as far as to say Ken was just a product of the town's culture of violence. Longtime resident Leona Hayes believes Ken wasn't even the worst person in Skidmore back then. Leona has always

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  said that the real reason she would never name the gunman is because she feared for her and her family's safety if she did. Trina McElroy believes that's the real reason she could never get a fair trial. She doesn't think the people of Skidmore were looking out for each other. They were scared of what would happen to them if they revealed the town's secrets.

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  What we do know is this: The trouble around Skidmore doesn't end with the death of Ken McElroy. In the years since, at least nine more violent and/or mysterious deaths have plagued the town. You might think, nine crimes in forty-something years doesn't sound unheard of. But consider this: The already tiny population of Skidmore dwindles over the years. After Ken is killed, stores in the downtown area begin to close up for good, people move away. According to the latest American Community Survey, fewer than 200 people still live there. Suddenly, in a place that small, nine violent crimes sounds a little more alarming. A few of these cases will go on to make national news, leaving

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  some to wonder if the vigilante act of killing Ken left a curse on Skidmore. In October 2000, Wendy Gillenwater is left for dead by her abusive boyfriend outside the home they share. The following year, 20-year-old Branson Perry disappears from right outside his house. While Branson's busy cleaning up for his dad, who's set to be discharged from the hospital that day, he announces he's stepping outside to return a set of jumper cables to the shed. A moment later, he vanishes. He hasn't been seen since. Now strangely, while the jumper cables initially go missing with Branson, somebody returns

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  them to the shed days later. Perhaps the second most infamous crime in Skidmore, after Ken McElroy, is the death of Bobby Joe Stinnett in 2004. And if you're at all squeamish, I highly recommend you skip this section. The week before Christmas, Bobby Joe opens her front door to find a woman named Lisa Montgomery. Bobby Joe is eight months pregnant, and she's hoping to make some extra cash through her home-based business, selling puppies. But Lisa isn't there to purchase a dog, as she claimed. Instead, she strangles Bobby Joe and removes her child, who survives. Lisa tries to claim the baby as her own

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  daughter, but it's clear to everyone that something horrible has happened. She's swiftly arrested, and is later executed. To make matters even more bizarre, Branson Perry and Bobby Joe Stinnett were cousins. According to some reports, they were also cousins of Wendy Gillenwater, who was beaten to death.

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  Local investigators now believe they know who was involved in the disappearance of Branson Perry. Their theory is that he was a good kid who fell in with the wrong crowd. He was most likely the victim of drug-related foul play. When they attempted to search the home of their person of interest, the sheriff says it also burned down. Branson has never been recovered. Investigators believe it's yet another case where the people in Skidmore know what happened. They just aren't willing to talk. Either because they're trying to protect each other, or the witnesses are too afraid they'll be next.

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  Many of those who remember the day of Ken McElroy's killing have passed away. Trina in 2012, Danny Estes, residents like Leona Hayes and Kirby Gosley, who spoke with reporters and documentarians over the years. Dell Clement, the alleged shooter named by Trina, is gone too. Maybe there's still time for someone to come forward and tell the truth. Or maybe, in order to take part in a conspiracy of silence for that long, you have to forget what the truth really is.

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  Thank you for listening to Conspiracy Theories. We're here with a new episode every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram, at The Conspiracy Pod. If you're watching on Spotify, swipe up and give us your thoughts. Our sources for today's episode include Avi Belkin's docu-series, No One Saw a Thing, and the Edgar Award-winning book, In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri, by Harry N. McLean. Until next time, remember, the truth isn't always the best story. And the official story isn't always the truth.

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  This episode was written and researched by Mickey Taylor, edited by Justin Sales, fact-checked by Alex Sousa, and engineered, video-edited, and sound-designed by Alex Button. I'm your host, Carter Roy.

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