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Ken McElroy was shot in front of 30 people, but police never caught the shooter

Ken McElroy was known in the town of Skidmore, Missouri as ‘the town bully’ – not a title many people would want. However, McElroy seemed to always get into trouble with the law but he was always escaped a conviction. 

He was indicted 21 different times for crimes varying from rape, child molestation, assault, to hog and cattle rustling. Despite the strong evidence in all of the cases against him, he was never placed in jail.

On July 10, 1981, while in the car with his most recent wife who was only twelve at the time when he met her, McElroy was shot by two different weapons in front of at least 30 people. 

Coincidentally, this occurred after a town meeting discussing how they would protect the town from criminals. The witnesses to the murder said they couldn’t identify the shooters, No charges were pressed by the local police, and even after a federal investigation. This event was seen as an act vigilante justice.