Wed, 13 Jan 2021 12:09 UTC
Skidmore is a small town in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 284 at the 2010 Census (estimated 269 as of 2016). Despite its small population, the town has a long history of violence, and an unusually high crime rate per capita (murder rate included).
Let's go through some of the more notorious cases. The first major murder case from Skidmore, Missouri, took place in 1981. It is arguably one of the most infamous modern cases of vigilante justice.
Ken Rex McElroy, a local resident, reportedly terrorized the town of Skidmore for years. Over the course of his life, McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary. He was indicted twenty times, but never convicted of any crime. Reportedly, he was able to escape conviction because all the witnesses were too afraid to testify. McElroy would intimidate them by stalking them, often parking his pick-up in front of their homes at night and watching them.