D&G Tavern: The location where Ken McElroy was shot dead

This is the location where "town bully" Ken McElroy was shot dead in broad daylight.

The shooting took place outside D&G Tavern, which was situated at 208 West Elm Street in Skidmore, Missouri. These days, the unit is empty.

McElroy was a convicted criminal with dozens of felonies under his belt. Over the years, he was accused of crimes such as arson, attempted murder, burglary, child molestation, and statutory rape, to name just a few.

He also regularly intimidated members of the community by stalking them, parking outside their homes, and pointing weapons at them.

On one occasion, he raped a 13-year-old girl. When her parents threatened to press charges, he burned down their home. Later, the girl was forced to marry him.

In 1980, one of his children was accused of stealing from a local grocery store. This led to a confrontation between McElroy and the owner of the store, Ernest "Bo" Bowenkamp.

During the incident, McElroy wounded Bowenkamp with a shotgun.

Although McElroy was convicted of assault and sentenced to two years in prison, he was released on bail for 21 days after he launched an appeal.

News of this temporary release stunned local residents, as many of them believed that the town bully was finally gone.

On the morning of July 10th, 1981, McElroy drove to the D&G Tavern. Once inside, he ordered beers and started muttering threats about how he was going to "finish off" Bowenkamp.

While he was knocking back beers, a town meeting with the local sheriff was taking place over at Legion Hall.

At the meeting, frustrated townspeople expressed their concerns about his release. By that stage, they had lost trust in the system, as it was seemingly unable to protect them from the violent man who was making their lives hell.

During the meeting, the group learned that "the town bully" was drinking at the D&G Tavern. As a result, they decided to march over to the tavern and go inside.

Meanwhile, the sheriff got in his vehicle and drove back to his office, which was out of town.

Soon, the tavern was filled with men, many of whom simply stood there and stared.

Sensing that it was time to go, McElroy purchased a six-pack of beer and left the tavern with his wife.

After jumping into his truck, he sat behind the wheel with a defiant smirk on his face. In an attempt to show the townspeople that he wasn't afraid, he slowly put a cigarette up to his mouth.

This was his way of letting everyone know that he was leaving on his own terms.

However, he never got the chance to light the cigarette, as gunshots rang out when it touched his lips.

It is believed that two different shooters hit McElroy several times.

Although more than 40 people witnessed the killing in broad daylight, they all claimed that they didn't see who had opened fire. Tellingly, none of the residents called for an ambulance either.

Six law enforcement agencies took part in the investigation, which quickly stalled because everyone at the crime scene was adamant that they didn't see anything.

McElroy's wife stated that one of the gunmen was a man named Del Clement. However, a state grand jury decided not to indict Clement because nobody could corroborate her story.

In the end, the investigation went nowhere, as there wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone with the crime.

Ken McElroy's murder remains unsolved to this day.

Photos

Photos of the tavern and other related images.

D&G Tavern

This Google Street View image of 208 West Elm Street was taken in September 2013.

At the time of the shooting, it was called the D&G Tavern. These days, it seems as though the unit is empty.

In the top left-hand corner, you can see a photograph of the crime scene.

Local residents had lost faith in the system

Although McElroy committed many crimes, it seemed as though he was untouchable. This was mostly due to the fact that he intimidated witnesses by stalking them and threatening them with violence.

In most cases, the charges were dropped because people were too afraid to testify against him.

The situation came to a boiling point after he was released on bail.

At that point, it seems as though the residents of Skidmore decided to take matters into their own hands.

"McElroy's in town."

Ken McElroy was shot three times in the head.

208 West Elm Street

This Google Street View image of the former tavern was captured in October 2022.