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Revenge is a fool's game.
And for those of you who don't understand that Red Dead Redemption reference, here's a clip.
Revenge is a fool's game.
But this isn't a video game we're talking about today, and this isn't a cowboy hat.
It's a pirate hat that I'm wearing.
I didn't know where my cowboy hat was.
Anyway, we're talking about real life.
Real life revenge, and revenge is the pinnacle of human emotion.
Someone did me wrong, so I must get them back.
And I'm not personally one to demand revenge.
But in this case, of these three stories I'm gonna tell you about today, it almost makes sense why the only option was revenge.
So without further ado, let's unbuckle our seatbelts, go Mach 5 down the highway, slam on the brakes, and let's... Let's bust through this windshield into these three revenge stories together.
Can you make that a whip noise?
Before I get into the first story, I just want to say I pronounce things wrong.
I pronounce things wrong a lot.
You guys love to point it out in the comments, even though I Google how to pronounce things a lot.
Apparently Google steers me wrong, let's say.
So I'm going to do my best, but also feel free to read me out in the comments for pronouncing things wrong.
I appreciate it, but I also apologize for pronouncing things wrong.
Anyway.
Let's get to it.
So the first case we're going to be talking about is the case of Gary Plouchet.
Plouchet, Plouchet, however you want to say it.
I'm going to say Plouchet because that's how Google told me to.
But anyway, this man is celebrated in many communities for his revenge story and it is still talked about to this day.
His story inspires others with a sense of justice and terrifies others with his solution to this problem.
But love him or hate him, This is his story.
So Leon Gary Ploche was born November 10th, 1945 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
He served his country in the United States Air Force and became a staff sergeant.
And after retiring he tried his luck at being a heavy equipment salesman back in his hometown and he lived like everyone else.
He attended an estrama senior school and was even in a frat called kappa alpha at louisiana state university.
And in his free time he liked to fish, he liked to cook and cheer for his favorite teams the college team lsu tigers and the professional new orleans state.
And he had four children, one daughter and three three sons his daughter Sissy Jennifer Laurie, and his three sons Jeffrey Joseph, Jody and Leon Gary Jr.
And he was a devoted father with no prior criminal behavior or violent tendencies and supposedly loved by all.
However, one day he would change when he learned what was happening to one of his sons, Jody.
And Jody was a normal kid, and as normal kids do, he played sports.
Not that you're not normal if you don't play sports.
Just you know, he's just one of the kids that played sports.
And specifically during 1983 and 1984, Jody was practicing karate lessons at 11 years old.
And his karate instructor was 25-year-old Jeffrey Doucette.
But he wasn't just teaching him karate, he was doing something far more sinister.
For over a year, Jeffrey Doucette had been essaying Jody during these lessons.
However, everything would soon come to light.
And on February 14th 1984, Doucette would kidnap Jody and take him very far away, all the way to Anaheim, California.
And this trip was over 1700 miles away from Jody's home.
And supposedly he had told his mother June, that he would be gone and back within 15 minutes and just wanted to show Jodi some carpet he was laying.
And this wasn't really suspicious at all, due to the fact that Jeff Doucette's job was laying down carpet with his brother.
And he was also a very trustworthy figure in Jodi's life, which the plushies recognized.
But after not returning for a very long time and going on a full-blown trip, June realized something was very wrong and she would tell her husband.
It wasn't until February, 29th days after his disappearance, that a collection call was sent to their home.
And they would track the origin of the message back to Anaheim, California at a certain motel.
And the Washington Post states that June waited four days before she told her husband that Jodi was still not home.
And it also states that Doucette actually called June ordering her to bring the other children and their school transcripts.
And she told Jeff that Gary would use this to get full custody of the children if he didn't bring them back.
And there are a lot of strange, differing evidence in the story here.
Some saying June knew that he would be gone while others say that she immediately called the FBI.
But there's not enough sources to verify which is the true story.
So I'm just, I just have to go off what I know.
But anyway, the FBI finally raided the motel and arrested Doucette on February 29th, 1984.
And Jody was reunited with his family and his father was overjoyed to see his son return home.
So the whole family celebrated after he got home, because they were just anxiously waiting for their son to come home.
I mean, he was across the country basically at that point.
So it was great that Jody was finally home.
But this wasn't the end of the story by any means.
The man who had caused all this pain was still in custody back in California.
And Jeff Doucette would later fly in March 16th, 1984 to face trial for his crimes.
And Gary was obviously still not happy that his son's abuser was just walking around just as still not being served several days after the incident.
So the plane would land in Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport where Jeff would be led in handcuffs by officers around 930 pm.
However, someone was waiting at the airport for Jeff.
Gary Plauche would get a tip from an ABC affiliate that Jeff had just landed and Gary would make his way to the airport very quickly.
And a news crew had set up cameras for Jeff's arrival.
Opposite to the cameras were pay phones set up and Gary was waiting to strike.
And all recorded on live television.
Once Jeff Doucette walked past the pay phones, Gary turned around with his revolver and shot Jeff perfectly in the head.
All while donning a baseball cap, wearing sunglasses, and shooting a moving target.
And again, this was all recorded on live TV.
With the shot obviously showing the trickling blood from Jeff Doucette's head.
Just absolutely brutal.
I've seen the whole video.
I you know, if you're very, you know sensitive to that kind of stuff, I wouldn't watch it personally.
But it's like brutal and this incident would obviously lead officers to tackle gary to the ground.
And the officers obviously knew exactly who had committed the incident, because they knew gary at this point, because they had been dealing with his son being kidnapped.
So, but since the officers knew who he was, one of the officers would actually call out why gary?
Why, During this whole incident, the camera crew is still filming everything.
They even zoom in where you can see blood pouring out of Doucette's head.
It is just, it is just absolutely vile.
But anyway, they would obviously put Gary into handcuffs, as he had just committed a murder on live television.
One of which was against a criminal about to be tried for his own son's essay and kidnapping.
And unsurprising was his mental state during his son's disappearance.
When he had found out that his son was stolen by his karate instructor.
He obviously was angry and it took a psychological toll.
Some reports stated he had a full mental breakdown.
And who wouldn't knowing that their son was kidnapped, especially by someone who had been abusing your child?
Like, it's just a horrible, horrible circumstance.
But anyway, Gary was obviously in trouble and was going to face legal consequences for his actions.
So he would be charged for second-degree murder and pleaded no contest to manslaughter.
However, his punishment wouldn't be as severe as you might think.
The judge would rule that he would, instead of being put behind bars, be sentenced to five years of probation and 300 hours of community service.
Definitely a step down from what you would expect for... a cold-blooded planned murder but the media portrayed him as what he was a grieving father angered by the criminal who had abused his son a broken man with anger he couldn't control and his mental state clearly unstable and unforgiving and he became some sort of hero overnight a vigilante who took matters into his own hands against someone who he found disgusting which I'm not gonna say, listen, okay, I don't give my opinion a lot, especially on something like this, but if hypothetically I had a child that hypothetically got kidnapped by someone who hypothetically did stuff to my kid, I wouldn't, I'm not saying I would do what he did, but if for any reason that person, somebody else did it, I wouldn't be, uh...
I wouldn't be shedding tears over the death, I'm just saying that, let's just say that.
And interviews with his son later on showed that Jody did not actually want his father to kill him because he had this attachment to Doucette, even though all the SA was happening.
He was kind of another not necessarily father figure, but he was somebody he looked up to because this man had groomed him over a certain amount of time and he would actually grow to be able to forgive his father, understanding why he did it in taking matters into his own hands after he found out what had happened to his son.
I understand exactly what my father did.
He got lucky because he didn't go to jail, but there are still varying viewpoints.
Obviously he committed a crime and murdered someone, but on the other hand he got cold and hard revenge for his son's abuser like.
Again, I'm not going to say it's right because it's not.
Murder's wrong.
But again.
I'm not crying about it.
But I would love to know what you think down in the comments below about this one, because it's a lot of this.
It's a lot of this.
I don't think people should do stuff to kids like that.
I think it's very wrong, and I think they deserve to burn in the fiery depths of hell.
But I also don't agree with murder in any way, shape, or form, so it's hard to say.
But he is still seen as a hero to many and I can't tell you the amount of T-shirts and media I have seen praising Gary Ploche, who is a vigilante hero to a lot of people.
But unfortunately, Gary would die of a stroke at 68 years old on October 21st, 2014.
That is the story of Gary and Jodi Ploschet.
And now we move on to Lisa McVeigh.
So in 1984, a 17 year old girl named Lisa McVeigh suffered unimaginable horrors at the hands of a serial killer, Bobby Joe Long.
But this isn't just a story of survival, it is a sweet tale of revenge.
From leaving crucial DNA evidence to memorizing every detail of her captor, Lisa outsmarted Long at every turn.
Very similar to the Kara Chamberlain story, which you could watch here.
Very similar in a lot of aspects.
Kara actually talked to me about her whole story.
It was very, very compelling.
And Lisa's is equally as compelling. harrowing and incredible.
So let's get into it.
So on November 3rd, 1984, Lisa McVeigh's life took a harrowing turn.
The 17-year-old had just finished her shift at a donut shop and was cycling home in the dark.
And unbeknownst to her serial killer, Bobby Joe Long, was prowling the streets seeking his next victim.
And Lisa's background had already been marred by trauma.
For three and years, she had to endure sexual abuse at the hands of her grandmother's boyfriend.
And this horrific experience had conditioned her to endure violence, a factor that would prove crucial in the events to come.
And before the night of the abduction, she actually had planned to end her own life.
So, as Lisa pedaled through the night, Bobby Joe Long would suddenly emerge from the shadows and he would forcibly drag her off her bicycle and into his car, pressing the gun against her temple, plucked off my back by God knows who, and I felt the cold steel barrel to the left side of my temple.
And in that terrifying moment, Lisa's survival instincts would start to kick in.
This determination would become her driving force throughout the whole ordeal.
And Long's modus operandi, or MO, was already well established by this point, so he knew exactly what he was going to do to her.
He targeted young women, subjecting them to extreme violence before murdering them.
And Lisa would later learn through news reports during her captivity that she was not the first victim, but rather the latest in a string of brutal attacks.
And as a car sped through the night, Lisa's mind would start to race.
Fear would grip her and alongside it grew a steely resolve to survive.
She began reciting the Lord's prayer, silently drawing strength from her faith.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread or forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever and ever.
Amen.
I just thought I'd do a little subtle brag that my parents made me say that every night before I went to bed.
And this is the only time I've ever been able to say it on the internet.
Anyway, Lisa McVeigh would be in the trunk praying and trying to think of what she could do to get out of this.
And she started to actually negotiate with Long, employing psychological tactics to avoid being killed.
And she's only 17 at this time.
I know we don't know what we would do in these circumstances, but at 17, I was a moron. dude.
I don't.
I have no, I have no idea what I would do at this point, but I feel like it's almost a a womanly instinct to just give in and try to um and Kara actually said this in the interview I did with her appease the person to maybe get out that way, rather than fighting because you know you're gonna lose that fight.
Lisa's quick thinking and ability to remain calm under extreme duress set her apart from long's previous victims.
She began to formulate a plan, recognizing that her survival depended on her ability to outsmart her captor.
Lisa decided to fight, not just for her life, but to gather evidence that could potentially lead to Long's capture.
So as they approached Long's apartment, Lisa made a crucial decision.
She would not merely endure this whole ordeal, she would actively work to ensure her survival and Long's eventual capture.
And this resolution marked the beginning of Lisa's transformation from victim to strategist.
So they would get inside Long's apartment and Lisa's true ordeal would begin.
For the next 20
For 26 hours she would endure severe torture and multiple grapes, but also engage in a silent battle of wits against her captor.
As long blindfolded Lisa, she remained acutely aware of her surroundings.
Despite the terror coursing through her veins, Lisa focused on gathering crucial evidence throughout those 26 hours.
She intentionally touched various surfaces in the apartment, leaving behind fingerprints and other traces of evidence that could later aid in the investigation.
And Lisa also made mental notes of every sound, smell and texture she encountered, building a very detailed mental map of her surroundings.
And throughout her captivity Lisa would employ these psychological tactics to kind of humanize herself to long.
Not only did she engage in conversation with him, sharing personal stories and attempting to establish a connection, but she listened to his every word and did whatever he asked her to do.
And this approach just aimed to make it more difficult for Long to view her as just a victim and to view her as an actual person.
And Lisa also feigned empathy, telling Long she understood why he was committing these crimes and even offering to be his girlfriend.
And she would also count steps from room to room, noted the sounds of nearby traffic and also attempted to discern any distinctive features of the apartment.
And at one point she even managed to peek under her blindfold, catching a glimpse of Long's car and memorizing the details of its appearance.
Like she just like full badass mode, just like fully investigator detective mode.
And I just, it's so commendable and amazing.
But the psychological tension really peaked when Lisa overheard a news report on television stating that a 17 year old girl named Lisa McVeigh had been missing.
And this moment just kind of crystallized the gravity of her situation.
And it also reinforced her determination to survive and bring her captor to justice.
So as the hours passed, Lisa's tactics began to have an effect on Long.
Her apparent empathy and willingness to understand him seemed to create a cognitive dissonance in his mind.
And Long's behavior towards Lisa began to kind of shift at this point, becoming less aggressive and more conflicted.
And eventually, Long made a decision to release Lisa.
After she concocted a story also about how she had a sick family member and she was the only one that could take care of him, he really started to sympathize and empathize with her.
So he decided to actually let her go.
So he would drive her to a location near her home and he would keep her blindfolded.
And, before letting her go Long, told Lisa not to contact the police and also to wait five minutes before taking off her blindfold.
After he left.
And this was a command that she had no intention of following.
So as Lisa heard Longstreet to drive away, she knew her ordeal was far from over, but she would go home and upon her arrival she would actually be beaten by her guardian's boyfriend and interrogated for five hours because her family didn't believe that this actually happened.
I mean she came from a family that had no empathy towards her and in fact, SA'd her on multiple occasions.
So she literally had to prove that she had been kidnapped and SA'd and had escaped also.
But her accounts would remain consistent and they would finally call the police and she would be questioned.
But luckily, as I mentioned before, Lisa had committed to memories several details about her abduction and intentionally left fingerprints on several surfaces in Long's apartment.
And she did that just in case she actually died there.
They would have evidence that she was in the apartment.
She didn't even know she would escape at this point, but she thought ahead that much.
And through her description of her captor, his vehicle and the route they took and other details, police were actually able to track down Long and connect him to hers and other crimes.
So officers began a surveillance operation and arrested Long on November 16th 1984 for essay and kidnapping of Lisa McVeigh.
And while Long was arrested and put on trial, he showed No sense of care or empathy for what he did to Lisa or the other victims.
Nearly bragging about all the deaths that he had caused.
A lot of lives just gone right down the tubes because of me.
And he was also seen in court spitting on the camera, showing his lack of care and just clear anger towards being caught.
And on September 23rd 1985 Long would plead guilty to his crimes against Lisa McVeigh and an additional eight counts of first degree murder and eight counts of kidnapping and seven counts of sejual battery.
And he received a life sentence on every count in Hillsborough County.
And additionally he received two death sentences for the murders of Michelle Denise Sims and Virginia Johnson.
And following Long's conviction, McVeigh channeled her trauma into a career dedicated to protecting others.
She joined the Hillsbury County Sheriff's Office, rising through the ranks to become a master deputy.
And in this role, McVeigh has worked tirelessly to advocate for victims of SA and human trafficking.
And her unique perspective as both a survivor and law enforcement officer has just made her an invaluable asset in victim support and crime prevention initiatives.
And a documentary was even released called Believe Me, The Abduction of Lisa McVeigh, which I highly recommend watching.
And it just recounts her whole experience of everything that had happened.
And, at the end of it all, she actually forgave her captor, stating that what he did changed who she was and the horrors she endured, but forgives him despite it.
Bobby Geelong, people ask me what I would say to you if you were standing in front of me, and here's my answer.
Bobby Geelong, thank you.
Thank you for choosing me instead of another 17 year old little girl.
The reason why I say thank you now is because I have forgiven you for what you have done to me.
Had I not forgiven you, I might as well be in my own prison without walls.
God has shown me the only way to really be free when someone bestows injustice against you is complete forgiveness.
My life changed forever. and for the better.
I chose not to remain a victim.
I chose to live.
So not only did she escape her captor, but she helped bring him to justice like a badass bitch.
And she also got to see his execution, which is, you know, I don't know if you agree with that or not, but this guy's like next level, piece of shit.
And for her to watch him fearful of death is the cherry on the cake for me.
He was a monster.
He is still a monster until the day he takes his last breath.
You've said in the past that you'd like to witness his execution.
Do you still want to do that?
I will be there on May 23rd at 6 p.m.
I will be witnessing his execution.
It's something I need to do for myself.
But it is a shocking tale of not just revenge but overcoming all to still forgive the horrors he had did to her.
And I think she is just so amazing and like, Absolutely, absolutely.
I'm just gonna keep doing this.
But that brings us to our next story, which is about Ken Rex McElroy.
But this story is a little different.
Instead of the main character being the hero, he was known as the town bully.
And this one, Just has community, community service written all over it.
A community really coming together.
I think you're going to like this one a lot.
But Ken Rex McElroy or McElroy, whatever you want to pronounce it was born June 1st 1934 to a family of over 16 children.
Why were they doing that back then?
Because they had time and farms and they needed help, I guess.
I don't know.
Seems like a lot.
One seems like a lot to me.
Anyway, but they were a migrant family that tenant farmed, which meant they lived on land that was owned by a landlord, therefore contributed to work to live there, basically.
Hence the 16 children, a lot of help.
But from what I gather, it's pretty much an indentured servitude.
But anyway, he was known as being a very rambunctious child.
He didn't care about school at all.
He dropped out at the age of 15 and was known to cattle rustle, which is pretty much just stealing cows and livestock.
However, he was known for much, much worse, such as being a womanizer and a small-time thief.
You know, as you do at the age of 15.
But this reputation would carry on where he would, for the next decade, be known as a thief.
And he would stand at six foot two and weigh about 270 pounds and intimidating the townsfolk of Skidmore, Missouri.
That's a big guy.
That's a big scary guy.
And he was so intimidating that no one actually wanted to press charges against him, despite him stealing gasoline alcohol antiques, livestock and plenty of other crimes.
And apparently with the 21 charges, no one testified when he was brought into the legal system because they were too scared that he would eventually come for them after he got out.
And this womanizer would continue his antics and would apparently father over 10 children in his lifetime.
All with different women.
Quite literally the definition of a womanizer.
But I doubt fathered is a good term.
I'm going to safely assume that he wasn't much of a father figure at all.
But his last wife was named Trina McLeod, who was 12 years old and in the eighth grade when he was 35.
12 and 35!
Just let that marinate.
That's a crime.
This wasn't the only disgusting thing about the relationship though, as he would repeatedly grape and abuse her, which is just fing terrible.
Like, I don't even know how... I mean, I know age gaps, but 35 and 12, oh...
That's a baby.
That is literally a baby.
Like he's a monster.
And the parents obviously didn't agree with their relationship.
However, they were immediately swindled by the fact that he was threatening them as well, because he's a bully.
And by threats I mean going through with the threats saying he'd burn their house down, and he just did that.
And to add insult to injury, he also shot their dog.
And I mean, this guy was genuinely a spawn of Satan.
Burning, stealing, and of course, the SA and grape.
I mean, he is the devil personified.
A modern day barbarian, if you will.
So he was just a pillaging stalking, pedo abuser and more, and the descriptions of him would continue to add up.
And eventually his 14-year-old wife, Trina McLeod, would become pregnant, which involved her having to drop out of the ninth grade, obviously.
And she would then move in with McElroy and his second wife because he, just you know, decided to have multiple wives, not just because
You know.
And his second wife would be Alice.
And there was another woman already there named Marcia, but she was kicked out to make room for Trina.
And he had divorced his second wife Alice, to avoid the statutory grape charges, since she was the only witness.
Just giant piece of shit.
And Alice was obviously not happy about this and supposedly had run away, along with Trina and her new child, from McElroy and went to Trina's parents' home to escape him.
However, McElroy would hunt her down and bring Alice back.
And a few days later, when Trina's parents were gone, he would burn down their house and shoot their new dog, as I had mentioned.
That is why he did that.
And Trina would later get her freedom when she would take her son to get a checkup at the doctor.
She told the doctors what had happened and the doctor would notify the authorities and social welfare would show up.
And the baby was not only put into foster care, but Trina was tranquilized and hospitalized, primarily to protect her from McElroy.
And after being interviewed by the authorities, in June 1973 McElroy was arrested booked, arraigned and then released on a 2500 bail.
However, McElroy would finally push the justice system too far.
In 1980, one of the McElroy children stopped by to buy some candy.
And due to the mild confusion at the register, the child walked out of the grocery store without paying.
And when the clerk ran after them and the oldest of the children grabbed the candy and put it back in the store, angry and yelling at how they could accuse her of stealing.
And the owners of the shop, Bo and Lois Boenkamp, had tried to solve the issue just through discussion.
And the children, still upset, continued to argue that Lois would ban them from the store forever.
And McElroy would later learn about this and, only a few minutes later, arrive at the store threatening Lois Boenkamp with a pocket knife and he would whip her ass.
So the Boenkamps, being the fucking afraid of this monster coming into their store and threatening them, would just try to explain everything and he would eventually calm down and just ask for a pack of camels.
However, despite the issue seemingly being solved, they denied his business and told him to leave.
McElroy then sat in his truck and watched the store until they left.
And when they returned home, McElroy continued to drive past their home at the edge of town.
And the Bowen camps would live in fear, many telling them that Ken McElroy never backed down from a fight and would solve it eventually.
And a month later Ken would actually drive past the store, firing warning shots near their business, doing this a few times during the day.
And Lois, being petrified that somebody's shooting warning shots at her business, would file a complaint towards him at the Noah Day County Sheriff's Office, where Sheriff Roger Kronk told her that he would settle it and file the complaint.
But this was a lie and nothing was done about the issue.
And on the evening of July 8th 1980 Beau Boenkamp would drive to his store to converse with the repairman near the rear entrance.
And Bo would be there cutting boxes with a knife.
And Ken would later arrive and threaten him pointing a double barrel shotgun at Bo's back before pulling the trigger and firing it into his neck, head and torso.
And Bo would survive. but Ken would later be charged with attempted murder.
And although convicted at trial, he was freed on bail and waited for his appeal.
And then Ken just headed to the bar after this and he would exclaim to everybody in there that he was just acting in self-defense and that Beau rushed him with a knife which we all know didn't happen, based on his track record and he was seen carrying an M1 Garand rifle with a bayonet attached, continually making threats, stating he would shoot the old man in the head and carve him up like a turkey.
Who walks around with a bayonet on their gun?
Who walks around with a gun like that anyway?
But my God, a bayonet?
So patrons gathered, wondering what they could do.
Knowing his appeal hearing had been delayed, people were worried that he would continue to cause trouble in town.
And the town folk, naturally, despised this guy.
He was a menace to society and everyone had to deal with this.
Pedo attempted murdering asshole in their town.
So the town of Skidmore had enough collectively agreeing that the law was seemingly on his side and the legal system was not protecting them.
So on the morning of July 10th 1981 all of the townspeople met up to at the Legion Hall in the center of town.
And they talked about many different ideas and their worries, such as I stated earlier, about the law not helping them.
And Sheriff Estes told them to not approach him and instead form a neighborhood watch.
That's gonna work real well.
And after the meeting the sheriff would drive out of town and the citizens would just be left pissed the hell off.
And despite warnings, they decided to solve the issue themselves.
So they would head to the tavern where Ken was in mass and ken, finishing his drink and finishing his last cigarette, would start to leave the bar and he would hop into his pickup truck and while in his truck, some of the folks in the neighborhood would lift their guns and start blasting him in his truck, with only two bullets hitting him, and trina, who was very close to him during this event, would come out unscathed luckily, and no one would call an ambulance.
And when witnesses were asked what they saw and who the potential gunman was, the multiple witnesses couldn't state who had shot him or deliberately just wouldn't give a straight answer.
They'd be like, man, that's, I heard it.
I saw it, but I don't know.
I was just kind of daydreaming.
I don't really remember.
Let me think.
Tom, was it you?
No?
And this was over 35 people, by the way, all of which didn't say a word.
No snitches got stitches.
And a large task force of police officers were sent to the scene of the crime to compile a list of who could have done it.
But with so many witnesses and people there, no one knew for sure who it could have been.
And Trina was the only one to give a name.
Del Clement.
She claimed, after she hopped out of the truck after the shots were fired, she saw him carrying a rifle.
And this, however, was only her testimony, and no one else could corroborate the claim.
Therefore, it was just not enough to bring an indictment against the shooter.
And the grand jury questioned people like Beau Bauenkamp and Romaine Henry, two people who had been harassed by Ken and therefore didn't offer any help at all, as they should.
So the grand jury just couldn't do anything, and the judge couldn't do anything.
Therefore, nothing became of it.
But this got so bad that the US Justice Department called the FBI to investigate, with agents interviewing the same witnesses and getting the exact same responses as they gave the initial police.
And the prosecutor Bard received evidence from the feds.
However, All he had to say was quote unquote.
After careful consideration and evaluation, I have determined that there is not current sufficient evidence with which to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
And the media just continually talked about the dilemma of how an entire town that hated a man was so intense that no one would speak up about his murder.
And this just really showed the hate for Ken.
Everyone wanted this bully just dead and gone with and no one wanted to snitch, which is kind of based.
If you ask me, i'm not really upset about it.
This guy sounds like a giant waste of air and oxygen.
Pretty similar to the first story.
So I guess I do stand.
I guess I do have an opinion on that.
And in 1884 an attorney named Richard McDan filed a 5 million wrongful death civil lawsuit on behalf of Trina against Sheriff Estes, the mayor and Del Clement.
And it was settled out of court and she was awarded around $18,000.
So to a degree, the law had failed this family, but so did the entire town.
The law couldn't protect them.
So when they got their hands dirty, it's no shock that on the other side of the coin, the law didn't work for the McElroys.
The legacy of Skidmore continues on, with the anniversaries of his death being talked about continually and people remembering the awful legacy of Ken Rex McElroy, the man who was murdered and hated by an entire town.
And the town kind of hates being linked to the entire situation where it went from 1000 to a now close to 300 people today.
And it continually comes up through different medias with a ton of documentaries on the whole situation floating about one specifically called No One Saw a Thing.
And in the documentary, you can just feel the hatred everyone had for this guy.
But anyway, I think, you know, an entire town coming together, you know, really working together.
Again, I don't I don't agree with murder.
Let me just get that straight.
I don't agree with murder.
And I think no one should ever do that.
But it is very unfortunate that the law let these people down.
You know, and a child, a 12 year old kid who's pregnant at 14.
I mean, there's just so many bad things about it.
I'm going to just sit in the gray area not saying much but letting you guys say stuff down in the comments, because you guys can do that, you know, and I love to read it.
Let me know what you want to see down below, what you want me to deep dive in.
Also, you can listen on Spotify and Apple Music now.
Crime, Conspiracy, Cult, and Murder is my podcast.
You guys are so kind on there.
I really appreciate all the five-star reviews.
I'm like...
I was number 12 podcast in America.
How the frick did that happen?
Because you guys, I love you.
I appreciate you.
And also stay safe out there and don't hitchhike.
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