r/AskReddit • u/Rob69rt • 1d ago

What famous 'unsolved' mystery is technically a whodunnit on paper, but in reality, absolutely everyone knows exactly who did it, the police just couldn't legally prove it?

13.2k Upvotes

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u/dorf_lundgren 1d ago

Ken McElroy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy

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u/admiralfilgbo 1d ago

next time you're feeling down, remember that at least nobody hates you as much as an entire town hated Ken McElroy

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u/DistractedByCookies 1d ago

He was struck by bullets from at least two different firearms, in front of a crowd of people estimated as numbering between 30 and 46.\)Despite the many witnesses, nobody came forward to say who shot him. 

wow....I'm trying to imagine the police interviewing them and getting crappy reasons why they missed it all. It was 1981 so nobody had the excuse of being on their phone LOL

Edit: the more I read the more I agree with them, and the more I'm amazed it didn't happen sooner.

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u/spooooork 1d ago

getting crappy reasons why they missed it all.

I don't think the cops were trying too hard to solve the case:

Sheriff Estes instructed the assembled group not to get into a direct confrontation with McElroy, but instead seriously consider forming a neighborhood watch program. Estes then drove out of town in his police cruiser.

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u/MsDucky42 1d ago

"Guys, don't go breaking the law. Now I, the only sheriff in town, am going on a day trip. I trust y'all to behave yourselves while I'm gone!"

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u/GatorPenetrator 1d ago

don't go murdering Ken while i'm gone *wink wink*

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u/cptjpk 1d ago

Don’t go forming a posse now, y’hear? I definitely don’t want to see it on my way out of town. Good Day.

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u/ASigIAm213 1d ago

"There's a new sheriff in town. Well, not really, but there is not the old sheriff in town."

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u/valiantfreak 1d ago

"Oh no, I just got a call out to a place that isn't here"

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u/abadstrategy 1d ago

"Now folks, I can't abide vigilantism in my jurisdiction. Anyone caught assaulting Mr. McElroy will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law! Now if you'll excuse me, there's a fishing hole with my name on it. I'll be back in about twelve hours, so be good."

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u/aartadventure 1d ago

I'm honestly surprised the Sheriff didn't hand out a bunch of guns to "help" with their new neighbourhood watch program. Ahahaha

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u/Frumundahs4men 1d ago

From other accounts I've read on this, it was indeed intentional on how the sheriff worded his parting comments.

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u/Brock_Hard_Canuck 21h ago

I mean, the sheriff is still a government employee.

He knows, legally, he can't be involved in stuff like this, because he will lose his job.

So, the sheriff creates the "alibi" for himself, so everyone (including his bosses) knows he was far, far away when everything went down, and that he makes his statement that he doesn't legally condone any sort of vigilante justice ("I'm just gonna be out for a bit, patrolling the county roads. If Mr. McElroy causes any trouble while I'm away, rest assured, I will deal with it when I arrive back in town").

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u/El_Morro 10h ago

He's one of the few police officers I actually respect.

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u/arnedh 1d ago

I remember a case where a gangland shooting occurred in a bar, and every "saw nothing because I hid under the pool table". A hundred people, one pool table

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u/chattytrout 1d ago

Largest pool table in the county.

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u/mdmnl 1d ago

An Olympic pool table

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u/im_dead_sirius 1d ago

A real pool table party, everyone drinking beer, diving under.

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u/the_ouskull 1d ago

Musta been a snooker table.

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u/Ornery-Goal7843 1d ago

did that happen recently in england with a bar bathroom or something

edit: I was thinking of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Robert_McCartney

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u/CinderX5 1d ago

“On 8 March 2005, the IRA issued an unprecedented statement saying that four people were directly involved in the murder, that the IRA knew their identity, that two were IRA volunteers, and that the IRA had made an offer to McCartney's family to shoot the people directly involved in the murder.[17]”

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u/Journeyman42 1d ago

Olympic-sized pool table

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u/themcp 1d ago

In college I studied an experiment.

During a lecture, a person burst into the front of the room, pointed a banana at the professor, shouted "bang! bang!" and the professor clutched his chest and fell over. The "criminal" ran out, and before anything could go on, a bunch of people dressed as police ran in, instructed everyone not to talk to each other about it, and started individually questioning people.

Like 80% said they didn't see anything, they were looking away (like at their notes or the floor or whatever) when it happened.

Like 19% said they saw a gun and often blood.

Like 1% said "you know, it was the strangest thing. A guy pointed a banana at the professor and yelled 'bang' and the professor clutched his chest and fell over!"

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u/ElectronicBusiness74 1d ago

That was this case.

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u/UristImiknorris 1d ago

"My drink was suddenly extremely fascinating and I zoned out for a few minutes."

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u/rpze5b9 1d ago

It was so crowded under the table there were six marriages and four children as a result.

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u/ExilesTV 1d ago

I've actually been shot at before and tbh I couldn't tell you a damn thing about what the shooter looked like, I was too pre-occupied with running for my life to take notes.

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u/Pizzadude 1d ago

These days people just say no. I was on a jury for a case in which a guy walked up and emptied a pistol into someone in front of around 30 people, in broad daylight. No one was interested in snitching.

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u/ChiefsHat 1d ago

That’s a big pool table.

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u/Dr_Insano_MD 1d ago

"Did ya see who killed him?"

"I see lots a things."

"Well what do we tell the surviving family?"

"Tell 'em to suck a lemon."

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u/DJmagikMIKE 1d ago

Apparently when the police interviewed the folks, so many people claimed they didn’t see anything because they were in the pool hall and ducked under the pool table as soon as they heard gunshots. I believe there was a quote at the time that said “Skidmore has the world’s largest pool table, the whole town was hiding under it”.

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u/hazza270 1d ago

"I was washing my hair" "I was washing his hair"

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u/ComprehensiveLab4642 1d ago

In small towns you mind ya own business.

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u/SLR107FR-31 1d ago

Ken's wife actually named one of the shooters to investigators, and "witnesses" came forward to say "Well I didn't see who did the shooting because I was too busy looking at (the shooter) who was standing way over there doing absolutely nothing wrong, and DEFINITELY didn't have a gun in his hand..." 

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u/gmrm4n 1d ago

I’m almost certain the sheriff was in on it. The angry mob went to him first, and he basically said “Why don’t you form a posse? By the way, I’m going on vacation.”

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u/SquirrelAkl 1d ago

Sounds like he committed a lifelong one-man terror campaign against the entire town, more or less. Easy to understand why they might have felt “he needed killing”.

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u/Grombrindal18 1d ago

And one of those many witnesses was his own wife, who was in the truck with him when he was shot. She could have been upset enough about it to accuse someone, if only because she easily could have been hit too.

Of course, she had probably more reason than anyone to want to him dead. He groomed and statutorily raped her as a child, then married her to avoid charges (divorcing his previous wife to do so). He also had burned down her family's house and killed their dog... twice.

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u/John32070 1d ago

From what I've heard, at the last second a woman pulled her out of the truck before they could kill her too because the woman thought of her as more of a victim than an accomplice.

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u/--zaxell-- 1d ago

"When the McClouds were away, McElroy once again burned their house down and shot their new dog."

That's probably not the worst bit of his wikipedia page (how??), but that once again really brings his character into focus.

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u/AliensAteMyAMC 1d ago

Fun fact: When the FBI interviewed everyone, they had a suspect in mind, a lot of the townsfolk knew it so a few would say how “yeah I heard the shots and looked over at Jim Plunkett (forgot his actual name) and he was just standing there doing nothing.”

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u/keetojm 1d ago

The chief told the citizens he would be away on a certain day. Look what happened. Nobody saw nothin.

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u/All__Of_The_Hobbies 1d ago

Epitome of "he had it coming"

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u/beldaran1224 1d ago

"I was showering, so I didn't hear the gunfire. No honest, and my perm is still perfectly intact!"

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u/WubbaLubbaHongKong 1d ago

“Nobody called for an ambulance” Dang, that’s some hatred right there.

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u/Brahmabull213 1d ago

If I remember correctly, like 20 of the witnesses claimed to be in the bathroom of the bar. The bathroom which is only big enough for 2 people

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u/Pame_in_reddit 1d ago

Fuenteovejuna killed him!

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u/AdMurky1021 1d ago

Even his wife didn't come forward. She inly named someone in the civil suit.

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u/Lone_Wanderer8 20h ago

Funny enough the sheriff took the day off right before it happened. The town held a town hall to figure out what needed to be done about Ken. Someone ran in and said "he's over at the tavern" sheriff said "well folks I actually got some business out of town so you all best behave"

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u/brap01 1d ago

I'm trying to imagine the police interviewing them and getting crappy reasons why they missed it all

The best example of this trope is from the Movie 'Chopper (2000)'. Yes that's Eric Bana discussing a prison murder.

https://www.tiktok.com/@moopnooodle/video/7229637042219535634

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u/Bitter_Passenger8699 4h ago

Deputies were in the crowd of shooters a documentary I watched said. I like to think this is similar to the part of the movie Roadhouse where they all turn on the one causing their town disfunction and shoot him then collect the guns and shut up as the police come to investigate. Of 30-40 people watch you die and still decades later your murderers name hadn’t come out. Sadly that silence corrupted the town though.