On the afternoon of May 9, 1980, four heavily armed men walked into the Security Pacific Bank in Norco, California and demanded $20,000 in cash. Having seen the men enter the bank with their guns, employees of a different bank across the street called the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and deputies responded immediately.

When the bank robbers were confronted in the parking lot by law enforcement, a shootout began that would ultimately span more than forty miles across two counties, and when it was finally over, one sheriff’s deputy and two of the perpetrators were dead, eleven others were wounded. Moreover, the assault caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage from the nearly 2000 rounds that were fired, hitting houses, buildings, cars, among other things.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Bennett, Lorraine. 1980. "Suspects in Norco holdup charged with 120 felonies." Los Angeles Times, May 15: 3.

Gorman, Tom. 1982. "Kidnapping victim tells of ordeal at bandits' hands." Los Angeles Times, January 15: 22.

Houlahan, Peter. 2020. "Norco '80: Before the bank robbery." Los Angeles Daily News, June 2.

—. 2019. "40 years later, the aftermath of a deadly bank robbery still lingers in a small SoCal city." Los Angeles Magazine, May 28.

—. 2020. Norco '80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint.

Malnic, Eric, and Mike Goodman. 1980. "Suspect put up barbed wire at home." Los Angeles Times, May 11: 1.

Schaub, Michael. 2019. "Apocalyptic robbers botched a SoCal bank heist." Los Angeles Times, June 7.

Stein, Mark. 1980. "Shaken witnesses: 'There was fear...'." Los Angeles Times, May 11: 3.

Sun News Service. 1982. "Trio guilty in Norco holdup, deputy's murder." San Bernardino County Sun, July 24: 1.

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As promised, we TRIED to get an episode on Creepy Butts, but the research proved TOO extensive! Instead, we ditched the theme, and dove into Spooky places that spoke to our souls, ESPECIALLY our resident PodLab Ghostie, Nicholas.

Alaina brings us Forest Haven Asylum where she discusses its dark history, as well tales of inhabitants that never left. Ash transports us to the eighth gate to hell- Spider Gate Cemetery!

If you’ve got Spooky place you'd like to recommend with a personal account- send it on over to Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Spooky places” somewhere in the subject line- and if you share pictures- please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

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On July 10,1981, forty-seven-year-old Ken McElroy was sitting in his truck in Skidmore, Missouri with his wife, Trina, when the vehicle was struck by a hail of gunfire that seemed to come from all directions. Although there were nearly fifty witnesses to the shooting, they all claimed not to have seen the shooters, and none of them called an ambulance. Later, when asked why no one did anything to help McElroy or cooperate with investigators, the people of Skidmore all agreed, Ken McElroy got what he deserved.

The story of Ken McElroy’s death captured the nation’s attention, primarily because it amounted to a modern-day lynching. However, while no one denies that McElroy’s death was murder, few people in and around Skidmore were interested in holding anyone accountable for the shooting. In fact, many seemed pleased to hear of McElroy’s death, which raised the question, how could someone become so hated by their neighbors that they’d be willing to overlook one of the most heinous crimes?

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Associated Press. 1981. "FBI enters Missouri shooting case." New York Times, July 18: 6.

—. 1981. "Little chance of trial in 'town bully' shooting." St. Joseph News-Press, October 26: 1.

Graham, O.E. 1968. "What is justice?" St. Joseph News-Press, July 19: 9.

Hansen, Rose. 2018. Skidmore revisited. February 6. Accessed April 9, 2025. https://missourilife.com/skidmore-revisited-part-1-death-ken-mcelroy-2/.

Loh, Jules. 1981. "Brute of Nordaway County: chilling rembeberances ." Kansas City Star, August 2: 1.

MacLean, Harry. 1988. In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

McGuire, Donna. 2001. "Two decades after bully's death, Skidmore still guards its secrets." Kansas City Star, July 10: 1.

St. Joseph News-Press. 1968. "Dismissals to 2 more defendants in beating case." St. Joseph News-Press, July 11: 9.

—. 1968. "Four now charged in beating of man, attack on woman." St. Joseph News-Press, June 14: 7.

—. 1973. "Three charges against man." St. Joseph News-Press, September 22: 5.

—. 1968. "Victim of assault testifies four men struck, kicked him." St. Joseph News-Press, July 4: 1.

Stewart, Paul. 1981. "Grand jury disappoints lawyer." St. Joseph News-Press, September 26: 1.

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