Dawn of Mantis: True Crime, Mysteries and More

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Hey kids! So it turns out we've been doing this podcast thing for 4 years now. Who knew?? Well, we knew, and decided to make a little "Happy Anniversary" episode to shamelessly congratulate ourselves. Enjoy. 

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In this incredibly frustrating episode, Pastor Tim Warren stands up to Ken and refuses to stop visiting and supporting the Bowenkamp family. Also, after Ken is finally bound for trial after a successful preliminary hearing in the matter of shooting Bo, Gene McFadin sets about postponing that trial for the next year. During that time, of course, keeps busy by harassing people, especially his arch nemesis Trooper Dean Stratton- that is until he finally pushes the patient law man too far. Ken also gets into more trouble when he threatens to murder a couple in a road rage incident, and also when he pulls rifle on several people at the annual Punkin Show festival. 

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In part 5 of this series we introduce you to the only law man in 3 states NOT scared of Ken McElroy- a Missouri State Trooper named Richard Dean Stratton. We also cover Ken's continued fixation on the Bowenkamp's- an obsession that culminated in the shooting of poor Bo. They say the wheels of justice turn slow, but Ken's attorney was back on the scene as usual, to make sure they didn't turn at all. 

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After seven decades the identity of the mysterious "Somerton Man" has been solved!! We discuss the new findings and in true Dawn of Mantis style, Joe closes out this short episode with a totally unrelated story!

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In this episode we continue to follow Ken's path of lawlessness and dissect the event that would end up leading to his death- the "Candy Incident" that occurred in B & B Grocery in April of 1980. 

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In part 3 of our series, we cover Trena’s failed attempts to get away from Ken, and how she instead ended up marrying him at 15 so that he could avoid sexual assault charges. We also discuss Ken’s shooting of Romaine Henry- an event that would ultimately cause Ken to focus all of his animosity on Skidmore. 

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In part 2 of our series we cover Ken's continued laundry list of crimes, as well as introduce you to the attorney who would help him avoid prosecution for all of them- Richard Gene McFadin. We also introduce you to the girl who would remain with Ken till the bitter end and beyond- Trena McCloud.  

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Ken McElroy terrorized northwest Missouri for decades before finally being killed in what some call an act of vigilante justice. In this first part of a nine part series, we cover Ken's early life, his foray into crime and the first of many girls he victimized. 

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In the second and final part of our Bobby Fuller series, we cover his bizarre death and examine each of the three major theories of how he died and who may have been responsible. (Subject Matter Begins @ 4:38)

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Bobby Fuller and his band, the Bobby Fuller Four, achieved commercial success in the mid 60s with songs like “Let Her Dance” and their cover of the Crickets’ “I Fought the Law”. But just as the band was reaching their highest level of fame, Bobby was found dead in the front seat of his mother’s car. The death was first marked a suicide, but his body was soaked in gasoline and showed signs of assault. To this day, no one is quite sure just what happened to Bobby Fuller. (Subject Matter Begins @ 9:50) 

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