Mysterious shooting of circus acrobat investigated: Trish Long
In October 1953, the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus was in town and for several days the headlines in the El Paso Times were about a mysterious shooting of an “attractive 22-year-old acrobat.”
El Paso police were suspicious of the story given by the aerialist, Margaret Smith. As the investigation continued the story began to unravel.
Oct. 11, 1953, El Paso Times
Attractive Circus Star Gun Victim
An attractive 22-year-old acrobat for the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus was in Providence Memorial Hospital Saturday night with a bullet wound in the upper left side of her back. W.H. Reynolds, chief of the circus police, reported the shooting to El Paso police after taking the wounded girl to El Paso General Hospital for treatment. She was later transferred to Providence.
The bullet entered the right hip and ranged upwards through the abdominal cavity and lodged in the upper left side of the back muscle, according to x-ray examinations. The doctor who x-rayed the victim said the slug is about a .32 caliber and indicated that if the slug was in the abdominal cavity it would be left there unless complications set in.
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Contradictory statements
Detectives who questioned Miss Smith at the hospital said she gave contradictory statements regarding the shooting and said they believe she knows who shot her.
Miss Smith said she was shot as she was walking alongside the train. Earlier, she told officers she had been shot while entering her sleeping car.
She said that as she started to enter the car she felt something strike her in the right leg and knock her down. She also told officers there were four or five men alongside the platform when she passed but said she did not think she knew any of the men.
Attendants at the hospital reported Miss Smith was in a fair condition.
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Oct. 12, 1953, El Paso Times
Police Probe Circus Queen Shooting
Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus left El Paso for a two-day stand in Albuquerque, N.M., early Sunday as police here came up with new evidence in the early-morning shooting of an attractive 22-year-old circus acrobat.
The wounded girl, Margaret Smith, remained in Providence Memorial Hospital here with a bullet wound inflicted by an unknown person about 3:30 a.m. Saturday in the Santa Fe Freight Yards, where the circus’ rolling living quarters were situated.
In a statement to police, Arthur M. Concello, superintendent of operations for the circus, said he had met and had a drink with Miss Smith early Saturday but had not been with her when the shooting occurred.
Superintendent heard a shot
Concello, who does not travel with the circus but moved by car, still was in the city Sunday, staying in a motel. He said he had left the rail car in which his wife lives about 11 p.m. Friday, had walked around a little while, and then had met Miss Smith, police reported.
He said he asked her if she would like to have a drink and she agreed, and the two started to go to Juárez, but turned around at the bridge and returned to a rail car in the yards. He said they had a drink and “stayed around there about 15 minutes” and Miss Smith left for the car in which she lived.
“She was gone about two minutes when I heard a shot and she came back, telling me she had been shot,” Concello said.
The pair called W.H. Reynolds, chief of the circus police, and he took Miss Smith to El Paso General Hospital. She later was transferred to Providence where she was reported “doing well and not in serious condition” Sunday.
Mrs. Concello said her husband left her car about 1 a.m. and did not return until late in the day Saturday.
Oct. 14, 1953, El Paso Times
‘Mysterious’ Shooting Explained
The “mysterious” shooting of 22-year-old Margaret Smith, a Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus aerialist, was cleared Tuesday by Arthur M. Concello circus superintendent who told police he had shot the girl accidentally while both were drinking in a lounge car in the Santa Fe freight yards.
Concello’s statement to the officers read:
“My wife and I returned from across the bridge about 11 or 11:30 p.m. Oct. 9. We went directly to our car where we stayed. I read for a few minutes and then left. I went to where they were unloading the cars and to Hotel del Norte, and back to the freight yards.
“As I returned to my car, I met Margaret Smith who is with the circus. I asked her if she would go with me across the bridge for a couple of drinks. We both walked t the bridge, but did not go across, and instead we returned to our car where we have a bar. The bar is in Car 369.
Cooked up a story
“We stayed for a while drinking, Margaret was standing by the bar and pretty soon she laid down on the couch. I was playing with a .25 caliber automatic when it went off accidentally.
“Margaret cried out, I must have hit her. I went to Chief Reynolds and told him what had happened.
“In order to avoid any bad publicity, we cooked up a story that she had left my car and someone outside had shot her. We thought nothing would come of it.”
When the officers confronted Miss Smith with Concello’s statement at Providence Memorial Hospital, she broke down and admitted that her previous statements were all a “hoax.”
Miss Smith told officers that some time after midnight Oct. 10, she met Concello around a string of cars in which circus people sleep.
“He asked me to go with him for a drink across the bridge. We walked t the bridge, but instead returned to Car 369, which has a bar. We both were alone and had a few drinks. Mr. Concello was sitting near me. I was on the couch. Mr. Concello was playing around with a gun. I don’t know what type of gun it was. All of a sudden a shot was fired. The shot hit me on the right thigh. I know he did not do it intentionally as we were not arguing and he had no reason for it,” Miss Smith said.
No Prosecution
She told police that she did not wish to prosecute as she knows it was an accident.
The District Attorney’s Office notified police they would not prosecute in view of Miss Smith’s statement that the shooting was accidental.
“The case is closed as far as we’re concerned,” Detective Lt. C.J. Horak said.
Concello told police he would remain in El Paso a few more days before rejoining the circus. The circus was in Clovis, N.M., Tuesday night.
Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com or 915-546-6179.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Mysterious shooting of circus acrobat investigated: Trish Long
