THE TRAGEDY OF THE "KING OF MARKSMEN"

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 78, 29 September 1934, Page 25

THE TRAGEDY OF THE "KING OF MARKSMEN"

For three weeks audiences of Salon ica were held spellbound by one of tho star turns of the famous "Eu'ropa" Circus, that of Wassili, the "Hng of marksmen," whoso performances havo beon seen by thousands, says an English paper. Ho began by emulating tho exploit of William Tell, shooting an apple poised on the head of a clown, and finished by outlining the graceful form of his beautiful partner, known as tho Princess Nadia Baranikoff, with rifle bullets driven into the wall against which she stood. Never onco did tho lodging placo of the bullets vary by as much as a fraction of an inch, so unerring—it seemed —was tho aim of the marksman, and admiration for the skill of tho man was mingled with amazement at the nervo of tho woman, who never seemed to flicker an eyelid while tho rounds were being fired.

At least, not until the last performance, when the body of the woman was seen to sway and then fall to earth. No one seemed more distressed than "Wassili, and when the body was examined it was found that a bullet had gone through the heart.

The presence of a live cartridge in tho riflo was not the least mysterious thing about tho affair, for the management confessed that though the public had been led to believe- that deathdealing charges were in the rifle, the rounds had always been blank.

Tho theory of accident was discount

Ed by the presence of the live bullet, and it was further discredited when witnesses came forward to toll of a violent quarrel between tho couplo at the flat, where they had lived together as man' and wife pending their retirement to take up farming in their native Estonia.

It was revealed also that Wassili, whoso real namo is Lee Gavcrin, had gono back on his promise to marry his partner and was in lovo with a beautiful Greek girl who had boen the friend of the Princess.

The king of marksmen was arrested and charged with the crime of murder. His conviction was^a foregono con' elusion when tho Judge in charge of the case was handed a telbgram addressed to tho accused from tho brother of the dead woman, a business man in Ceylon. This asked, "Has anything happened to Nadia? Bo on your guard against suicide by some means or other." In response to a'message from the Judge tho brother sent a letter ho had received from the living target. In this she had declared that she' had learned of the love of her partner for her friend, and being unwilling to stand in their way she had decided to get out of it by death. It appears that she herself had placed tho live cartridge in tho rifle, and when her lover fired the first shot she had wriggled her body forward to receive the charge in tho heart.