Ricardo Matos dos Santos, a 20 year-old Circo Picolino circus arts educator, known as an exemplary young man was shot dead when playing football with some friends in Boca do Rio, only 5 minutes down the coast from the Circo Picolino project itself.
Witnesses described seeing a car drive up, two men got out of the vehicle and fired first at Robson de Souza Pinho, a 19-year-old who, according to the police, had been involved in muggings and drugs. Ricardo raised his hands to prove his innocence and tried to show his documents but he was shot down and killed.
When Ricardo’s body was released his father could not believe it was his son, saying “He looked monstrous, not my well-brought up boy. My boy was an exemplary citizen; he even represented Bahia in other regions.” A neighbour stressed Ricardo’s good character, “I never saw him involved in anything bad”.
Ricardo had progressed through the circus from childhood to become an arts educator with so much promise for his future. A fellow Circo Picolino artist, unable to contain his tears, remembered his hardworking friend of 10 years, saying he dreamed of being able to support his family, “He was killed as if he was just nothing, he didn’t even have the right to defend himself.”
Tiago Alves, ex-Picolino worker sent this message to other NGOs “The brutal execution of the artist and our friend Ricardinho has shocked all of us, relatives, friends, social organizations, communities. It puts all of us in a constant state of risk for our lives. [There were] …eight shots and many tears, much suffering, and feelings of injustice and impotence in face of impunity.”
Ricardo’s father said that whoever killed his son were cowards; he didn’t want to accuse civil police, although many suspect the involvement of a police death squad.
Circus artists paid homage to Ricardo at the funeral and joined a protest against his death blocking off a main highway into Salvador. Circo Picolino is in mourning, the circus displays a banner demanding justice and is flying a black flag. They have been doing all they can to protect Ricardo’s family from further violence and to bring the crime to the attention of the local, national and international NGO community.
Circo Picolino continues its work to help children develop their skills and confidence to have a better future, and the determination and resilience of the project is certainly never more important than at times like these.
Update: from Atarde online news 20/03/2008
Three military policemen were identified by witness accounts and arrested on Wednesday 19th March accused of the murder of the circus artist Ricardo Matos dos Santos.
Investigator Andréa Gonçalves has said that there is a fourth person involved in the incident who has yet to be identified:
“We believe that the ‘reason’ for the murders was the robbery of two bicycles and a mobile in Pituaçu Park, attributed to Nenga and Robson, just days before the double homicide.” One of the victims of this recent robbery is the relative of a military official who would know police working in the area.
The investigator said not to discard the possibility of the soldiers having participated in other murders. “We have no proof to back this up, but maybe there will be further action after the pictures appear in the media”, she clarified.
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