Ep. 445: “Killed by Circus Lion” - Graves From a Small Town

Ep. 445: “Killed by Circus Lion” - Graves From a Small Town

From Bear Grease by MeatEater

April 22, 2026 · 51 min · Season 6

About this episode

The episode recounts tragic and remarkable stories from small towns, focusing on the deaths of Maria de Campa and Peter Berryman.

In small towns all over America, there are remarkable and tragic stories that if not told could easily slip into oblivion. These stories must be recounted so history doesn’t get lost and the mistakes of the past are never repeated. In Mena, Arkansas, the hometown of host Clay Newcomb there are two notable graves nearly in sight of one another.  One holds a story so unbelievable and tragic that it hardly sounds true, and one story that holds some dark history. In 1951, Maria de Campa, the 9 year old daughter of trapeze artists was killed by an unattended circus lion outside the big top as the show performance was underway. Then the following day, as the circus moved to the next town on their tour a vehicle accident resulted in the escape of some exotic and dangerous animals into the National Forest. Rewind 50 years before, to the story of Peter Berryman, a mentally unstable African American man who was arrested for allegedly kicking a young girl. The night before he was to stand trial before the judge, a group of masked men detained the deputy on duty, entered the jail, took Berryman, and beat and lynched him.  Despite town outrage, the perpetrators were never…

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Host: Clay Newcomb

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Places: Mena, Arkansas

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