Rosario Emilio. Crime of Passion

By: J. Young

“A crime of passion involves a spouse whom, upon finding his or her partner in bed with another, kills the romantic interloper.”

Twenty-six years after Billy the Kid’s daring escape from Lincoln’s death row, another man escaped the same fate…his name was Rosario Emilio.

Rosario Emilio was the son of an Italian man named Rocco Emilio. Rocco was the owner and operator of the La Paloma saloon. The La Paloma saloon was opened for business in the late 1880s and sat across from The Lincoln County Courthouse . As a youngster Rosario worked at his fathers bar. Rosario spoke Italian, English and Spanish. He was very popular among the Hispanic community and became romantically involved with a Mexican girl named Antonia Carrillo de Mirabel. Eventually they began living with each other.

It is a little skeptical at what happened next but according to reports Antonia was traveling towards Roswell with a companion, a report claims she was with another man. Regardless, Rosario caught up with them and persuaded Antonia to talk in private. The two rode ahead down the road and as soon as they were out of sight two shots rang out…Antonia was dead. She was just 18 years old. Her killer Rosario was 27.

Her body was left lying along the trail with two bullet wounds from a 30-30. One through the head and another into the body at the heart. About a week later after the killing, Rosario was captured and arrested for murder. After being held for court for 3 weeks, on May 3rd 1905, Rosario Emilio, was convicted of first-degree murder.

During the trial Rosario pleaded not guilty. He heinously testified that his dead girlfriend committed suicide. This claim was found to be dubious by witnesses who heard two shots and the fact that the body had two bullet wounds.

At this point another story pops into play that she was with her parents in a wagon before she was enticed to go with Rosario leading to her death. It is interesting because in some jurisdictions, a successful “crime of passion” defense may result in a conviction for manslaughter or second degree murder instead of first degree murder, because a defendant cannot ordinarily be convicted of first degree murder unless the crime was premeditated.

Regardless, Rosario Emilio was sentenced to hang on March 22nd 1907 for killing his girlfriend, Antonia Carrillo de Mirabel east of Lincoln. An earlier execution date was immediately requested but Rosario’s attorney obtained a stay of execution and filed an appeal. Rosario’s lawyer then requested to move the trial to a new location, however it was later denied, but it did back the execution date until August 23rd 1907.

Shortly after the gallows were built, it was discovered that Rosario was too slippery for Lincoln, on April 26th 1907 in the middle of night, Rosario Emilio and a Mexican prisoner known only as Gomez successfully escaped the Lincoln County jail. Lincoln County Sheriff John W. Owens vowed to recapture Rosario or he would die trying.

Rosario Emilio was never heard from again and vanished.