Today is Sunday, March 15th, 2020.

On this day in 44 B.C. Roman general and dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a cabal of rival senators. Welcome to Today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised. Extreme caution is advised

for listeners under 13. Today we're covering the death of 55-year- old Julius Caesar.

Let's go back to ancient Rome

in the early hours of the morning of March 15th, 44th,

B.

The morning started slowly for Caesar.

The eyes of March was an important religious holiday for the Romans, as well as the day

to settle debts. He had plenty to do, yet couldn't even seem to get started. Instead, he had to endure a deluge of ominous warnings

and paranoid whispers.

His doctors worried he would soon have a dizzy spell and collapse.

His friends claimed there was a conspiracy against him. Even his wife,

Calpurnia, harangued him to stay at home, claiming she'd had frightening dreams of his violent demise. Luckily, he was saved by his friend and

confidant Decimus Brutus. Brutus waved away Calperia's complaints and the rumors of revolt as idle gossip.

The senators had invited Caesar to the theater, hoping to honor him with a gladiatorial

show. If he turned them down over a strange dream, they'd be insulted.

Brutus and Caesar then made the long walk from Caesar's home to the theater of Pompey, constructed

by his ally turned Nemesis, Pompey the Great.

Though Caesar had mixed feelings about the general, he admired Pompey's legacy.

The theater was the first of its kind and featured a breathtaking manicured garden, complete with

hand-sculpted water pieces. But Caesar didn't get much

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