New Recording 32 (2)

In this episode of Slaying, a podcast about grisly murders, the story of Othello, a successful general, is explored. Othello falls in love with Desimone, despite their age difference and societal disapproval. Two men, Rodrigo and Viago, become jealous and conspire to ruin Othello's life. They manipulate events, leading to a fight between Cassio and Rodrigo, causing Cassio to lose his job. Viago then plants a handkerchief in Cassio's room to make it seem like Desimone was unfaithful. Othello becomes paranoid and confronts Desimone, ultimately killing her. Rodrigo is killed by Cassio and Iago, and in the end, Othello realizes his mistake and takes his own life. The story highlights the destructive power of jealousy and desire. Hi, and welcome back to another episode of Slaying. This episode is called A Turn for the Worse. It's about a happily newlywed couple falling into the traps of jealousy that were set up from the people they trusted the most. This is a story of scandals of adultery, an orchestrated plan for murder, and a deadly desire for promotion. But was it manipulation, infidelity, and a fabrication of a series of lies that led to the downfall of a successful general? Or was there something more sinister at hand? Welcome to Slaying, a podcast where we tell you details of grisly murders of everyday people. I'm Julie, and in this episode we will be covering the case of Othello, who was once a prosperous general with a beautiful wife and a mission for success. Tune in to see how his story takes a sudden turn for the worse. In the middle of the night in Venus, Italy, a couple secretly eloped. But this couple was Othello and Desimone. Othello, a 28-year-old Venetian general, fell in love with a 14-year-old Desimone. They met through Desimone's father, Brabantio. Othello served under Brabantio in the Navy, which caused Othello to constantly be over at their residence, since they had a very close relationship. He would often tell Desimone stories about his travels and wars, and she soon fell in love with him. They married in secret, since their love was very much looked down upon. Many people were against the union, including Brabantio. There was someone who was particularly opposed to the marriage, named Rodrigo. Rodrigo was a friend of Viago, who also worked for Brabantio. Rodrigo had taken a liking to Desimone, which had quickly turned into infatuation and jealousy. So as he said, Rodrigo said some nasty things to Brabantio in an audio recording. Rodrigo explaining these things about Othello shows his jealousy of the new marriage, making him only want to destroy it more. For a while, he had tried to win her over with gifts and constantly asked Brabantio for permission to marry her, which he denied repeatedly. He imagined his anger when he found out about Othello and Desimone's marriage. Rodrigo was not the only jealous man in this story. Viago so desperately wanted Cassio to show his intent that he would virtually do anything to take it away from him. He stated that Cassio was undeserving and that he was a better fit, so he came up with a disastrous and evil plan. Rodrigo was not able to be interviewed for reasons that will be revealed later in the story, but Viago testified in his name. Viago told reporters that Rodrigo stated, Him confessing that he would drown himself shows that he is so infatuated with Desimone that he would do anything for her. In Cyprus, there was a party thrown to celebrate the defeat of the Turkish army. This night is the night to start this evil demise for all the parties involved, starting with Viago who had his plan to get Cassio drunk. From sources at the party, it is said that Viago stated, Cassio continuously drank until a fight broke out between him and Rodrigo. This fight was not normal. It was planned out by Viago. Viago and Rodrigo conspired to get Cassio drunk and instigate a fight that would cause them to lose his job. They did just that. When the fight was over, Cassio was devastated by his reputation being ruined. This was only the first step in Viago's plan. After having a conversation with her friend Cassio, Desimone promises to try her best to get his job back. It all seemed to be getting better until Viago went through phase two of his plan. Viago knew that to really anger Othello, he would have to go for Desimone, the thing he loved most. He had to do it in a way that could never be traced back to him. It all started with the hangerchief. The hangerchief was specifically important because it was the hangerchief that Othello gave Desimone. Viago hired her wife to take the hangerchief, which he knew that she would do because she would do anything to please her unloving husband. Now that he had this hangerchief, he placed it in Cassio's bedroom to make it look like Desimone had been in there. I will, when Cassio is lodging, lose this napkin and let him find it. Trifle as light as air. Viago knew that this manipulation would send Othello into a downward spiral of paranoia and anxiety surrounding his wife and her infidelity. No, not much moved. Nothing but Desimone's honest. They start to fight and their relationship became rocky. The truth was Desimone really loved her husband and would never do that to him. Viago was well aware that this could not prove anything and he would need more proof to convince Othello that his wife was cheating. Viago knows in some way he had to find further proof of the scandal. What a better way to make it look like Cassio is admitting to the affair with Desimone. So he tells Othello to hide while Iago talks to Cassio. Othello thought that Iago was getting Cassio to admit to having an affair with Desimone, but he was really discussing his relationship with his mistress, Bianca. This conversation made it seem like there was solid evidence of Desimone's infidelity. Othello still wasn't fully convinced, so Iago tells Othello that Cassio was sleeping. He would sleep talk about Desimone. Othello was beyond angered. He was so stressed and overwhelmed that he fell into a seizure. All the while, Desimone was still trying to keep her promise and get Cassio's job back. When Othello met with Desimone and her cousin Ludovico, Othello shockingly strikes her in front of her own family. She shuts down after being hit and goes back to her chamber with Emilia. From other sources, they explain that they overheard Emilia saying, but I do think it is the husband's fault if wives do fall, say that they slack their duties, while Emilia is explaining that this is when Othello and Iago discuss their plans to murder both Cassio and Desimone. Little did everyone know that at night, Othello would commit the act of murdering his wife. While in the street, Iago runs into nervous Rodrigo. Iago convinces Rodrigo to kill Cassio for him. Rodrigo thinks if he kills Cassio, it will give him more time to make moves on Desimone. In reality, though, Iago wanted Rodrigo to murder Cassio so that he didn't have to do it himself, but he still got the job done. Suddenly, Cassio and Rodrigo are now fighting, which leads to Rodrigo getting stabbed and falling to his death. Iago sneakily goes behind Cassio and stabs him in the leg. Bianca saw this happen and told us Iago from behind wounds Cassio in the leg and then runs away, which he knew would not get him in trouble because it would look as though Iago was saving Rodrigo from being stabbed by Cassio. The scene was found by Ludovico, Montano, Bianco, and Emilia, and they rushed all people involved to the hospital. They sent Emilia to go tell Othello and Desimone what was going on. While this is happening, Othello is going on with his plan to kill sweet old Desimone. Right before he goes on with it, Emilia knocks on their chamber's door, telling them what is going on before hearing Desimone's mumbling her last words. She runs in to see the horrible scene of Desimone suffocated on the bed by her own husband, Othello. Before Desimone dies, she admits that she killed herself to show her true love and loyalty to Othello. It got around that Desimone has said, nobody, I myself, farewell. Then that's when everybody all starts to show up to the scene. Emilia started to put pieces together to Iago's plan. Suddenly, Iago tries to stab her and runs, but he gets caught and brought back in the room. Othello succumbs to his despair and realizes that his wife was in fact innocent. He then stabs himself and dies. At the end of this tragic tale, three were killed, one committed suicide. An evil string of lies came to light and ruined the lives of all people involved. Jealousy, envy, and lust were the roots of their downfall. Desire can make people do crazy things and this story just proves that.