Editing Plautia Urgulanilla (section)

== Murder of Apronia ==
The murder in which Urgulanilla is supposed to have participated was that of her sister-in-law, Apronia, who was the second wife of Urgulanilla's brother, [[Marcus Plautius Silvanus (praetor 24)|Marcus Plautius Silvanus]]. However, none of the existing ancient writings makes clear how she was involved, and the details provided by Tacitus seem to imply she could not have been personally involved at all.<ref>Tacitus, ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annales]]'' IV.22.3</ref>  Plautius Silvanus was first married to [[Fabia Numantina]]; however, at some time before 24 AD, they had divorced, and he had married Apronia, a daughter of [[Lucius Apronius]]. In 24 AD, Plautius Silvanus was accused of murdering Apronia "for reasons not ascertained" by throwing her out of a window in that year. Silvanus responded by claiming that he was asleep when the event had occurred, and was totally unaware of the circumstances leading to her death, saying that she had perhaps committed suicide. The murder was investigated by the [[Tiberius|Emperor Tiberius]] who, having investigated the couple's bedroom, discovered proof of a scuffle, and therefore referred the case to the Senate for trial, thus implying that he believed Silvanus to be guilty. However, Silvanus' grandmother, [[Urgulania]], sent him a dagger, encouraging him to commit suicide, which he duly did. Shortly after the murder of Apronia, Fabia Numantina was "charged with having caused her husband's insanity by magical incantations and potions" but was acquitted.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annales'' IV.22.3</ref><ref>Ronald Syme, ''Augustan Aristocracy'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), p.&nbsp;418</ref>