After much back and forth and the appearance of Lucius Verginius, Appius declared his verdict: the girl was a slave and would be sent to the house of his friend. Appalled and terrified, Verginius took drastic action: he grabbed his teenage daughter and plunged a knife into her heart. When questioned about what he had done, he said through his tears that he would rather lose his daughter to death than dishonour.
