Pod Insights Conspiracy Theories Did the Pope Cover Up His Son's Murder? About this episode When Juan Borgia died in 1497, his father, Pope Alexander VI, swore he’d find the killer. But just two weeks later, the Pope suddenly closed the case – without naming or punishing the murderer. The Pope might have covered up the killer’s identity for political reasons… or because it was one of his other children.
Keep up with Conspiracy Theories! Instagram: @theconspiracypodTikTok: @conspiracy.pod
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript 0:06 Speaker 00 I don't know about you, but I love The Godfather. The manipulation, the backstabbing, the conflict between the life Michael Corleone wants and the dangerous family business. But author Mario Puzo didn't just base the book on personal experience. He also drew inspiration from a real-life famous family: the Borgias. In the 1490s, Rodrigo Borgia pulled his children into the family business. He moved them like pawns in his world of secrets, schemes, and cover-ups. Whether they liked it or not, the children were part of their father's quest for glory.
0:49 Speaker 00 And when Rodrigo became pope, it magnified tenfold. That all came back to bite him when his son was violently murdered. The pope publicly vowed to find and punish the killer. But just two weeks later, he closed the investigation forever, without naming a suspect. Whatever he'd uncovered, he wasn't sharing it with the world. And if he knew who did it, he abused his papal authority to cover up a murder.
1:27 Speaker 00 Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast. I'm Carter Roy. New episodes come out every Wednesday. We'd love to hear from you, so if you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts, or check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod. This episode contains discussions of murder, incest, violence, and sexuality. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. Stay with us.
1:58 Speaker 00 This episode is brought to you by 7-Up. Ever notice lemon is everywhere? Lemon recipes, lemon album names, lemon yellow fashion? And when it comes to lemon lime sodas? Why is lemon always first? There's a reason. A shadowy organization called The Lemonati has been keeping big lemon on top of the soda world for decades. But the sip is about to be flipped. 7-Up is fighting back, swapping lemon lime for their new Lime Lemon Soda. Now lime comes first. 7-Up: Flip the Sip.
2:40 Speaker 00 This episode is brought to you by Petivity. Every cat has a few unsolved mysteries. Why the 3 a.m. zoomies? What's so fascinating about that one empty box? And at mealtime, are they actually eating differently? Or does it just seem that way? The new Petivity Smart Feeder for cats turns everyday meals into meaningful health insights, helping you identify changes in your cat's habits and be more proactive about their health. Take the mystery out of mealtime. Visit petivity.com/catfeeder to learn more.
3:23 Speaker 01 This episode is brought to you by Petivity. Cat parents are basically mealtime detectives. Who actually ate? Did they finish? Was that less than yesterday? The new Petivity Smart Feeder for cats turns everyday meals into meaningful health insights, helping you identify changes in your cat's habits and be more proactive about their health. Plus, you can feed them from anywhere. Take the mystery out of mealtime. Visit petivity.com/petivity.com/catfeeder to learn more.
3:54 Speaker 00 Almost from birth, the four Borja children were assigned lifelong roles, destined to serve the family's pursuit of power. Cesare was destined for the church, Juan for the military, Lucrezia for a political marriage, and Joffre for whatever was most useful when he grew up. He was the spare. At the time, their father was a Catholic cardinal. I know, you might be thinking, "Catholic clergy aren't allowed to have children? What about the vow of celibacy?" The Catholic Church was different during the Renaissance, and in the 1400s in Italy, no one was really following the celibacy rule.
4:37 Speaker 00 Clergy still didn't marry, but they reproduced. Now, most clergy claimed their children as nephews, but not this cardinal. He formally claimed his children as his own. He took an active interest in their lives and education, and had his cousin raise them while he worked his way up to the top of the church. The church was already the Borja family business, with multiple bishops, cardinals, and even one pope already in the family tree. So it wasn't shocking when Cardinal Rodrigo Borja became Pope Alexander VI in 1492. As head of the Catholic Church,
5:19 Speaker 00 the Pope received a shocking amount of earthly power: his own army, and treasury, and absolute rule over the Vatican City and various territories, just like a king. Like I said, the Catholic Church was very different during the Renaissance. Pope Alexander was among the most powerful people in Europe. To maintain that power, he conscripted his kids into powerful roles: the original nepo babies, a 1400 succession. The eldest, Cesare, took his father's old position of cardinal, one level below the Pope. The second, Juan, was dubbed Duke of Gandia, a region of Spain.
6:03 Speaker 00 The Borja's ancestors immigrated from Spain, which is why he's usually called Juan and not the Italian version of his name, Giovanni. The daughter, Lucrezia, was wed to Giovanni Sforza, a scion of one of the most powerful families around. They essentially ruled Milan, and one of their patriarchs, Cardinal Sforza, was the linchpin vote in electing Pope Alexander during the conclave. The marriage cemented this new alliance. The baby Joffrey was married to cement another alliance to Sansia, princess of Squilacce.
6:44 Speaker 00 And if you're thinking those names sound familiar, plenty of people online think the Borgias helped inspire Game of Thrones. And as you'll see, it's not just the names. Flash forward a couple of years to June 14th, 1497. 22-year-old Cesare was about to go out of town on church business, so his parents threw a going-away dinner. His mother hosted it at her home. Even though she didn't raise her children, and her affair with the Pope was long over, she stayed in the picture. Her dinner guests included Pope Alexander, Cesare, and 21-year-old Juan.
7:25 Speaker 00 Other guest names are lost to history, though it seems like a decent-sized crowd, based on the fact that Juan brought a plus-one, a mysterious masked man. Which, at the time, was less "wait, what?", I'm sorry, masked man, and more "ugh, gross." Syphilis ran rampant in Italy, and victims often wore masks to cover the sores it left on their faces. Even Cesare wore one in his later years. Still, it was odd that no one knew who the masked man was, except Juan. Apparently, they'd been sighted together several times over the past month.
8:06 Speaker 00 And maybe it would have been nothing if this wasn't the kind of dinner party where, by the end of the night, one of the guests dies. Yeah, a 15th-century whodunit! We don't know exactly what went down at dinner, but everyone lived through dessert. Late in the night, Cesare, Juan, and the masked man started walking home, accompanied by a servant and a donkey. Sounds like the beginning of a joke? It's not. On the road, they split up from the servant and the donkey, telling him they'd catch up later. They had private business to attend to. The so-called "business" remains private to this day.
8:49 Speaker 00 It's unknown where Shazare, Juan, and the masked man went next. But Juan Borgia didn't make it home that night. The masked man vanished too. Shazare returned to his home safely and alone. At first, everyone assumed that Juan was at the home of one of his mistresses. He had several. When he visited a mistress, Juan usually came home after dark. The next night, doubling down. But another night passed, and Juan remained missing. Pope Alexander grew worried. He deeply loved his children, and Juan was the golden boy.
9:34 Speaker 00 The one he chose to escort his only daughter at her wedding. The one he sent to impress the Borja relatives at the Spanish royal court. The one he put in charge of the papal army. Juan wouldn't vanish on purpose. So the pope sent out search parties, ordering them to do whatever it took to find his son. He may have been the pope, but he was still a worried dad. Armed with swords, the searchers hit the streets, looking high and low. Eventually, they found the donkey Juan and Shazare had left with. Then they found the servant. Dead. Pretty clear sign of foul play.
10:19 Speaker 00 Interviewing witnesses, the search party learned two things. First, before he died, the servant spoke to a local homeowner. According to them, the servant was attacked in the piazza while waiting for Juan and Shazare to return from their private rendezvous. Second, in that same area the night Juan disappeared, a local fisherman saw five men with a white horse toss a body into the Tiber River, then throw rocks on top of it until it sank. When asked why he didn't report it immediately... He said it happened all the time.
11:02 Speaker 00 The Pope ordered his men to drag the Tiber River, promising a reward for any evidence. Pretty quickly, the men found Juan's body. He'd been stabbed to death, tied up, and dumped. He was still dressed for the party, with thirty gold ducats in his pockets. To the Pope, that confirmed it wasn't a robbery gone wrong, or an accident. It was a murder. Pope Alexander publicly declared he'd find whoever killed his beloved son and exact revenge. But less than two weeks later, he closed the investigation with no arrest.
11:47 Speaker 00 That day, the Pope made a public announcement. His son Joffrey Borja, the co-captain-general of Juan's papal army, and the entire Sforza family were declared innocent of the murder. No further investigation would be done. From now on, the Pope would focus his energies on reforming the Catholic Church. He didn't say who killed Juan. The murder was, and is, unsolved. And this is wild, because the Pope had more power than anyone around him. Remember, he was at the level of a king. He put his face on the money.
12:30 Speaker 00 If he wanted to punish someone, he could.
12:35 Speaker 00 There are many suspects, but if you believe the conspiracy theory that the Pope covered up the truth, it narrows down the list to essentially two sets of suspects. The first set attracts suspicion due to Juan's last-known location.
12:54 Speaker 00 According to Cesare Borja, after the dinner party, Cesare, Juan, the masked man, and the servant headed home. Along the way, Juan wanted to split off, presumably to see one of his mistresses. Cesare didn't get a straight answer. He warned Juan, "It's unsafe for rich men to walk alone at night. He could be robbed." So Juan sent the servant back to the Vatican to get his armor. That way, he could wear it on his solo errand. And yes, that contradicts the homeowner's account, where the servant was ordered to wait in the piazza. Anyway, in Cesare's account, when he and Juan parted ways,
13:37 Speaker 00 Juan didn't walk toward his home. He and the masked man walked in the direction of the Sforza Manor. Remember, the Sforza family struck an alliance with the Borjas around the time Pope Alexander became Pope. Cardinal Sforza helped secure the election, and Pope Alexander married his daughter to one of the Sforza's sons. But that power alliance may have spawned deception, blackmail, and murder.
14:16 Speaker 02 Born from the intensity of a night in the Eternal City, introducing Born in Roma Fragrances by Valentino. Feminine perfume Donna Born in Roma features juicy black currant, central jasmine, soft cashmerin, and warm vanilla. Masculine-leaning but unisex Womo has notes of fresh violet leaf, aromatic sage, green vetiver, and mineral salt. Shop holiday gifts at Macy's.com.
14:45 Speaker 03 Gray roots entering the chat, uninvited? Garnier's got you. Garnier Color Sensation Root Retouch covers up to 100% of grays in just 10 minutes. No ammonia, no mess, and the color lasts up to four weeks. It's as easy to apply as shampoo. Plus, it's vegan and cruelty-free. 10 minutes, sensational color, sensational price. With those savings, your next girls' night is basically free. Find your perfect match at Walmart.com or at a store near you.
15:15 Speaker 00 In the 1400s, Italy was a collection of city-states, each largely ruled by one powerful family. Think of it like the five families in The Godfather, only there were more than five. The families fought for power, struck alliances, and engaged in feuds, like the Montagues and Capulets in Romeo and Juliet. When the Borgias came from Spain, they entered into this system, finding their own allies as they rose to power. And when those allies were no longer useful, they backstabbed them. That's what they did to the Sforza's in the 1490s.
15:57 Speaker 00 In 1493, a marriage alliance united Lucrezia Borja and Giovanni Sforza. But by early 1497, the year of Juan's murder, Pope Alexander VI wanted out. The Sforza's weren't useful to him anymore. Now that he was pope, he didn't need small fry deals with city-states. He wanted to take his power international and ally with an entire country: Spain. The king of Spain had a son looking to marry: Alfonso of Aragon. But Pope Alexander only had one daughter: Lucrezia.
16:40 Speaker 00 To cement this Spanish alliance, he needed her to be single. And here's where it gets complicated. At the time, divorce was a major no-no in Catholicism, and the pope's family had to play by the rules, at least in public. That meant finding a loophole. And Pope Alexander found one. In Catholicism, a marriage can be declared invalid if it isn't consummated.
17:11 Speaker 00 So the Borgias claimed that 18-year-old Lucrezia was still a virgin and had never gone to bed with Giovanni Sforza, meaning they were never actually married. Legally, she was single. Unfortunately, Giovanni wasn't keen to let his wife go. The Borgias' status had only risen since Alexander became Pope, and Lucrezia was filthy rich. For the Sforzas, this alliance was really paying off. So Pope Alexander had to play dirty. The Borgias claimed that the reason the marriage was never valid was because Giovanni Sforza was impotent.
17:54 Speaker 00 He was physically unable to consummate. Giovanni did not take this well. He said, "Name a time and place and he'd have sex in front of an audience. He'd prove himself." Pope Alexander said, "Thanks, but no thanks", and continued negotiating with the Sforza elders. This was all still going on when Juan died. So when Cesare said Juan was last seen heading down the road to the Sforza residence, his statement implicated them. And Juan, he was very much involved in the feud. He'd gotten into physical fights with Giovanni Sforza and Cardinal Sforza.
18:38 Speaker 00 That second fight ended with their servants killing each other in the street. Again, very Romeo and Juliet. Now Giovanni was out of town at the time of Juan's murder, but perhaps Juan set off after the dinner party to finish what he and the Cardinal had started and lost. Or maybe he was spotted on the road and attacked as the Sforza's secret revenge. They probably weren't going to win the divorce fight. The Pope held the authority to destroy anyone who truly challenged him. But if the Sforzas could make the murder look like someone else did it, they could slyly get back at him for the Borgias' offense to their family.
19:23 Speaker 00 You might be thinking, wait, didn't Pope Alexander clear the Sforza's in his official statement? Yeah, he did, but he had good reason to. Not prosecuting the Sforza's would keep the feud from blowing out of control. The cover-up was a calculated move to secure peace, a bit of political theater. I know you did it, but I'll keep your secret so this blows over. Or Pope Alexander was blackmailed into clearing the Sforza's. Because that summer, a rumor flew around about Juan's death.
20:04 Speaker 00 That Giovanni Sforza had Juan killed as revenge after he discovered Juan was sleeping with his wife. Now, Juan slept with many men's wives, but Giovanni's wife was Juan's sister Lucrezia Borja. Yes, these were incest allegations, and hold that thought because it gets worse. Right around when Juan died, Lucrezia learned she was pregnant. See what I mean about Game of Thrones? Now, the pregnancy is a confirmed fact. The paternity is not. Either way, it was a major problem for the Borjas.
20:47 Speaker 00 Lucrezia's pending divorce was predicated on her virginity. If the Sforza's could prove Lucrezia wasn't a virgin, the grounds for the divorce were null, and the Pope looked like an idiot. So, here's where we get to the meat of this conspiracy theory. Supposedly, the Sforza's murdered Juan, and Pope Alexander found out in his two-week investigation. He confronted them, and they revealed that they knew about Lucrezia's virginity, or non-virginity. Then, the Sforza's blackmailed the Pope into striking a closed-door deal.
21:30 Speaker 00 If the Pope publicly cleared them of the murder, the Sforza's would allow Lucrezia and Giovanni's divorce to go through. This allowed the Pope to save face and ensured a tentative peace between the feuding families.
21:48 Speaker 00 That's all, just a theory, but a few months after the Pope publicly cleared the Sforza's of guilt, the divorce was finalized and the Sforza's got to keep Lucrezia's dowry, essentially a payoff. Then the Church formally declared Lucrezia a virgin. She wore a big, flowy dress to the ceremony. It was totally just for fashion, not for concealment. The Sforza's didn't press the issue. A few months later, the Pope formally recognized a new baby Borgia, um, Cesare's illegitimate child with an unknown woman. The Borgia family
22:33 Speaker 00 raised the little boy and rumors spread he was Lucrezia's child. Meanwhile, in 1498, Lucrezia married Spanish Prince Alfonso, who was on the wiser. "The Borgia sports a feud. That's water under the bridge, few dead bodies, a little incest. Eh, let's move on." One thing is clear. The Borgias excelled at covering for their own, which brings us to the next set of suspects in Juan's murder: his siblings. Maybe it wasn't the in-laws
23:11 Speaker 00 Pope Alexander covered for, but one of his own children. In his book, The Borgias, historian G. J. Meyer wrote, "Statistically, the Italian warlords stood in far greater risk of being murdered by their own relatives than of dying in battle." And Juan's siblings had motives to kill him. First, Lucrezia Borgia. Yes, it's time to go back to the incest allegations. In her own time, Lucrezia was accused of engaging in sexual acts with her brother Juan,
23:52 Speaker 00 their brother Cesare, and even their father, the Pope. We do know that Pope Alexander hosted massive orgies at the Vatican and his children attended. Uh, like I said, times were different in the Renaissance. But the possible incest with Juan is relevant because the other big rumor about Lucrezia is that she was a black widow. Allegedly, she wore a ring full of arsenic and used it to poison drinks. Another rumor says she hid a secret needle in her clothes to prick a victim with poison if she couldn't spike their drink.
24:36 Speaker 00 Now, those are unconfirmed rumors, but it is true that throughout Lucrezia's life, men around her died violently and others feared for their lives. Like Giovanni Sforza, during the divorce negotiations, he fled Rome and went into hiding, saying he feared he'd be murdered. So, if Juan and Lucrezia were lovers and he impregnated her at an inconvenient time, maybe he became one of her earliest victims. Now, Juan wasn't poisoned, but the only two other murders connected to Lucrezia that
25:18 Speaker 00 we can actually confirm weren't poison either. First, about two months after Juan's death, someone stabbed the papal courier who delivered Lucrezia's mail. At the time, Lucrezia lived in a convent an hour walk outside of Rome, claiming sanctuary for her own safety amid the turmoil with the Sforzas. This courier knew who Lucrezia was communicating with. Even more suspicious, her maid was also found dead at the same time. Both bodies were pulled from the Tiber. Both knew Lucrezia's activities. Both silenced, just like Juan Borgia.
26:05 Speaker 00 Though it's possible the courier and maid's deaths covered up another truth. The true father of Lucrezia's baby, not her husband, not her brother, the mailman. Yep, most historians believe Lucrezia was actually having an affair with that courier who was stabbed to death, which helps beat the incest allegations, but not the Black Widow ones. Speaking of, a few years later, Lucrezia's Spanish second husband was strangled to death in his own bed. Another unsolved murder, and if we count Juan, that makes three of Lucrezia's possible
26:50 Speaker 00 lovers who met early violent ends. And if it was Lucrezia, the Pope had plenty of motive to cover up the truth of Juan's murder. He couldn't let the incest story get out, or the pregnancy, and politically, he couldn't lose his valuable pawn. Over the years, Lucrezia had two failed betrothals and three husbands, each match made by her father. He loved playing matchmaker. But Lucrezia wasn't the only Borgia sibling with a motive.
27:29 Speaker 00 That brings us to the final Borgia sibling, and the one most likely to kill their own brother, Cesare. As it turned out, Cesare might have been lying about the last time he saw Juan alive, because he'd go on to a lifetime of murder allegations. It may have even been the Pope's hitman.
27:59 Speaker 03 Gray roots entering the chat, uninvited? Garnier's got you. Garnier Color Sensation Root Retouch covers up to 100% of grays in just 10 minutes. No ammonia, no mess, and the color lasts up to four weeks? It's as easy to apply as shampoo. Plus, it's vegan and cruelty-free. 10 minutes. Sensational color. Sensational price. With those savings, your next girls' night is basically free. Find your perfect match at walmart.com or at a store near you.
28:28 Speaker 04 Shaq here. What's it like to buy a car from Carvana 100% online and get it delivered to your door? Let me tell you. Your car is here, Mr. Shaq. Thank you, Mr. Carvana guy. Can't wait to take it for a spin. Only the best for you, Mr. Shaq. Hey, have you always been so big, tall, and handsome? Not always. I was 6'10" once. Seven days to love it or return it, Mr. Shaq. Not that I would. You never do. No, I never do. So buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. See our seven-day return policy at carvana.com.
29:00 Speaker 00 If you've heard the phrase, "It's better to be feared than loved," you've already heard a description of Cesare Borja. The phrase comes from Niccolo Machiavelli's book, The Prince, inspired by his former boss, Cesare Borja. And while the term Machiavellian comes from Niccolo's name, its definition comes from Machiavelli's descriptions of Cesare: cold, two-faced, and bloodthirsty. Yes, he was the child groomed to be the next pope, but Cesare didn't want to be a man of the cloth. He wanted to be a man of the sword.
29:43 Speaker 00 He wanted to lead armies into battle and be rewarded with palaces.
29:49 Speaker 00 Just like his brother Juan was. Juan had everything Cesare wanted. In spite of the fact that Juan was a terrible military commander. The January before he died, Juan literally ran off the battlefield after sustaining a minor scratch. Without leadership, hundreds of his soldiers died and more were taken hostage. But he failed upward. Pope Alexander sent Juan north to battle the French. When the army succeeded, he made Juan head of the Papal Duchy, granting him the title Fief of Benevento, a new honor just for him on top of his existing dukedom.
30:30 Speaker 00 Now, this was just a few weeks before Juan's death. At the same time, Cesare got a new assignment. To crown the new King of Naples, because Pope Alexander didn't feel like traveling. It was salt in the wound of Cesare's ego. Instead of swords, he was handling tiaras. Cesare was scheduled to leave for Naples shortly after his going away dinner on June 14th, 1497, the night Juan disappeared. But when Juan vanished, the Pope postponed Cesare's trip, and in the end, he never went. After Juan's death, Pope Alexander needed a new military leader.
31:15 Speaker 00 He had Cesare step down from his cardinalship and into a new title, Duke of Valentinua. Cesare later became Captain General of the Papal Army. Oh, Juan's old position. Juan's death gave Cesare everything he'd ever wanted. So he had a motive to kill his brother, and he had the best opportunity. He was literally one of the last two people known to see Juan alive. And while Pope Alexander may have covered up Juan's murder so he could use Cesare for his political machinations, he also may have realized that having a killer in the family was useful.
31:59 Speaker 00 You see, Juan was the first person Cesare was suspected of killing, but far from the only. By our count, Cesare Borja can be linked to at least ten mysterious deaths over the next six years. All the victims' deaths somewhat resembled Juan's, and every victim after Juan was an enemy of the Borgias. Their deaths helped the Pope maintain power. Maybe when he uncovered the truth about Juan's murder, Pope Alexander struck a deal with his wayward son.
32:38 Speaker 00 "I'll help you get away with murder, but on my terms, you kill for me now." And so Cesare Borja became the family hitman. Though if he was the hitman, he didn't act alone. Remember the mysterious masked man from the dinner party who wasn't identified or seen again? It may have been Cesare's right-hand man, Micheleto Corella. He and Cesare met at the University of Pisa and had a decades-long friendship. Corella was an educated nobleman like Cesare, a peer who ran in the same social circles. But in the history books,
33:21 Speaker 00 Corella has a few nicknames: The Strangler, Cesare's Blind Tool, and Cesare's Damned Soul. The theory goes that Cesare chose the victims, and Corella helped him kill. And remember how Lucrezia Borja was accused of being a black widow? Well, maybe people were pointing fingers at the wrong Borja sibling. You know how Lucrezia's courier and maid were stabbed to death and thrown in the Tiber River? Well, there's another theory that Cesare murdered them while the Pope watched.
34:01 Speaker 00 It was his first official act as hitman, just two months after Juan's death. And this was a rumor in Cesare's own time, and in this version, the Pope punished the mailman for impregnating Lucrezia, and the maid for keeping Lucrezia's affair quiet. Then, a few years later, in 1500, Pope Alexander called Cesare and Corella into action again. At the time, he wanted to ally with France, but France was on the verge of a war with Spain, and the papacy was deeply tied to Spain via Lucrezia's second marriage to the Spanish prince Alfonso.
34:43 Speaker 00 To make the new French alliance work, Lucrezia needed to be single. Again. So the Pope invited his son-in-law to dinner. Once again, everyone lived through dessert, but on his walk home, a group of men attacked the prince with daggers. This sounds a lot like Juan Borgia's murder. Except, Prince Alfonso survived. He was able to get help and escape back into the Vatican. He spent the next few weeks there, recovering under Lucrezia's care, until one night, when he was alone in his room, Alfonso tripped, resulting in his death. It later came out that he was strangled,
35:29 Speaker 00 perhaps by the strangler, Micaletto Corella. So he tripped and got strangled. Interesting. We'll never know what really happened, because Prince Alfonso was buried that night, with no investigation into his death. There was no investigation into any of the sudden deaths surrounding the Borgias, until 1503, when Pope Alexander VI died, and a new Pope took office. He took the name Pope Julius II as an homage to Julius Caesar, and a middle finger to Cesare Borja, who was also named for the Roman emperor. Cesare Caesar.
36:13 Speaker 00 Pope Julius despised the Borgias. He declined the tradition of saying a funeral mass for Pope Alexander. He said it was, quote, blasphemy to pray for the damned. He wouldn't even enter the Vatican apartments where the Borgia family members once lived. Then he issued a damnatio memoriae in order to destroy all memory of the Borgias. Sounds like a Harry Potter spell. Now, why did he hate them so much? It all goes back to the papal election of 1492, when the Borgias and the Sforza's made that backroom deal to elect Pope Alexander and Mary Lucrezia to Giovanni Sforza.
36:58 Speaker 00 The same deal the Borgias spent all of 1497 trying to undo. But the runner up for Pope that year? It was the man who'd become Pope Julius II, as he saw Pope Alexander stole the papacy from him. And now Pope Julius was stuck with his rival son as the head of the papal armies. Cesare was too powerful and had too many men at his command. He couldn't just fire him. So he accused him of murder. Soon after ascending to the papacy, Pope Julius investigated Cesare and Michelata Corella for eight deaths,
37:40 Speaker 00 including Juan Borgia and Prince Alfonso. He suspected that Pope Alexander had been protecting Cesare. And now that Julius was Pope, it was his moral duty to take Cesare down. The trouble was, he couldn't find any evidence of murder. So he encouraged every family the Borgias had ever wronged or conquered to ride up and reclaim their lands. And some of them did. This weakened Cesare's army. Then, in the chaos, Pope Julius discovered that treasure was missing from the Vatican,
38:24 Speaker 00 including at least 300,000 in gold ducat coins. He suspected Cesare stole it and commanded Cesare to grant him access to the Borgias' strongholds to search for the missing treasure instead of complying. Cesare fled, but before he could get far, Pope Julius had him seized, brought back to Rome, and locked up. With Cesare in custody, Julius issued an arrest warrant for Micolera Corella. His men found Corella with some of the missing treasure: papal gems, jewelry, and church
39:05 Speaker 00 decorations, all hidden in wagons heading north. Cesare Borja had robbed the Vatican. While this was enough to keep Cesare locked up while the Pope's men interrogated Corella, the treasure was one thing, but they really wanted to know was the truth about the mysterious deaths, including Juan Borges. But the questioning and even torture didn't lead to a confession, and the most Pope Julius could do was keep Cesare Borja and Micolera Corella locked up until everything Cesare had stolen was returned.
39:48 Speaker 00 Which was tricky, because Cesare had loyal men guarding some of his fortresses. They wouldn't surrender unless Cesare gave the word. Fun fact: Cesare had his castles' password protected. No one was allowed to surrender unless he sent a messenger with the correct phrase:
40:08 Speaker 01 "Uh, drawbridge moat two, uh, spire and tiny window four, I don't know."
40:15 Speaker 00 So Cesare and Pope Julius were held at a stalemate. Until eventually, in January 1504, Cesare gave up the code words, trading his castles for his freedom. He sailed to Naples, hoping to find a new home with his brother Joffre and former mistress Sansia. But as soon as Cesare arrived, he was locked up again. See, Naples was under Spanish control now, and just like Pope Julius, the Spanish royals believed Cesare Borgia was guilty of murder. They planned to press charges for the murders of Juan Borgia and Prince Alfonso.
40:59 Speaker 00 After two years of delays, Spain's Queen Juana the First indicted Cesare for the two murders. Though, in Cesare's defense, Queen Juana wasn't mentally sound. Shortly before Cesare's indictment, her husband died. Instead of holding a funeral, she kept his corpse with her wherever she went. This earned her the nickname Juana the Mad. Fair enough. Still, Cesare didn't wait for his day in court. He escaped out the castle window and onto a horse. Kind of like the end of The Princess Bride,
41:39 Speaker 00 only he was an accused murderer, wearing a mask to cover his syphilis scars. He escaped to Navarre and got a job leading their army. A few months later, in spring 1507, Cesare chased down a group of rebels on horseback. He pursued them into a ravine, where more rebels sprang out of nowhere. Cesare was outnumbered and stabbed to death. He was never tried or convicted of Juan Borgia's murder, but if he was guilty, he met a fitting end. That is, unless you believe our final conspiracy theory.
42:20 Speaker 00 That every story we know about the Borgias is a massive smear campaign. Their reputation is not good. You have Lucrezia, the Black Widow, Joffrey, the Cuckold, Juan, the Womanizing Coward, Cesare, the Murderer, and Pope Alexander VI, who used them all for his own gain. Then there's the incest, the poisoning, the orgies, and the horse porn.
42:49 Speaker 00 I'll let you research that last one yourself. Of those rumors, there's one we can somewhat debunk: incest. Those stories trace back to the Sforza family. Remember, the Borgias broke their alliance with the Sforzas in 1497, forcing Giovanni Sforza to sign a legal document saying he'd never consummated his marriage to Lucrezia Borgia because he was sexually impotent. Embarrassing. But Giovanni Sforza wasn't sexually impotent. Years later, he remarried and had a son. He knew it was all political theater,
43:34 Speaker 00 but his family strong-armed him into accepting the divorce. So Giovanni struck back the only way he could: by telling everyone in Rome Lucrezia was sleeping with her brothers and father. It was a smear campaign, and a good one. It stuck around for centuries. That same year, Juan Borgia was found dead in the Tiber, and maybe when he found out, Giovanni started another rumor: that the Borgias would kill their own family members. Maybe he turned a tragedy into a Cain and Abel story. Or, maybe Pope Julius II started that rumor.
44:20 Speaker 00 Remember, Pope Julius didn't just want to solve murders, he was trying to destroy the Borgia legacy. He wanted Cesare to lose command of the papal armies. And who'd want to follow the orders of a man who killed his own brother? Juan Borgia's murder was never solved, at least not publicly. So it was always going to attract theories. But that's not the only reason the story sticks. It's also about family dynamics, sibling rivalry, parental expectations, and what happens when children don't live up to their parents' hopes.
45:01 Speaker 00 Perhaps if Pope Alexander hadn't pushed Cesare to be a cardinal and Lucrezia into questionable marriages, Juan would have lived. Just like the Godfather, the Borgia family business was deadly. Still, Juan's death does seem to have profoundly impacted Pope Alexander VI, whether he knew who did it or not. He changed from a man who forced his children into pre-planned roles into one who accepted them for who they were. After
45:38 Speaker 00 the murder, he let Cesare step away from the church and adopted Lucrezia's love child. And maybe he helped one of his kids get away with murder.
46:00 Speaker 00 Thank you for listening to Conspiracy Theories. We're here with a new episode every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram @TheConspiracyPod. If you're watching on Spotify, swipe up and give us your thoughts. For more information on the Borgias, amongst the many sources we used, we found The Borgias: The Hidden History by G.J. Meyer, The Borgias: Power and Fortune by Paul Strathern, and The Borgias and Their Enemies by Christopher Hibbert, extremely helpful to our research. Until next time, remember, the truth isn't always the best story, and the official story isn't always the truth.
46:44 Speaker 00 This episode was written and researched by Maggie Admire, edited by Pete Ritchie, fact-checked by Sophie Kemp, and engineered, video-edited, and sound-designed by Alex Button. I'm your host, Carter Roy.
Previous The Spymaster and the Exiled Queen: Was Mary Queen of Scots Framed? Next Silver Screen Stabbing: Did a Starlet Cover Up a Gangster's Murder? Page updated October 31, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated