 In 70 BC, Cicero refers to this killing in connection with Ceres' laws and cults, during his prosecution of Verres, Roman governor of Sicily, for extortion.The case included circumstantial details of Verres' irreligious exploitation and abuse of Sicilian grain farmers, who were naturally under Ceres' special protection at the very place of her "earthly home" – and his thefts from her temple, including an ancient image of the goddess herself.Faced by the mounting evidence against him, Verres abandoned his own defense and withdrew to a prosperous exile.