After a very ugly divorce, Betty Broderick woke up bitter, heartbroken and penniless. There is still debate about her actions after the divorce, even though more than three decades have passed since the atrocities committed by Betty.
On the night of November 5, 1989, Betty walked into her old home in San Diego, where her ex-husband, Dan Broderick and his new and much younger wife, Linda, were now living, and shot them dead.
Was Betty a cold-blooded killer or had Dan deliberately worked to get his ex-wife out of his mind? The prosecution argued the first, as well as many people, as the case attracted so much attention. But a large number of women have also come forward and advocated for the latter.
Obedient catholic girl
Betty, or Elisabeth Anne Bisceglia, was born in November 1947 in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were devout Catholics and raised Betty as such. Betty was therefore determined to attend a Christian women’s college upon completion of her compulsory education.
But everything changed when she was 17. Betty then went to a football game at the University of Notre Dame, considered one of the best players in American football, and met Dan Broderick. It was love at first sight and the couple married in 1969.
Dan went to study law at the prestigious Harvard School, but Betty dropped out of all of her studies. Someone had to work to pay the bills and make sure there was food on the table. Betty taught at a children’s school during the day and took care of the children at night. When Dan graduated, the couple moved to La Jolla, California and began having children. The couple had three children, whom Betty cared for while Dan practiced law. The fourth child died a few days after birth.
Dan quickly became a sought-after lawyer and was soon making over a million dollars a year, which at today’s exchange rate is almost four million dollars. The couple were members of the best clubs, had sports cars, a yacht and a wonderful chalet for ski trips.
But despite all the money, the marriage was falling apart and Linda suspected her husband of cheating.
Linda
She became convinced of her guilt in 1983 when Dan made his 22nd secretary, Linda Kolkena, a personal assistant. Linda had no training other than working temporarily as a flight attendant, not to mention legal matters.
Betty adored her husband and completely broke down. She took her husband’s clothes into the garden and set it on fire. When he returned home to see the clothes in the ruins of a fire, he was furious, but Betty responded by throwing a radio at his head.
Dan filed for divorce. Betty says that since that day, Dan has done everything in his power to make her life as difficult as possible. He had a lot of influence in the legal industry and told Betty that no lawyer wanted to take on her case. All of the couple’s assets were in Dan’s name and she was told she really had little to no chance against Dan and his army of lawyers. She also had no money as all of the couple’s bank accounts were in Dan’s name.
Linda and Dan
Betty’s mental health deteriorated, and she broke into a house Dan had rented after moving out and spray-painted her bedroom walls and threw food on the kitchen walls.
Dan responded by getting a restraining order against Betty in 1984. By then, Betty had gotten completely out of control and drove her car into her front door. She was arrested and when a knife was found on him she was committed against her will to a psychiatric ward for 72 hours.
Without property and without children
The Brodericks obtained a legal divorce in 1986. Dan got the house, cars, boat, ski hut and other assets. He also won custody of the couple’s three children.
He took everything from me, my house, my possessions, and most importantly, my children, Betty said in an interview with the New York Times in 1991. He mentally abused me, there were never any visible injuries. on me, but they were on my soul.”
Linda, Dan and Betty
Dan was sent to pay Betty a monthly contribution which Betty felt was impossible to live with. She said she had given her whole life to work on her husband’s career, had no education and no prospects to offer herself. She could barely see her children.
But what finally pushed Betty over the edge was when Dan married young Linda in 1989.
The situation had gotten so bad that Linda wanted Dan to wear a bulletproof vest on the wedding day. He refused but still wasn’t calm as he was watching Betty and had recently learned that she had purchased a gun.
On that fateful November night, Betty used a key she had stolen from her daughter’s purse to enter her old house. She entered the bedroom, pointed a gun at the newlyweds and woke them up. Linda yelled at the police, but Dan was speechless. And without saying a word, Betty shot Linda twice and her husband once. She fired two more shots which hit the wall. Dan tried to reach for the phone that was on the bedside table, but Betty was first, ripping the phone cord from the wall and walking out. Dan lay dying with his hand on the nightstand.
Betty went home to her apartment, waited until morning, then went to the police and confessed to the murders.
Has left the edge
Betty’s trial began in 1990. She claimed she planned to kill herself in front of Dan and Linda to make them feel guilty. She, on the other hand, was reportedly alarmed when Linda started screaming for the police, filled with panic, and so shot them instead of pointing the gun at herself.
She said she was devastated by what she believed to be her ex-husband’s emotional abuse. She said Dan did everything in his power to ruin her life, but she never intended to kill him or Linda.
But it didn’t help Betty that there was a recording of a phone call where Betty told her friend that she wanted Dan Broderick dead.
Betty was convicted of two murders and sentenced to a double life sentence. She is still in a women’s prison in California and says she has never been happier. The time in prison saved his sanity and his life.
Betty’s children have always been in contact with their mother and took their children to visit their grandmother in prison. They tell Betty that she is no threat to society, that she never held a grudge against anyone but Dan and Linda. “Losing us pushed her over the edge,” her son said when Betty asked for parole and said her daughter always had a room ready when her mother was released.
But Betty was denied parole three times. She is then eligible to apply next year. She will then be 84 years old.
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