Eldergays, tell me about Betty Broderick

She was a woman scored who was driven batshit crazy when her husband left her and the brats for a much younger beautiful woman. It was all a misunderstanding when she snuck into their bedroom in the middle of the night to talk and the husband and new wife ended up slaughtered.

Linda Kolkena and Dan Broderick

The woman had balls.

Loved it when she drove her vehicle through Dan and Linda's front door.

And the filthy messages she would leave on their answering machine were hilarious.

She was the first wife who put him through law school and raised his brats while they struggled financially. Once his pay-day came, he dumped her for his secretary. Then he drove her crazy by stacking the deck against her legally (never marry a lawyer) so she would be left with nothing.

Supposedly the legal secretary had a sketchy past and was not in any way qualified for the job she got in his office. Another thing that drove Betty crazy.

Oh, and Betty got fat.

The best book to read is To the Twelvth of Never by Bella Strumbo. You won't be able to put it down (if ur really interested in this case)

Dan and Linda psychologically torchered and bullied Betty. There's lots of evidence. Yes, Betty was guilty of her own missteps, but her ex and his young thang were not innocent by any stretch of the imagination. By all accounts, Betty was well liked, respected, and accomplished prior to her husband dumping her.

Like the rest of us, they were all flawed individuals, but somehow Betty remained likable. Dan and Linda, not so much.

I think the Lifetime movie with Meredith Baxter Birney playing Betty is a Datalounge favorite.

She is the Patron Saint of Lifetime: Television for Women's Made-for-TV Movie division.

Are you with her NOW Dan? Are you MAKING IT with the DOG MEAT on the stairs now Dan?

This message is for the FUCKHEAD and the CUNT!!

Darlings they do not make them like Betty anymore!

She was a media whore who went on Oprah and countless other shows. Meredith Baxter-Birney played her in 2 well-received tv movies. Some fraus had sympathy for her because they thought she was a victim.

Dan may have been a lousy person and husband, but Betty's one crazy bitch.

It's the typical story of wife works and supports husband through school, he become successful - then dumps her.

The difference is that Betty didn't take it - she blew his and his new wife's fucking heads off.

Love her!

Everyone who was ever dumped had some degree of sympathy for her, because her husband genuinely fucked her over during the divorce. He used his connections in the legal system to take everything in the divorce, leaving her and his kids with a fraction of what they were entitled to.

If a jury had declared the murders "justifiable homicide", I would not have been shocked.

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Oh shit - I looked her up and she's from Eastchester NY. So am I!!!

[quote]Dan and Linda psychologically torchered

Hurts to read, R7.

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Fuckhead and the cunt...LMAO!

[quote]She was the first wife who put him through law school and raised his brats while they struggled financially. Once his pay-day came, he dumped her for his secretary. Then he drove her crazy by stacking the deck against her legally (never marry a lawyer) so she would be left with nothing.

There it is, in a nutshell.

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Like many successful trial lawyers, Dan Broderick was a narcissistic sociopath, and those people always have to WIN at ANY cost.

Betty showed him though!

A lot of women who were in the same situation -- the first wife of a successful man gets dumped for the trophy wife -- identified with her. The only difference is the Betty Broderick did what they could only fantasize about ... the ultimate revenge

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It's interesting because the son Rhett turned out to be pretty hot. What ever happened to him?

Has Betty been released yet?

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I'm sorry, R23, but THIS is the person that you consider hot?

r10 is basing his/her opinion on that laughable Kolkena-family-approved teleplay. Betty may have been batshit, but Fuckhead and the Cunt have only themselves to blame for getting blown away (luckily for Linda, in her sleep; Dan had several minutes to think about how he ended up bleeding out on his bedroom floor). The movie may have white-washed Linda's image, but the fact is, Linda fucked her married boss, and for years played little "I'm younger, cuter, and thinner than you and that's why I have your man!" games with Betty. Linda's family realized that following asshole Dan's lead is what got her killed, and that's why they had her buried in a secret location--away from Dan (the joint headstone was purchased by Dan's family, in a final attempt to "stick it" to Betty).

He is kinda cute, r26--he just has a dorky haircut. At least he didn't inherit his possum-faced dad's looks

Rhett Broderick is definitely a hottie.

I think both women were victims in their own ways and the blame lies with Danno.

Sad

All were sickos but I can understand what Betty went through, more than I ever can understand the motivations of Dan and Linda. Dan and Linda ended up with total control of the money and they had the ability to build a fine future ahead, they could've done things to shut this down or minimize it, but they chose to egg Betty on. They egged her on and on... Dan and Linda were bullies. They didn't deserve to die but I do understand why Betty killed them.

Are you sure they egged Betty on or is that just what she says? What would be their motivation if Betty had not been harassing them as she did? Another way of looking at it is they wanted to go on with their lives but she wouldn't leave them alone. So they had to get the restraining orders, etc. Sure it sucks to be the dumpee, but it happens and people just can't go to this extreme.

How were they egging her on? I watched a documentary on the case a few years ago & it just made BB look psycho.

What is sad is that all Dan had to do was buy off Betty with a couple million dollars that he could have made back easily in less than five years. Then most likely he and Linda would be alive today. With a generous settlement, Betty would have moved on peacefully and probably re-married.

His greedy determination to keep it all for himself cost him everything. For a smart man, he was woefully short-sighted.

cant imagine why anybody would leave this lovely lady for someone younger and thinner!!

Really r36?

Like a woman's worth is only based on her youth and looks

This cracks me up. From the findagrave link upthread:

[quote]The Virtual Flowers feature has been turned off for this memorial because it was being continually misused.

The weirdest thing was how much Linda looked liked Betty (who really didn't balloon up until after the divorce) Linda and Betty's wedding photos were eerily similar. Dan had a type, for sure.

He also sounds like a douche. His idea of fun was to get drunk with a bunch of other douche lawyers and reenact the "gator" scene from Animal House.

Linda couldn't compare to Betty in her prime.

Too bad Betty didn't get the help she needed. She was/is mentally unbalanced and Fuckhead and the Cunt exasperated Betty with their bullshit shenanigans.

Don't fuck with a crazy person. Dummies.

Betty Broderick is quite facinating; a very complex, unusual character. She deteriorated from a very attractive, intelligent, talented, funny, well-liked, capable woman into a bloated, cursing, raving, compulsively spending loon, due to getting dumped by her cheating husband, who had been carrying on a blatant affair with his much younger office girl for years, all the while telling Betty that her suspicians of infidelity were irrational and unfounded.

After their divorce he tried to stiff Betty financially; the legal machinations just went on and on. Betty was getting $16,000 a month; there were people who said she had nothing to complain about. But considering Dan Broderick was making in excess of $300,000 a month, it seems small in comparison. She felt she was entitled to more, since she was instrumental in helping him get where he was, by working her ass off and raising their kids while he concentrated on his studies and law practice.

In her mind, everything she had worked so hard to attain was now in the hands of Linda Kolkena, the young hot to trot blonde bimbo who was reaping the benefits of her long, hard efforts without having done anything to deserve it.

Dan and Linda kept after Betty legally, making her more and more crazy and enraged. Betty would get legal papers notarized by Linda Kolkena; imagine getting legal papers notarized by your husband's mistress. They did other things to drive her nuts, like having Linda's voice on Dan's answering machine before they were married. Betty would call about some issue with the children and she'd hear Linda Kolkena's voice saying "we can't come to the phone now." Invariably she'd let loose with a lot of four letter words in response.

Betty Broderick quite simply went nuts. I have no idea why her lawyer didn't use EED (exreme emotional disturbance) as a defense. All the evidence would have shown she was out of her mind from psychological torture and stress.

If you want to know EVERYTHING about this case read "Until the Twelth of Never; the deadly divorce of Dan and Betty Broderick" by Bella Stumbo. It is one of the most well-researced, well-written true crime novels out there; very detailed and completely unbiased. It's a great read.

"I just decided I didn't want to be a nice girl anymore. I wanted the life I built, I deserved, I earned. MY LIFE was worth fighting for!"

I saw a special about this on [italic]A&E[/italic]. The show played a recorded telephone conversation between Betty and her son (Dan always had custody of the kids, even during the divorce proceedings).

She was hysterically attacking her husband (swearing and cursing at him and Linda) and her son, crying, was begging her to stop and just leave his father and Linda alone. Her own son told her to move on with her life and that everyone would be happier - particularly him. Betty just came back (at her son) even more furious. It was heart-wrenching to hear how much suffering her son was going through - and that she was completely oblivious to it.

So even if Dan and Linda were psychologically torturing Betty, she was psychologically torturing her own children to preserve her own ego.

The Brodericks lived near me but I was too young to know them. However, my parents seem to remember them. My mom said Betty was always gracious and well put together. But a person's public persona can be very different from their private one.

Rhett Broderick's wife looks like Linda. strange.

I want that Bella Stumbo book but it is so expensive. The one I found at a decent price was from some guy in Australia so shipping would be too high. I did a check at my local library and they don't have it.

So he was a narcissist and she was borderline no?

That is funny R38

{R46) ... See if your local library can locate the book via worldcat.org and get to you via interlibrary loan.

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[quote] All the evidence would have shown she was out of her mind from psychological torture and stress.

No doubt Dan was an asshole. But considering Betty's behavior during the divorce - I don't think his actions rise to the level of psychological torture.

Betty had good legal representation during the divorce. You can't blame Dan for the fact she refused to take their advice - and then fired them.

You can get the Stumbo book on Kindle fairly inexpensively.

"She was hysterically attacking her husband (swearing and cursing at him and Linda) and her son, crying, was begging her to stop and just leave his father and Linda alone."

I don't recall her son begging her to leave Dan and Linda alone. I remember her son begging her her to "stop using bad words." Seems her foul language kept getting her in trouble with Dan; Dan would get pissed and prevebt her from seeing her sons.

People who heard the tapes of her atrocious behavior towards her sons thought they were proof positive that she was totally crazy. Previously an exemplary, attentive mother, she had become a screaming harridan who was taking her anger and frustration out on her sons. Yet her boys still wanted to live with her. Apparently, despite her emotional breakdown, she was still a better parent than Dan. A psychiatrist later stated that he got the impression that Dan "didn't know the children very well" and that was certainly true. All throughout their upbringing Betty was the one who had all the responsiblilies pertaining to the children; Dan concentrated on his career.

The phone messages were just the tip of the iceberg.

I suspect driving her car into their house might have eclipsed the phone messages.

The divorce settlement clearly pushed her over the edge. But she served that up to Dan on a silver platter.

I really can't work up an sympathy for her.

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I found out the same thing, r46. I think it can be downloaded to a kindle for a few dollars.

r36, r40 is correct.

Betty Broderick was beautiful. She not only put Dan through Medical School but also Harvard Law School and worked at multiple jobs so he did not have to work as a student.

In California, they moved into a rental house while theirs had foundation repaired. Dan moved back into family home with his 17 year his junior mistress/ assistant and stated renovating the house while wife still in rental. He found a way to sell the family house and buy a new one.

The whole San Diego legal community was on his side. He was President of the SD Bar Assn. chapter. He manipulated the legal system to try to get even and destroy her.

R44, I also grew up in that neighborhood and my parents were friends of the Brodericks', although my parents did not spend time with them after Dan left Betty because they felt Dan had been a douche and my mom did not intend to see Linda socially. The kids were around my age but attended a different school, so I didn't know them very well. My mom says Betty had a strong personality, but she always maintained a good image (nice home, good clothes/appearance, kids at the "right" school and activities, etc.).

r58, was this trial talked about greatly in your community? By your family and friends?

Yes, among my parents and their friends, the consensus was that Dan was a dick and Betty was a woman scorned; however, he didn't deserve to be murdered and she should have kept the crazy more in check. It would have been tacky to come out strongly on Team Betty or Team Dan. Everyone mostly felt sorry for the kids.

The Bett Broderick TV movies were on CBS originally on CBS. They weren't originally Lifetime movies.

[quote] She was the first wife who put him through law school and raised his brats while they struggled financially.

NO. She put that piece of shit through Medical School and then she put him through Law School.

Thank you for your post, r60. It sounds like people knew the children were really in a bad way with high profile parents. I wonder if anyone really thought it would end as it did.

Years ago, when I was researching and reading about this case I came across a message board that discussed Dan and Betty. One of the posters was a nanny who worked for a family of one of Rhett's classmates. She said that Dan was disliked by people in her former employer's social circles and she mentioned that Rhett often showed up to school in dirty clothes, but it was mostly ignored by the school staff and other parents. I can't remember the message board name.

I think Betty will end up dying in jail. Isn't she in her late 60s or early 70s? Two of her kids Dan Jr. and Kim do not want her released. Rhett and Lee feel that Betty should be released. Rhett has stated that he doesn't think Betty would hurt anyone if she was to be released. Dan Jr and Kim IIRC have said that several friends of Dan's feel that Betty would try to hurt them if she was to be released.

I also think Linda's sister has spoken at Betty's parole hearings over the years. The Kolkenas don't have a good relationship with the Brodericks. Dan's brother supposedly kept money that should have gone to Linda's family and I recall the Kolkenas took legal action against the brother.

Betty and her husband Dan were married for almost 20 years and had five children together. She sacrificed her career on his behalf. Then he left her for a 21-year old tart.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Betty got reamed in divorce court. Not only did hubby get custody of the kids, but Betty was awarded a settlement of only $30,000 -- in spite of the fact that her hubby was making around $1 million a year.

Finally, the ex-hubby and his new wife tormented Betty for years. For example, the new wife would send her ads for diets and wrinkle creams.

Was Betty justified in blowing the two of them away? Of course not. But have many of us, in our heart of hearts, in our darkest moments, identified with her, and have we fantasized about doing similar? Oh *hell* yeah. Unlikely so many sick murders you hear about, these killings are all to easy to understand.

Still, I don't understand why Betty doesn't show remorse. If she did, she could get paroled. But she steadfastly refuses, so she'll probably never get out.

Why would any of Dan's money go to the Kolkenas? It should all go to his poor kids. The Kolkenas sound like trash.

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The television program I saw on this case said Dan was alleged to have sent "loans" to his brother for low six and medium six figures during time a divorce was going on. He virtually hid money from community property and the SD legal community did not look very closely at his paperwork as Betty had so many complaints filed against her by Dan due to harassment.

R66 - Betty got shit in the divorce because she refused legal counsel. Counsel that actually went out of their way to help her.

She trusted an asshole.

At what point do you stop felling sorry for her and suggest she be held accountable for her behavior?

R69 - Betty dropped the kids off at Dan early in the separation. INSISTING he care for them.

She was entitled to community property.

On the other hand since she gave up custody of the kids that meant Dan could deduct from the community property expenses incurred since the separation as well as support payments he made to her.

If she had kept her attorneys - that would probably not have happened. She didn't. She fired them.

So she was left holding the bag.

Everything that happened is her fault.

r70, she is being held accountable for her behavior. Prison 32- life.

R72 - I didn't claim she wasn't being held accountable. Please re-read my comment.

I asked R66 at what point he would ask she be held accountable.

I'm good with the verdict.

I disagree with people who try to rationalize her behavior.

Oh Hell to the No! I pay for your medical degree AND your law degree and raise your kids and build you the perfect life and you think you can just say buh-bye with your little blonde bimbo in tow? He tortured her, and he knew exactly how unstable she was.

I've been there. I've been betrayed to the point where I could actually see myself ending up driving my car into the front door of his (and his new boyfriend's) house.

But no way could I see myself standing over their bed with a revolver in my hand. And killing them.

That's a big jump.

While murder is wrong, the pubic was fascinated with this case because of the hostility and drama between Dan and Betty. He used the tools of his trade to try to destroy her and took pleasure with his "new replacement" wife to do so, after Betty supported him and put him through law and medical school while raising children and working so he would not have to.

It is not hard to see why Betty Broderick does not feel remorse after how this guy dragged her through the mud and took pleasure in it and used their children as a weapon against her. He was not even honest enough to fess us to her suspicious of adultery with the new assistant.

That's pretty neat, R58. Two people who grew up in the same neighborhood on DL. My parents weren't friends with the Brodericks, but they would see them at events/parties, grocery stores.... My mom said Betty was very kind, funny,outgoing, and interested in other people.

r44 r76, What your Mom said is what I read everyone said about Betty until Dan really turned on her toward the end of their marriage.

The argument that Betty would be a danger to society is pretty ridiculous. Her son Rhett said it best: the only people she would have posed a danger to are both dead.

The two older children, Dan Jr. and Kim are very much like their father: out for themselves, money-grubbing. The don't think Betty is ready to be released in society. She's 66 years old. Do they want her to die in prison? I think they do. They're shits.

Like most lawyers he was very aware of what made her tick and what would easily erode away at her sanity. Any time someone is setting up recorded calls they know the calls will be coming. Most responsible adults turn off voice mail and most responsible adults make damn sure if it's on the kids aren't around to hear or get the incoming calls.

She probably is one of the few and maybe the only high profile murder that I actually have had sympathy for. The book the Twelvth of Never really breaks her down psychologically and the methodical way he destroyed her. I will always feel he all but painted the bulls eye on himself and dared her to take the shot. As for the second wife boy did they go light on her in movies and print. As we say around here... She was a whore darlin. There is no question Betty is a card carrying whack job but that maggot food called an ex shoved her right over the edge. Seeing how bat shit cray she is now I don't think she'd do very well in general society. God help the person who holds up the line a little to long. Don't fuck with Betty!

r79, enjoyed your post. I read Betty is helping inmates in prison study for their GED. I think she would not hurt anyone else ever again. Her rage was at her husband and the new wife you mentioned.

R80 I actually suggest her patience in jest realizing she was pushed to such an extreme some have even called it extreme legal abuse from Dan. I agree with that. It was cruel.

The last short documentary of her I did recall she was a very well behaved inmate. I think her sentence was 30 years which would give her just 6 more years. I will always disagree with that sentence.

The weird twist of fate of last documentary of Broderick's was that Dan's big new house had an alarm system which got damaged when Betty rammed the front door with her car. He fixed the door and did not repair the alarm system.

That's interesting. I wonder why he didn't repair it? What's the name of the documentary?

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It was on television late night about 4-5 days ago done as a documentary.

At her parole she expressed zero remorse. In that area she is her own worst character reference. She is brutally honest in her feelings about what took place and still feels she was forced to do what she did to just make it all stop. Obviously that makes the job of the parole board pretty easy because without any remorse there really wasn't a need to even show up. If interested please read the book mentioned above. Saying things got a bit toxic is so understated. It got down right cut throat cruel and degrading. My honest opinion is that towards the end all three Adults really had the same goal and that was to walk away saying they had won the ultimate fight while pushing as many buttons as possible to see who would break. The second wife at one point is noted to have allegedly sent Betty ads for face creams and diet pills. It was pretty pathetic.

I remember seeing a clip of her parole hearing and you're right she didn't really show much remorse. It seemed that she was trying to convince the parole board to see things from her point of view. Betty wanted them to see her as the true victim. She wanted them to know all of the horrible things she had gone through that drove her to kill.

If the new wife sent creams and diet pills she was a real bitch.

r87, new wife sent ads for those products. She moved into her first house with Dan which was Betty's marital home and started making repairs while Betty was living in a rental. The first home had foundation damage so while it was being repaired the Broderick's moved to leased home. Betty was still living in rental and Dan moved back into family home with new wife. They made changes to the house while Betty lived in rental house.

Dan later sold the family house without Betty's permission and bought the one he was killed in.

It's amazing to listen to her try to rationalize her actions. On one hand common sense says at a certain point when it's gotten so toxic the best choice is to walk away with what you've got and get on with your life.

In her world that wasn't an option. She felt degraded and would be damned if she caved knowing the partnership/marriage she'd put so much time into gave her a fair right to at least half of his worth which was something like 300,000 a month to which she was given only 16,000. I say only simply based on the ratio of earning although the 16,000 a month is realistically very comfortable.

She saw it all through a different prism she had actually lived on a daily basis. He'd already used her, humiliated her and degraded her and she wasn't going to back away. In her mind she was being valiant on behalf of herself. She dug her heels in and wasn't going to let them win. To her, and I do agree, those degree's had had earned were as much her's as his given the sacrifices she made in order for him to have the means and time to get them. He literally spit in her face after using her and his mistress/ would be second wife added daily salt to the wounds.

Her story of how they actually ended up dead is interesting. It's hard to know for sure if she went that evening to kill or just have it out with them yet again and it finally all just exploded at that point. More than once even his own friends stated Dan never thought she'd actually kill him seeing as her desire was to access more money. Killing him would kill the golden goose so to speak.

Now Betty Broderick is a frau that DL gays can actually get behind and root for!

R81 - She stole the key to Dan's house.

She got her gun.

She got in her car and drove over to Dan's house.

She got out of her car used the stolen keys to enter the home.

Walked upstairs.

Pulled out her gun and killed two people.

Before leaving she pulled the phone out of the wall so Dan couldn't call for help.

You have problem with a 30 year prison sentence?

Linda was disliked by many in the San Diego legal community. It is common for some lawyers to have affairs with other lawyers or other law firm staff members, but most didn't talk about their affairs. Linda talked about fucking Dan to many people.

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R91, Yes I have a problem with the 30 years. I'd more than likely have leaned towards manslaughter which would have given her just a few years. I don't completely buy the television version of events given a lot more information available.

Carrying the gun was nothing new for her on that evening. She'd been carrying it prior to Dan and Linda's wedding. Betty hated being a single woman and felt she needed the protection. She did not steal the key on the day or evening of their deaths. Having the key or a way to get into their home was also unfortunately not new for her. All prior break ins or showing up unwelcome never once resulted in anyone's death. So in Betty Brodericks case having both items with her on that evening wouldn't be definite intent to kill. Yanking the phone out of the socket is intent to stop a call not intent to kill a person.

The television version really watered down Linda and how long that "affair" went on and to what extent him and her went in keeping it under raps. It went on for two years before he actually admitted it.

During that two year span she had been granted more financial privilege then his own wife. Although it's very sad and tragic how her young life would end the truth is she entered into Betty Broderick's world as Betty Broderick's husbands well paid for whore and Linda willingly took the role. She escalated it allowing him to manipulate her as a pawn in degrading his wife. As his secretary she notarized every legal document sent to Betty. The man was a pig wallowing with a sow who went right along with the degradation.

If Dan had left Betty for another MAN, you would all be crying for her to get the chair.

[quote]As if that wasn't bad enough, Betty got reamed in divorce court. Not only did hubby get custody of the kids, but Betty was awarded a settlement of only $30,000 -- in spite of the fact that her hubby was making around $1 million a year.

That's only half the story. Yes, she was awarded a $30,000 [bold]lump sum[/bold]; however, she was also awarded [bold]$16,000 per month[/bold0 in alimony, and she didn't even have custody of the kids.

[quote] Why would Linda even have wanted to hook up with a man who was so much older than her and already had a wife and four kids? There certainly must have been some younger lawyers who were single or divorced and also raking in the bucks, and there wouldn't have been any drama or baggage. I've never understood that.

I think Linda was one of those women who had an attraction to older men. Some women like that do avoid getting involved with married men. When it comes down to it, Linda was stupid. I think she started her affair with Dan not thinking about consequences. She didn't know when to quit with the crap she was giving Betty.

Betty's parole hearing, part 1.

Yeah... It's as if she's still stuck in that moment in time.

Betty's parole hearing, part 2.

Her kids speak here. Two for and two against.

Those against don't sound like money-grubbing @ssholes to me.

As mentioned, read the book referenced. I got for under $15 for my kindle.

The book doesn't take sides and lays out the events in details

But, holy moly Dan B was a real dickhead

Hopefully Dan's last thought was, "I guess I shouldn't have been such a prick!"

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The Betty Broderick case should be a warning to all of you who think that it's okay to date married people. Aside from the morality issue, it's downright dangerous to fuck a married man or woman.

Look, all married men say "My wife's a bitch" when they're trying to pick up a side piece. Don't believe it. If she was such a bitch then he'd divorce her ass.

Don't fuck married people.

[quote]The $16,000 per month alimony was only temporary. When the divorced was finalized, Betty only received a lump sum of $30,000 and that was it.

No, she was awarded $16,000 per month as part of the final divorce settlement.

[quote]Hopefully Dan's last thought was, "I guess I shouldn't have been such a prick!"

Or better yet, "Maybe I shouldn't have let my prick make the hiring decisions!"

"Those against don't sound like money-grubbing @ssholes to me."

Danny Jr. is a go-getting realtor. He LOVES money...just like his Dad. His lavish wedding was written up in "Inside Weddings." His bride is blonde, naturally (the Broderick males ALL seem to prefer blondes). Except for being blonde, I don't think she resembles Linda. She looks more like Tracey Pollan, Michael J. Fox's wife.

While a teenager, Kim Broderick would run up huge phone bills. Dan would refuse to pay them, so she'd run to Betty who would pay the large amount. When Dan gave her only $150 to buy a dress for her junior prom, she came crying to Betty, who ran out and bought her a $700, beaded, V-necked, peach satin gown with matching slippers so that her baby girl could look like a fairy princess. She would go to Betty and complain about how her stingy father was treating her, not giving her enough money for her needs while he and Linda went out to tony restaurants and took costly vacations. Actually Dan wasn't particularly stingy towards her; it's just that Kim wanted things that were unnecessarily high-priced. Betty would buy her designer clothes, give her money...and get even more enraged at Dan. Kim added fuel to the fire of Betty's rage. I wonder if she ever has any guilt about that, that she made her mother even more crazy with hatred? Probably not.

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R107, the fact that Dan Jr. is a realtor who married a blonde is meaningless. Dan Broderick was very wealthy and left a huge inheritance to his kids - if Dan Jr. was a materialistic douche, he probably wouldn't have bothered to pursue a career at all.

Kim Broderick sounds like a typical teenage girl.

I am confused why DL accepts the 2 children who spoke on behalf of Betty at the parole hearing as being honest and true and dismisses the other 2 children who spoke against their mother as being greedy.

What, exactly, do the 2 latter children have to gain by speaking against their mother?

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Makes perfect sense.

When Betty was awarded $16,000/month alimony, Dan was being a cheap bastard, as he had millions of dollars he held back out of spite.

When his kids get jobs, marry, and contribute to society, Dan wasn't rich at all, and left them very little inheritance.

"Dan Broderick was very wealthy and left a huge inheritance to his kids - if Dan Jr. was a materialistic douche, he probably wouldn't have bothered to pursue a career at all.

Kim Broderick sounds like a typical teenage girl."

Their inheritance wasn't huge.

Danny-boy Jr. pursues a career precisely BECAUSE he is a materialistic douche. Just like his father. His father became a doctor, but thought he'd make more money as a malpractice attorney, so he went to law school. They are two of a kind.

Not all teenage girls are as money-hungry as Kim Broderick was, and not all of them would have manipulated their mother the way she did, so that she would get the things she wanted. She tried to downplay what she did in court, but the fact is that she made the animosity her mother had towards her father worse by continuously complaining about what a cheapskate he was. And of course she'd score bundles of high-priced clothes and shoes after doing it.

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Last night I meant to add a key bit of information in regard to all the court rulings dealing with finances. I think this particular ruling may have pretty much been the final straw.

Calling a portion of the abuse she endured "legal abuse" is an understatement. Dan set her up for a huge financial fall. What Dan did to her claims on community property was to place them under epstein credits while he purposefully delayed divorce proceedings.

Basically it's when the supporting spouse can charge the dependent spouse for one-half of all community debts accumulated not from the date of divorce, but from the date of separation.

By the time they got to court the judge accepted all Dans proposed numbers and ruled Betty owed Dan 750,000. They pulverized her using this little game.

Betty had no counsel because she trusted no lawyer in San Diego. There were those who tried to help but She was fifty shades of mentally screwed up by then with all the harassment and degradation.

To this day even those who work in law consider the final ruling beyond cruel and brutal. She went into a sealed off court room with windows covered at her husbands request and gladly granted by the judge. On that day after many rounds of calculated delays they went in for the jugular. The judge allowed it all. He had used her to get her degree's to generate his wealth and notoriety. He cheated on her. Lied about it for years while she slowly lost her sanity feeling degraded. After finally admitting it he then taunted her with it. Yanked her home from her. Based on fairness and all financial resources tossed her chicken feed while holding up divorce proceedings to shove his cock up her ass with no ky jelly just one last time to avoid handing over a well deserved 1 million rightfully hers earned during their partnership as man and wife. In the end the very legal title she worked in order for him to achieve worked it's evil magic against her granting her a measly 30,000.

Do the math. He took the children, her dignity, her home, her money, and her sanity and did it all publicly day after day. I have to agree with that one juror who asked.. what the hell took her so long?

It's sad it all ended the way it did and there is no way you could advocate the end result but jesus, how much cruelty can one person take before they just explode like that?

[quote]Basically it's when the supporting spouse can charge the dependent spouse for one-half of all community debts accumulated not from the date of divorce, but from the date of separation. By the time they got to court the judge accepted all Dans proposed numbers and ruled Betty owed Dan 750,000. They pulverized her using this little game.

Thanks r114 for the info. Can you explain 'Epstein Credits' a bit clearer. Not following how it worked. What debts were Dan claiming?

Epstein Credits is 1/2 of any community property payments paid by the supporting spouse from the day of separation to the present court date. Example: Mortgage payment.

In Broderick vs Broderick that would be 1/2 all community property debts for at least 4 years as Dan had delayed divorce procedures for that period of time. The Boderick divorce was notorious well before the actual murders. Betty was asked to be on The Oprah W show during that whole mess but she turned it down. Little did anyone know what would take place later on.

It made no logical sense to drag a divorce out for that period of time while he had custody of the children and was already living with his mistress who he would marry months later after divorce settlement. Unless the goal was to gauge the ex out of spite.

interesting post, r116. Did not know Oprah Show wanted Betty Broderick on the show during divorce. It must have been a big story in San Diego to get on Oprah show radar.

r104 offers good advice. I understand Betty Broderick's frustration knowing Dan was the darling of attorneys for all of San Diego. I wish she had tried to get the case moved elsewhere.

Dan was an evil person in sheep's clothing. He wanted to destroy the mother of his children who got him where he was.

It almost reminds me of Code of Hammurabi:

Thievery

Ex. Law #22: "If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death."

Not only did Dan use legal system to rip off his wife, he harassed her and then used the legal system to punish her for trying to retaliate.

Juror is correct:

Do the math. He took the children, her dignity, her home, her money, and her sanity and did it all publicly day after day. I have to agree with that one juror who asked.. what the hell took her so long?

At the very last, he knew what Betty did and witnessed the killing of his wife while bleeding to death and then she pulls out the one chance of life, the telephone.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned.

i need to make one edit on the above about reimbursement in an epstein credit. The supporting spouse could get full reimbursement if he or she uses separate property funds for payment. Proof supplied to the judges is mandatory. It's a drawn out very technical maneuver that someone like Dan would implement just for the sheer pleasure of making sure the ex gets as little as possible. Besides the 9000 fixed to 16000 a month betty was getting in the divorce settlement she asked for one lump sum of 1 million in community property. The man was making more than that a year without even itemizing property. It was a fair request on her part. What he did with that request was a continued definition of his own lack of character.

For all the theories about Betty and her mental problems there is one missing link and the link is why he was so evil to her. My theory is that she represented the truth of what he was not. He was not self made and his ego couldn't allow that to be seen. Without her and her support and help he never would have gotten to where he was. His cruel actions were no better than her physical outbursts. While she was driving through homes and busting windows and making foul calls he was spitting in her face, sending legal threats, parading his whore in front of her, using the kids as emotional pawns, and ripping her off for every dime she had earned. He was essentially driving her mad and destroying her livelihood and then swearing it was all her fault. Strange she was good enough to use while getting those two degree's.

Most say she should have backed away and took what little she could and rose from the mess. At a certain point when someone has turned your brains to taffy I guess that's impossible. Yes, she lost it mentally but in my opinion the person who took it from her was a master class cruel calculating mind fucker who in the end pushed it way too far and the monster he had created finally turned on him in a way so he'd never do harm to anyone else again.

Sad story.

r105, The Brodericks were making millions annually. He was giving her a pittance and did it legally by knowledge of the system.

He made "loans" to his brother during the divorce that almost totaled 1/2 million dollars to hide money. Oldest trick in the book by bad men. I read thefamily of his 2nd dead wife wants that money for themselves.

This is from "The Twelth of Never":

"Money was always the measure with the Brodericks, in death as in life. In another twisted note, the Broderick estate even thought to bill Betty for twenty-five days of her November, 1989, support payment--every day beyond November 5, when she killed Dan.

Nor did the Brodericks show much more generosity toward Linda Kolkena's family. Although Linda was also beneficiary of the $1 million in Dan's life insurance, the Brodericks challenged Linda's family's right to the money on grounds that, since she had died anywhere from one to thirty minutes sooner than Dan, her entitlement legally reverted to him. Her family, in short, was entitled to nothing beyond what Larry Broderick (Dan's sleazebag brother) and family chose to bestow. According to Linda's sister Maggie, her ailing father received around $200,000. The Kolkenas did not contest it. Adding to the insult, according to a report by Paul Krueger in the Reader, a local mortuary billed the Kolkena family for her share of funeral costs--around $7000."

I read The Twelfth of Never a few years ago. I didn't find Dan, Linda or Betty to be extremely likable. But I can see why Betty ended up doing the things she did. One incident in the book that made me have some sympathy towards Linda's friends and family was that a few months after the murders, the SD Irish American Association held an expensive benefit dinner to honor Dan. A few of Linda's friends paid to go to that dinner and they were pissed that Linda's name was never mentioned when the associations reps spoke about Dan.

That incident combined with what Larry Broderick did, gives me the feeling that Dan's friends and relatives didn't think much of Linda in the end.

Men like Dan destroy women who carry the Shadow for them.

I'm not applauding murder, and I think they were BOTH crazy, but Dan Broderick at least deserved to have his balls cut off. When you fuck people as badly as he did Betty, you're bound to reap some whoop-ass.

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Where did you hear or read that, r124?

I take it back. I'm watching the episode of "True Crime with Aphrodite Jones" about the case. Dan Broderick deserved to be murdered. He was a fucking asshole of the first degree. What goes around, comes around, mutherfucker.

[quote] Dan was the darling of attorneys for all of San Diego. I wish she had tried to get the case moved elsewhere.

She couldn't get it moved anywhere else. She could barely hire a divorce attorney. Most of the attorneys she went to said it was a conflict of interest and wouldn't take her case. They did it as a favor to Dan

I worked for a very wealthy man who reminds me so much of Dan Broderick. He was also a lawyer, but he didn't practice law for a living. He drove his wife insane. He had an out of wedlock child with a family friend and numerous other affairs with women she knew. He rubbed it in her face and he went behind her back and hid money. He also tried to use legal tactics to cheat her in their divorce and to have control over of her life after the divorce. He had a lot of stipulations put into the divorce agreement. One was that she couldn't live with anyone for 3 yrs after the divorce, but there wasn't any stipulation on what he could do. She also couldn't get married for a year after the divorce. Another was that she would have to run most decisions about their children by him - even when they were with her. He didn't have to run anything by her. Another thing was she couldn't take the kids out of school for any reason with out his permission, but of course there wasn't any stipulation for him to do the same. Another was that if she moved to another apartment she had to get his approval. And once again there wasn't anything in the agreement that required him to get her permission if he wanted to move. She and her new boyfriend killed him

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[quote]He had used her to get her degree's to generate his wealth and notoriety.

No, Dan's father was a doctor. This has been mentioned many times, and, like everything else, it always shifts to paint Dan and Linda as the victims here.

[quote] it always shifts to paint Dan and Linda as the victims here.

Who exactly do you think ended up on their bedroom floor murdered?

They are the victims.

R127 .. Wha?? You worked for this fucker who was later whacked by his ex-wife?

Has the story been turned into a Lifetime movie yet? Or a 20/20 story? ...And were you interviewed?

On a blog about Betty and Dan and Linda (the posters are mostly pro-Betty), someone said that that Linda is NOT buried beside Dan. In Bella Stumbo's book it was stated that Betty wrote an odd note during her trial proceedings that said "empty coffins." She later explained it by saying that the expensive caskets at Dan and Linda's funeral did not contain their bodies; they were cremated. The blog said that Dan's ashes were buried but that Linda's family took hers and disposed of them elsewhere. I tend to believe that. They probably blamed Dan, in addition to Betty, for Linda's demise. But Linda Kolkena was equally to blame.

Indeed, Linda was dating a good-looking, successful cartoonist named Steve Kelley at some point during her affair with Dan. He was quite smitten with her, but when he realized she was also sleeping with her boss, he told her she had to make a decision. She said she'd end the affair with Dan, but would continue to work for him, because she loved her job. Of course, that was a lot of crap. She chose the rich, married, older man over Kelley, although they did remain friends. Kelley later said that she knew he was a better match; her age, single and childless, with a successful career. But she went with Dan, because he was "her knight in shining armor, a very rich, prominent attorney who could give her the privileged life she wanted; the fact that he was married, had four kids and an increasingly mentally ill wife didn't deter her. Kelley summed it up by saying "she made the wrong call."

r132, Steve Kelley is really good looking. He was smart to make her make a choice. Sadly, she chose the wrong man.

Thank you all so much. I have just read this thread from start to finish and it is the most entertaining read on DL.

And no I'm not enjoying their misery, well maybe a little, it's the way you all write. (Well maybe a little schadenfreude...)

Thank you one and all.

You all sound like a bunch of scary, jilted losers.

Relationships end. So sad.

Betty was a rude, crude nutjob. I've dealt with those portly, entitled matrons before. Usually they just accept that he's cheating and stay married. Shop a lot and send him the bills.

She's a murderer and is exactly where she belongs: in a cage.

r134, you may enjoy this link if you missed it:

r135, why are you reading this thread?

It's just shocking to me that both Dan and Linda would be so stupid as to keep pushing a woman who was clearly mentally ill, and in the midst of a case so prominent that it was getting national attention. But maybe that was the whole point; maybe they had the same mentality as some reality show stars nowadays, the ones who can't stop doing the most ridiculous, harmful shit possible, as long as it gets them in the papers.

I don't in any way, shape or form condone the fact that Betty Broderick murdered her ex-husband Dan and his second wife Linda. OTOH, Dan had lived with Betty long enough to know what she was like. She was always a strong willed woman. The pictures of Dan and Betty when they were first married show that she was very attractive. She put him through law school and gave him four kids. Dan Broderick HAD to have known that Betty was no Shrinking Violet and would not quietly fade away. Instead he chose to keep antagonizing her and using his clout with other attorneys in the area to screw her in the divorce settlement. She responded by becoming more and more unhinged. There's no excuse for Betty's actions but I do believe he provoked her and that she was mentally unstable in the months/years leading up to the actual murder.

Betty absolutely deserved to go to jail for the murders. At the same time, Dan was an arrogant ass; anyone with two working brains cells could have predicted that things would end badly. He and Linda would most likely still be alive today if he hadn't pulled his power trip and if the good old boys legal and judicial system didn't aid and abet him in the divorce proceedings.

I think two of their four kids are in contact with Betty.

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R135, there is nothing wrong with someone like Dan falling out of love with his wife and calling for a divorce. What was out of line was what a cruel instigator he was. He kept egging on an obviously mentally unbalanced woman just for shits and giggles. He didn't deserve death, but look where that got him.. Dan is not a sympathetic person to put it mildly.

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Dan Broderick is 100% prime example of a sociopath. The world is actually a better place without him in it.

R133 Steve dodged a bullet when Linda chose Dan. Linda, on the other hand, could not dodge a bullet.

r141 you left out the part of Dan dragging divorce on for years to cheat wife out of monies she was entitled to and using legal system to destroy her.

R141 ITA 100% Dan Broderick got all of his lawyer and judge buddies to stack the deck against Betty.

[quote] The long, drawn-out Broderick divorce was finalized in 1989, four years after Dan filed for it. Judge William Howatt accepted all of Dan's proposed numbers and ruled that Betty Broderick owed Dan $750,000 in Epstein reimbursements (debts incurred during the marriage) and cash advances. In the end, as the balance of payments evened out, Dan Broderick was ordered to pay his wife of almost 20 years less than $30,000 in cash.

I'm not a huge believer in Alimony but in this case, Betty was entitled to something. I wonder if the judge that "accepted" all of Dan Broderick's figures and agreed that Betty owed Dan $750K, feels any twinge of remorse or guilt for his actions.

Again, I don't excuse or condone the murders but Dan kept provoking Betty. It's hard to muster any sympathy for him. I do feel sorry for their four children though.

I do wonder if Linda would gotten tired of being married to an older man if Betty hadn't killed her.

Rightly or wrongly, Dan Broderick is exactly what comes to mind when I think of the typical straight guy.

He was cruel, selfish, and used her in every way possible until he pushed her right over the edge. He had won, and I will never understand why didn't he just enjoy the spoils and move on with his life instead of provoking her.

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This made me think of my sister in law...she worked in a law office and married the founding partner.

He was divorced..just thought..he was malpractice attorney as well. He is about 15 years older than my sister in law.

So, she didn't break up his marriage ,but almost broke up someone else's marriage ...a man who had 4 young children.

So...not a very nice woamn...charming...but not very nice.

It does take a special kind of fool to look at your lover using every possible means to destroy his ex, and fail to realize that he's not only a horrible human being, but he'll do the same to you some day.

But lots of young people are that foolish. The assure themselves that they're just better at managing the evil man than the ex, and they will never lose control of the situation. It's the ultimate in youthful naivete!

Tell me about how to make a Betty... Bag

R141 you have to wonder if Dan had approached it in the way you state ( falling out of love and requesting a divorce ) maybe just maybe things would have turned out different.

His approach to falling out of love was bagging some young whore and then lying about it for a few years with zero request to end a marriage obviously he didn't want to be a part of. When he finally did admit to the affair, I guess that would be when he admitted he had fallen out of love? After all that time he finally files for divorce only to drag the divorce on for four years simply to fuck Betty side ways as if he hadn't already done enough damage. It's so hard to condense all of that to simply falling out of love and ending a marriage. If there is a club of dirtballs I think that club would reject his request for membership and tell him he goes beyond membership criteria and skates close to the spawn of fucking hell.

I agree what he pulled makes it so hard to find empathy for him and Linda but the feelings do exist in a strange way. It really is a shame it all ended that way. You have to wonder at what point Linda would have woken up and realized all the money and all that clout couldn't hide the fact he was nothing but a piece of garbage. He shares a bit of the blame for their murders. He taunted his first wife over and over and was warned repeatedly to cool it. I'm sure he believed not only would she not kill him because of money but he also privately got off on believing she obsessively loved him therefore she'd never be able to kill him. I Guess he didn't quite read her correctly.

R127 I don't know how he failed to read her correctly -- she left him foul mouthed voice mail messages, drove her car through the front of his house and he got several restraining orders out against her.

Her repeated and escalating actions directed against he and Linda all screamed that Betty was going off the rails and was very capable of violence towards both of them. I find it incomprehensible that Dan never took Betty's threats seriously and continued to incite her. He was clearly arrogant. Heprobably felt that he was somehow immune because he could sway his fellow lawyers and work the judicial system.

She had a studly boyfriend who seemed to genuinely care about her. But she cared about appearances more than anything. He was younger and more blue collar and Betty didn't want people to talk.

If that crazy bitch had kept her shit together, she could've discovered that living well is truly the best revenge. Dan, probably would've come back to her if he thought she was truly capable of being happy without him (most narcissists can't stand the idea) But she couldn't and just ate and seethed and seethed and ate. Seems like she's doing more of the same in jail.

R155 Yep, Betty did get into a vicious cycle of eating, seething and violence.

BUT Dan also provoked her. I can't think of any sane, reasonable person that would want to tangle with the likes of Betty Broderick who was a text book example of a woman scorned. Dan Broderick knew her for well over 20 years -- this guy had a medical degree and a law degree and yet he was stupid enough to keep antagonizing her.

[quote] He shares a bit of the blame for their murders.

Do you also think women who are raped are asking for it?

r135, are you someone's "other woman"? Betty turned "nutjob" AFTER she knew Dan was gas-lighting her, treating her as a moron, isolating her, flaunting his affair to their children and mutual friends.

r157, rape victims rarely do to their rapists what Dan did to his killer.

I remember when the court set it up so they'd have to manhandle her and filmed her with her skirt around her waist. They humiliated her on purpose. They knew she'd freak out in the court room. Ugh.

I think if Dan had just told her, look, our marriage is terrible, I want a divorce, he wouldn't have ended up dead. I don't think that would have caused Betty to totally lose it. It was the thought of Linda Kolkena reaping the benefits of all those years of struggling to make it that drove her around the bend with rage. If there had been no third party involved, I don't think any murders would have occurred. If Dan hadn't dumped her for his office girl she may well have been able to handle a divorce.

A friend of Betty's said simply "she killed him for the infidelity, period."

I'm 80% on Betty's side because I do think she had intent to kill both of them. The excuse about the gun mistakingly going off was crazy.

She was totally screwed in sentencing too. 32 years was the maximum for all 4 charges consecutively. I would think SOME extenuating circumstances would have been given.

Here is what I find interesting. There seems to a popular opinion that Dan is partly to blame because Betty's action were provoked by his tactics during the divorce.

Let's take that reasoning one step further.

Betty picked him. Do you honestly think he turned into an asshole overnight? Do you honestly think he just discovered these legal tactics once he left Betty? Do you honestly think the lifestyle they enjoyed prior to the divorce was not funded by the very legal tactics he used against Betty? I can't find a single reference to Betty complaining about Dan's legal career when they were together and the cash was flowing in her direction.

Seems to me if we are going to lay blame based upon what people should have known - it's pretty much a wash between Dan and Betty.

I think that Betty killing Dan and Linda is a separate act from their divorce and marriage.

When you try to assess blame based upon previous acts it is just like blaming a rape victim because she wore a short skirt out to a bar.

R162 - Hard to get reduced sentencing based upon extenuating circumstances when you won't admit your guilt and/or remorse.

Recorded on videotape for all of San Diego to see, there was La Jolla socialite Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick in green underwear and a gray jail sweat shirt, perched on an upper bunk in her jail cell. No, she said to inquiring deputies, she was not about to move.

So here came a swarm of guards, scrambling into the cell and onto the bed, determined to move Betty Broderick to another cell whether she liked it or not. She didn't, and a wrestling match ensued. The guards grabbed for her limbs. She kicked at them.

Their tombstone is hysterical!

R165, is there a link or photo of this floating around somewhere?

Dan and his cronies were real pigs. I wonder if all of these so-called friends and acquaintances of Dan knew what an ass he was and didn't care or if they didn't realize he was a sociopath until after his death? I'm sure the wives of many of his lawyer/judge friends didn't feel too entirey favorably about him afterwards.

r167, it is one thing to know someone socially and another to be under their scrutiny or aware of their dark side and devious ways.

Many very wealthy people have their axx's kissed socially and in print. The ways and means of how they earn or have earned their fortunes is often not under scrutiny.

R163 you've relegated Bettys treatment by Dan as nothing more than a client. Even at his slithering lawyer worst she could have thought his emotional investment in what they had built together allowed her some dignity, honesty, and respect. She has addressed this when mentioning the shock of many of his choices. Not surprisingly Dan Broderick was never caught routinely praising her for all she brought to that partnership/marriage yet every collegue and friend easily accounted what an exceptional mother, wife, and partner she was. Many fellow lawyers may have concluded in that case they could not have went for the jugular unless the dependent spouse had been a card carrying royal bitch specifically to him. That wasn't the case here. Her requests were fair and reasonable.

It's ironic you jump to the word rape because in all honesty Dan Broderick repeatedly raped his first wife mentally and emotionally. She could have had no clue if the marriage did fail as the mother of his children, who did a damn good job in that role and the woman who sold Tupperware door to door so that he could get his legal degree would be relegated to nothing but human prey for him to taunt and devour not just for an hour, week, or few months but for years. He wouldn't give her a chance to collect herself with all the legal maneuvers he'd toss her way. How was she going to get on with her life when he's busy dragging out the divorce proceeding to further fuck her up the ass? I honestly believe he came to the conclusion if he could drive her bat shit crazy he'd get it all. Getting it all for Dan Broderick was his game in life.

In no way in the case do I see the act of murder separate from what he tossed at her in divorce proceedings. His choices laid the foundation brick by brick. The man was a fucking greedy, mind fucking monster that she would learn much later onwould probably shove a broom stick up his own parents ass to savor some prestige, power, money, and control.

Dan Broderick may as well have purchased, loaded, and put his own fingers on that gun and while pounding her head in said... go ahead bitch shoot me. You're the crazy one. I've destroyed you in every way to bring you to this point. I've degraded you, manipulated our children and friends against you. I did it for years and you fell for it you crazy loon. You're my pathetic puppet. Who easily could simply walk away from that?

From affair to death this was a long drawn out cruel vicious very ugly and at times evil vindictive situation. All three adults involved were a mess. To relegate it to her simply going through a challenging divorce and she got a little pissed along the way and then killed him and his whore in the end so she also needs to rot in hell avoids the complete emotional, and mental journey into hell he took her on and wouldn't stop. In that exhausted, twisted fucked up mind of hers he methodically created she concluded she needed it to stop. You have to wonder if she looked at the future and thought it will never end. Would he just keep at her even if the courts told him he had to pay 1.00 in alimony? Would he continue to use the children as pawns to fuck with her? Would she ever be able to get on with a separate life and at any point look back and not feel like he'd fucked her sideways?

The same questions still go unanswered... Why did he not want to give her a fair cut? Why was it so important to beat her to the point of degrading her? What sick twisted fuck pours salt in festering wounds for years watching her fall a part? Why if he was even half of a caring father did he treat the kids mother so poorly and even allow them to hear voice messages and even pick up a phone knowing she would be calling angry?

Was she wrong in what she did? YES! we don't resolve the issues they were dealing with like that. BUT! in my opinion she slayed her own personal monster and the weight of that monster should have been considered when administering judgment on her future.

R167 and R165 - all though the incident in question was videotaped show me one link which verifies the tape was released to the public after the incident. The removal was videotaped to protect the guards from false accusations.

Betty was being moved to an isolation cell as punishment for two previous infractions.

She was kind enough once in the isolation cell to smear it with her own feces.

But even though it had been over a year since she had murdered Dan - I'm sure we can find someway to blame this incident on him.

I heart r169. Someone who really gets this case.

Get the book Until The Twelfth of never and you'll get a sense of what Dan's fellow lawyers truly felt about his approach. As part of the good ol boys club publicly they stood by him. Privately they were stunned at how low he was going. From a legal stand point some of them were shocked the judge allowed some of the rulings without consideration. The onus in those rulings though must be placed on Betty. The level of fucked up paranoia she had about the entire legal system did have it's validity but she was so far gone she just wouldn't keep a lawyer in her own corner. She walked right into that closed court pretty much a lamb to slaughter. There were things that could have been avoided but Dan banked on his behavior so fucking her up she'd again make yet another very stupid move.

I lived in SD when this all went on. Well, I was there during the divorce and scorned crazed Betty stuff. I was attending a private college in Point Loma. Graduated in 88 and a year later after moving back home to work and care for my mother is when she murdered Dan and Linda.

The few students who grew up in the LaJolla area and actually knew Betty all said they were shocked at her behavior because she was one of the most publicly put together individuals you'd ever meet. They assumed when he filed she'd be quick to get the most expensive divorce lawyer to counter his bullshit and in the end serve his balls up on a silver platter.

I wish there was a way to look up old news articles of her behavior when they actually happened. We use to laugh and say watch yourself or I'll go Betty on your ass. Even the most casual comments about the divorce always included many wondering why he was fucking with her at that point.

R167, the clip is in the documentaries. I can't find it online quickly. Sorry.

Would Betty have even known details about Dan's methods in the courtroom, R163? It seems her first exposure to his legal tricks was when he directed them at her.

With four kids and a husband who is in school or at work most of the day, it would be easy to hide character flaws. It's practically cliche for couples to break up after retirement, when they have time together and realize the person they're partnered with isn't at all how they thought they were.

And given the length of their marriage, Betty must have trusted Dan to a large extent. Finding out he had been having an affair and was lying about it for years, and that he tricked her into leaving her home for repairs with the full knowledge he would never let her move back, must have been shattering.

If Dan had been cruel a couple of times, no one would be saying anything about him being partly responsible for his own death. But instead he spent years engaged in systematic cruelty, as did Linda, with the help of a lot of local lawyers and other high-placed friends and colleagues, and all while seeing Betty becoming more and more unstable. She drove a car into their gate, she broke into their home, she left threatening messages, and yet he continued to antagonize her.

At some point, I think we've all considered the likelihood of him having used Betty the entire 20 years they were together, having always intended on getting a hot piece once he was settled with a high-paying job. And if that's true, who knows what kind of gaslighting or other manipulation Dan had been pulling on Betty for two decades before the divorce.

But the bottom line is that there is an element of common sense here: You deliberately taunt and emotionally torture someone, you risk them turning on you or your children or other loved ones. If Dan didn't want to take those risks, well, he had years to back off and let everything calm down. He chose not to.

Does anyone else think there's one dumped loony here who keeps posting over and over for 9 pages?

I don't care if Dan and his childish wifey wrote PIG in blood on Betty's car, she still has no right to murder people.

Eh, I would be that alleged loon for offering known fact about the case. Fortunately, I can only claim being a loon as I've never been dumped.. SO FAR!

I have always found this case fascinating having seen it played out as it was happening.

Betty Broderick is most likely the only murderer I've ever felt empathy or even compassion for. She had no right to take two life's but how it got to that point sets this case a part.

According to Betty, Dan's last words (his last known words, anyway) were "you got me." She said he held his hands up like he was surrendering and said, clearly, "you got me." She said because of that, she didn't think he was mortally wounded, panicked and pulled the phone out of the wall in order to keep him from calling the police. It might be true.

Anyway, Dan didn't die immediately. Linda died almost instantly; she was shot first in the chest, then as she turned was shot in the back of her head. The pool of blood and saliva under Dan's face indicated that he must have have lived for a matter of minutes, up to maybe a half and hour, before dying. I wonder what he was thinking as he lay dying?

I think there have been so many replies to this thread because the Broderick case is endlessly fascinating. I've read a lot of true crime books, and the saga of Dan and Betty Broderick and Linda Kolkena is unusually interesting and sordid and complicated.

r174, well said. I think your reply explains why after pulling the trigger, Betty pulled the phone chord out of the wall.

R177 it really is one of the most fascinating crimes in my life time. The footage of Betty crazed as shit makes it so hard to visualize how put together she once was. The CBS version was so watered down in regard to Dan and Linda while Betty was an easy caricature. The vicious nature at which they were all going at each other in real life was constant water cooler/coffee talk.

R175 I think everyone agrees that two wrongs don't make a right. Regardless of how much of a POS Dan Broderick was, Betty had no right to murder he and Linda. She deserved to go to jail.

However, I do believe she became mentally unhinged by the spousal betraya, infidelity and protracted divorce proceedings and Dan's underhanded machinations. There is no doubt Betty also harbored a lot of animosity towards Linda the other woman who "stole" her husband (even though Dan was probably looking for an excuse to leave). She was denied parole again in 2011 with the Parole Board finding that mentally she's still mired in the past and has not moved on or shown any remorse for her crimes. One of her sons believes that she's dangerous and should remain locked up, while one of her daughters testified she'd like to see her released and come to live with her.

Betty can reapply for parole again in late 2014-2015.

This case is more similar to the story of The Burning Bed.

Abused wife and mother and a husband who felt entitled.

I think the other woman got off without being jailed.

One of Betty's daughters, Kim (the eldest), was a real piece of work herself. Gold-digging, manipulative and an instigator that made the situation 10 x worse than it could have been with her back-and-forth instigating. Mind you, she was a legal adult when all of this was happening. I wonder how much guilt she must feel now?

Of course, no one is saying she had any right to murder people. I can't speak for anyone else, but what I'm saying is that people can be mentally manipulated, broken, and the end result is that they are not in their right mind. So if someone chooses to screw with another person with the intent to deliberately gaslight them or make them crazy -- and Dan seems to have done that -- then he set himself up for the risks that come along with taunting someone who is mentally unstable and who has been threatening.

I also personally have very little sympathy for Dan because he knew his kids and new wife would also be in harm's way if he pushed Betty too far, but he did it anyway. He wasn't just risking himself, but everyone around him.

Men shit all over women everywhere, everyday. It sucks, but the vast majority of women don't kill their tormentors.

The TV movies were too kind on Kim. The problems she caused was never mentioned in the TV movies. Also, the names of the Broderick kids were changed for the TV movies. Larry Broderick was also portrayed in a sympathetic light in the movies and the things he and Dan did with money were not mentioned. I saw the movies years before I read the Bella Stumbo book. I think it would have been interesting if TV movie or mini-series would have been made based on the Stumbo book.

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Sorry, but Dan and his cunting new wife got just what they deserved. One can only be abused so much before one snaps.

I remember reading somewhere that Kim Broderick is a typical SoCal soccer mom and she has a daughter who looks a lot like Betty.

Was Dan Broderick Really a Model of Integrity?

R173 - I don't if the clip was in a documentary or not. There is no evidence it was released to the media the next day for all of San Diego to see. That was the original claim. (I find it difficult to believe that if the clip exists you couldn't find it on youtube.)

R174 - Why are you willing to assume Betty would know nothing about Dan's true nature but somehow Dan should have had an idea that Betty would end up coming after him and Linda with a gun? That's my point. Both points of view are unreasonable.

R181 - The Broderick case is in no way similar to Francine Hughes case (The Burning Bed) other than both cases involved a married couple. Hughes was abused by her husband for 13 years. After she killed her husband she drove to the police station to confess. Betty had a messy divorce that left her with only $30,000.

Dan might have been an asshole and he might have used the legal system to his advantage - helped greatly in that endeavor by Betty.

But that is no where near the act of taking the law into your own hands and seeking vengeance by murdering your ex.

r190, RE: The Broderick case is in no way similar to Francine Hughes case (The Burning Bed) other than both cases involved a married couple. Hughes was abused by her husband for 13 years. After she killed her husband she drove to the police station to confess.

I could not disagree with you more.

Both women were victims of spousal abuse. Betty's abuse was mental and even more diabolical than Burning Bed case because there were years of trying to provoke and destroy her sanity by both the husband and the girlfriend. Before Dan wanted out of their marriage and before he diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars of community property to his brother, Betty was a sane and well respected woman in the San Diego social community.

BTW, Betty Broderick also drove to the police station to confess after the murders.

I find this website entertaining

a messy divorce? a huge understatement. A four year ride into the depths of prolonged divorce hell with Dan Broderick manning the ship with weekly badgering, taunting, threatening, Orders to show cause, humiliating, and degrading his prey for nothing but pure greed.

Broderick vs Broderick during it's time was considered the most nastiest divorce in San Diego County. It shocked so many it was given national attention. To the day of his murder Dan Broderick was still sending legal threats after he'd already won it all. That so called messy divorce was a daily bullying tactic. Dan Broderick wouldn't let up and showed zero respect for the mother of his children.

The total count of known abusive years? For 9 years starting with the lies about an affair a slow calculated methodical mind fuck was administered by Dan broderick. Why do that to her? Did you know the very first time Betty suspected he was cheating with Linda she asked for a separation and he told her she was nuts for thinking he'd do something like that and then further pointed out the home was his and he'd never leave! SHE TRIED to get him out of her life. Instead he wanted to fuck her up nice and slow.

During that time He stole her sanity continuing to lie about the affair. Two years later he was ready to lay the gauntlet down and then took her home, took the children of whom he had been a stranger to, continued to manipulate and use a common gold digging whore allowing her to further badger the mother of his children. He had Degraded, demoralized, ripped off, humiliated and stole Betty Broderick's complete livelihood.

Messy divorce? Again, total understatement. There are some that say Dan Broderick murdered Betty Broderick well before he took his last breath. I agree.

Please R189 get a grip.

When put beside the life Francine Hughes lived for 13 years - with constant physical abuse.

It was a messy divorce.

Dan won and won and won, until he lost.

TFB for him.

I can understand Betty's frustration. She sacrificed for Dan and then when they finally were living well he dumps her for a younger woman. Like Betty said, Linda just moved into her life. All those years with Dan and then she was just pushed aside, and even worse her ex husband and his new woman heaped abuse on Betty and used the children as pawns.

I just wish she could have gotten revenge another way besides murder.

Betty would make an interesting subject for a psychological study. By all accounts she had no psychological or social issues prior to Dan's psychological warfare. He literally drove her insane.

Too bad we don't hear more from her children. I wonder if the siblings' relationships are strained since they are divided on their thoughts re: if their mother should be free.

I'd like to know more about Kim. It sounds like she has a lot of her father's personality traits.

[quote] I'm not a huge believer in Alimony but in this case, Betty was entitled to something. I wonder if the judge that "accepted" all of Dan Broderick's figures and agreed that Betty owed Dan $750K, feels any twinge of remorse or guilt for his actions.

That judge was a good friend of Dans. He was even a guest at Dan's wedding to that whore linda

[quote]Why are you willing to assume Betty would know nothing about Dan's true nature but somehow Dan should have had an idea that Betty would end up coming after him and Linda with a gun?

Because she had burned all his clothes in a bonfire in the back yard when she finally had proof he was sleeping with Linda. Because she vandalized Dan's car and the home they used to share, smashing the windows repeatedly, breaking in and ripping the place apart, constantly violating the restraining order. She threatened him in front of their kids. She drove her car through the front door of his new home. Everyone saw her disintegrate before their eyes, doing and saying things that were completely uncharacteristic and often violent.

And he kept baiting her, despite all the signs that she was about to hurt someone, even if just accidentally during one of her vandalism sprees. It was so obvious that his own attorneys called her actions "pathological."

You keep acting like Dan was blindsided by this. He wasn't, not in the least.

Dan knew about and encouraged her mental breakdown. Betty had no right to kill Dan or Linda. These things are NOT mutually exclusive.

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How odd is it that the word can be used in a post title but not in the body of a post.

Somebody close the bold and turn out the lights, please.

Betty Crocker was an imaginary person created by General Mills to promote their products in print, radio, and TV commercials. Never mind.

A lot of the kids look like Betty R200, even that little boy on the end at the piano.

Betty Broderick is a Scorpio.

That explains my thorough understanding of her, 204.

Betty was denied parole in 2011 because she continues to refuse to show any remorse.

I love how the parole board accuses Betty of "living in the past" when they are the ones denying her release for a 25 year old crime. Hypocrites.

Sorry, correction:

Betty was denied parole in 2011 because she refuses to show any remorse.

r200, makes me wonder how Kim would like it if her daughters turned their backs on her like she did her own mother. Also wonder how she would act if her husband took away her lifestyle and shit on her like Dan did to Betty.

One of Kim's daughter's is pretty, the other not so much

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Dan Jr. and Kim are social climbers so it benefits them to distance themselves from Betty to stay in their social circle.

Did Lee ever explain why she was written out of the will?

Some of the info I know about the children date back a little. Dan and Rhett went to live with Uncle Larry ( dan's brother ) right after the murders. Flash fwd a few years and Uncle Larrys marriage went down the toilet as well. His ex Kathy won custody of the boys ( thats a little odd a former sister in law would get custody) At the time Betty was concerned at the choice.

Also, at some point Uncle Larry owed the boys 450,000. The bank was after him for restitution. I think this was the alleged loan he got from Dan. They say the mans a piece of work. I guess the shit runs thick in that family blood line.

I don't know how long the boys stayed with kathy but eventually I think Rhett went to live with Bettys brother and Dan jr moved back to South Cali living with Kim.

R213, I kind of remember reading somewhere that Lee went through a rebellious phase, but she wasn't as bad as Kim and she also used to stick up for Betty and that stuff pissed off Dan.

I also remember a bit about Rhett's appearance on Oprah years ago. He mentioned the issues with Larry and other relatives and he was sent to one of those boot camps for troubled kids at one point.

Larry Broderick is the example of the greedy leach relative that many well to do people have in their lives.

Given the media attention, drama and murder elements these children grew up with, it is remark able all are functioning rather well. In this kind of case, the children are often split in the way they view the parents.

Sometimes the children can all be in denial that the parent murdered their spouse, even after a court conviction.

This may be the most dramatic divorce ever to come from conservative San Diego.

Weren't the Brodericks Republicans?

R199 - You do realize the incidents you describe are far far from murder. Hardly a connect the dots situation.

My point is that you keep insisting Dan should have known.

I'm asking why on earth you wold think Betty shouldn't have known her husband was an asshole?

Why shouldn't she have known better and not opened herself up to his harassment.

Betty got screwed in the financial settlement. It wasn't because the lawyer was Dan's friend. It was because she fired her lawyer.

Let's be clear on what screwed is. She only got $30,000. There are plenty of people who would be happy to walk away from a divorce with $30,000.

R218 Yes, plenty of regular folks whose husbands were not multi-millionaires would jump for joy to walk away from a marriage with $30,000. But Dan Broderick was worth far more than that. He also took the home that he, Betty and their children inhabited. Another spiteful move on Dan's part designed to smite Betty.

He had to know he was playing with fire and that it was a matter of "when" NOT "if" Betty would explode.

Betty's testified that Dan's last words to her as he lay dying were: "You got me; I'm dead."

That's very telling: it sounds like Dan was not all that surprised that Betty shot him. On some level -- perhaps not one that his arrogance would allow him to process -- he had to have known that if he kept antagonizing Betty that she would explode.

Ridiculous, R219. He had no reason to believe she would kill him. Whoever thinks that of someone who is not a violent criminal to begin with? I'm sure he was in shock when she shot him. His words were meaningless babble. They are not prophetic.

[quote]Let's be clear on what screwed is. She only got $30,000. There are plenty of people who would be happy to walk away from a divorce with $30,000

Are you for real with this, R218? Her husband was making millions and he only attained that good fortune with Betty's help and hard work through many, many lean years. She was entitled to half his net worth which he stealthily hid by moving money overseas, putting the family home in his name as sole owner and gifting his brother with large amounts of cash. He was a disgusting snake.

Never marry a lawyer.

R220 Dan may not have allowed himself to think/believe that Betty would actually kill him. But c'mon: he took out multiple restraining orders against her after she drove her car through the front door of his house; burned all of his expensive clothes on her front lawn and repeatedly left vile and threatening messages on his answering machine. Her actions became increasingly bizarre, fanatical and violent as the divorce dragged out over four years.

The majority of women murderers fall into the category of "crime of passion."

Seriously, anyone who had a scorned woman like Betty Broderick stalking and acting out as she was doing over four years with the violence escalating, would have to consider it within the realm of possibility (very strong possibility) that she would attempt physical harm at some point.

At the very least, Dan Broderick should have had the common sense to disengage and stop provoking her.

[quote]His words were meaningless babble. They are not prophetic.

Yet Dan secretly hired armed guards to protect him and Linda at their wedding. He was afraid Betty would show up and start shooting. Later on some wedding guests were annoyed to learn that Dan hadn't informed them of the genuine security threat.

R223, serves them right for attending and supporting Fuckhead and The Cunt's marriage.

BTW, the judge who presided over their divorce was an attendee.

Actually, it was slutbag Linda who hired a guard. Dan was not afraid of Betty, not at all. This is from Bella Stumbo's book:

"Finally, Linda acted on her own. She called Scott Presley, a professional bodyguard, and hired him to stand guard full-time for three days prior to the wedding. Presley and his partner set up surveillance in a van in front of the Broderick house--but, says Presley, angry still, neither Dan nor Linda ever alerted him to the fact that Betty Broderick was an armed woman. In fact, he says, Dan specifically ordered him not to bring a gun to the stakeout. "So we figured she was just another La Jolla bon-bon we could take out physically if she showed up to make some kind of scene. Dan Broderick risked our lives. Linda had street-smarts, she was a working-class girl with enough sense of danger to at least call us. But Dan was just another cool dude in a sports car. If he was scared of his ex-wife, it sure as hell didn't show. He paid us to sit there for three days, but he didn't ever provide us with a picture of her. So one night at some party, we approached a big blonde who turned out to be some fancy lawyer's wife. It was a crazy assignment."

Meantime, gallows humor was rampant among Dan and Linda's wedding guests. Linda had told everybody about the bodyguards and Betty's alleged threats to shoot her and Dan at the wedding. People nervously joked, that if a car backfired on the day of the ceremony, guests would be hitting the ground, ruining their finest party clothes."

I hope it was worth it...they couldn't even enjoy their own wedding, not that they deserved to.

Some of the people who knew the Brodericks at the time of the divorce proceedings ( at least the ones still living in La Jolla) believed and continue to believe that Dan and Linda were trying to drive Betty to commit suicide.

I think it's out of line to call Linda a slutbag. She was obviously caught in the middle of a hostile and emotional divorce. And, being young, she acted like any young girl in love would act like when it came to protecting her man.

R222 It was a different time. This was before the Buttafuoco's and Bobbit's made constant headlines.

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Linda did have some street smarts, but she was also stupid in many ways. She blabbed to many about her affair with Dan and she tormented Betty by sending ads for wrinkle creams and weight loss centers.

Linda and Dan as noted before in this thread failed to get a new alarm system after it had been destroyed when Betty drove into the front door.

I can't remember if this was verified as true, but there was rumor that Linda was fired from a flight attendant job due to having an affair with a co-worker or a customer.

R228 [quote] I think it's out of line to call Linda a slutbag.

What's your definition of a slut?

The term "slut" generally applies to a person of loose sexual morals. Linda Kolkena-Broderick was 21 when she met Dan. She had been fired from her job as a Delta Airlines stewardess for inappropriate conduct with one of the male passengers during a flight. She only had a HS diploma and couldn't type but snagged a job as a temp receptionist at a law firm. Next thing you know, Dan Broderick hires her as his Personal Assistant and they're having an affair. He was 18 years her senior, married with four minor children.

Linda was the classic "other woman" looking to score a rich husband without regard to his wife or family. It does take two to tango and Dan Broderick was equally at fault. Let's not pretend though that Linda Kolkena was some wide-eyed innocent Vestal Virgin.

[quote]Some of the people who knew the Brodericks at the time of the divorce proceedings ( at least the ones still living in La Jolla) believed and continue to believe that Dan and Linda were trying to drive Betty to commit suicide.

Oops!

By the way, Dan came up with a "clever" nickname for himself: "Count de Money"! Yeah, Betty did the world a favor by ridding it of this asshole.

[quote]She only had a HS diploma and couldn't type but snagged a job as a temp receptionist at a law firm

Shocking! I wonder how many Harvard Law grads and MIT Phd students she beat out for that job!

Linda was a "pool receptionist" in the commercial building where Dan Broderick had his offices. Supposedly, she mostly answered telephones. She hadn't been at her job more than a few months before Dan, then 38 (she was 21) hired her as his "personal assistant." She was laughably unqualified for the job; she had no formal training as a paralegal and no experience in medical malpractice. She wasn't even a college graduate. But her friends insisted her previous law office experience (she briefly worked as a receptionist for an Atlanta attorney, doing some semi-paralegal chores). Oh, please! He hired her because she was the exact physical type that he went for: tall, blonde and thin. And she was YOUNG. And adoring and submissive. He was rich and he wanted a playmate and she fit the bill perfectly. It was the oldest story in the world; rich, older boss, young, hot to trot secretary.

i don't think Dan equated restraining orders and police reports to her murdering him. There was another ulterior motive at play with each order.

The courts allowed Dan to deduct at least 100.00 dollars from Bettys monthly support for each violation. Not just trespassing on his property. If she called and left foul messages on voice mail. Each curse word was counted separately as another deducted 100.00 dollars. If she showed up unscheduled to see the children he called this trespassing. One month Betty actually owed Dan 1300 after all deductions for the month were applied towards her support.

Think about that for a second. While he's screwing her over daily in regard to actual settlement issue's and pissing her off further he knows she's going to call and cuss him out. He's begging her to lash out while he keeps a running tab. Does he have enough money to purchase a top of the line answering service that could all but eliminate her nonsense using the phone? Knowing all these additional things will piss her off even further which will affect the entire climate of the family including the children watching this all played out this guy still goes ahead and just keeps poking and poking her daring her so that he can take more away from her. Weekly he was requesting more of her actions be added as deductible.

I honestly believe he never truly thought she'd kill him. When you really find all the information about all three adults involved in this and not a bunch of b.s. you learn Dan Broderick had an ego the size of Alaska and in Dan Brodericks world as a lawyer he was not going to lose. Betty held a vulnerable bit of information about Dan Broderick. He hadn't scaled the mountain to success alone.

One of his closest friends said that Dan did not have the capacity to empathize. He loved the game of destroying someone while coming out ahead financially.

There is so much to this story. Whats strange is that because it is a situation where the extreme wealthy are involved many can't equate abuse as a factor. They assume a wealthy individual can buy their way out emotionally. Some how if you are the scorned your saving grace is all that money. Since 16,000 a month to the average is pretty damn good she was to shut her damn mouth and take it and move fwd. If you actually took all the numbers involved and put them in better to understand numbers he was literally handing her just a little over 4.5% When you consider the degree she helped to finance to generate his vocation that 4.5% is shitting in her face.

The l.a. times interviewed Betty right after sentencing and one of the many questions asked included the absence of her parents in all of this. She said her parents didn't want to be bothered with it. Way back during the suburban through the door situation Bettys parents were actually visiting SD and when Betty was admitted to mental health for 3 days her parents swiftly got on a plane and split.

Dans colleagues have admitted they couldn't talk him out of backing off on her. They couldn't say much more then asking him did he think it was wise to come back at her with further orders to show cause to take additional money away. He thought it was a way to control her. They were puzzled. Not one of them was shocked at what finally happened but of course were surprised at the news.

The saddest part? The kids. Both parents used them as pawns.

I personally think she's served her time. Although she says she's not remorseful she expresses regret. I think what she's saying is that she regrets it got to the point it did but considering all things she isn't crying herself to sleep at night feeling too bad they aren't still on this earth. I doubt she's ever going to sway from that unless she just goes ahead and performs for the board to get that parole.

great informative post, r235.

There is something to be said about the fact that Dan was in school for so long.

There is a thought that some doctors never mature because by the time they get out of school…age 31 sometimes after med school and residency they missed some maturation levels.

So with Dan getting thru med and law school and add in that Betty picked up all the loose ends for so many years …he was not a marital partner at all.

He was the epitome of selfishness.

Having supported someone thru med school and beyond I know from personal experience..I was never in first place…ever.

After 42 years I now see the price I have paid…long story..not bitter …I just allowed someone to devote his time to his profession …thank God he was very gifted . I would kick myself if I did this for someone mediocre.

r237, I hope you took nice vacations.

R235 Great post! [quote]i don't think Dan equated restraining orders and police reports to her murdering him.

You're right and that just underscores his arrogance and abject stupidity. He felt he was above the law because he WAS the law and therefore untouchable.

[quote] I personally think she's served her time. Although she says she's not remorseful she expresses regret...I doubt she's ever going to sway from that unless she just goes ahead and performs for the board to get that parole.

Again, I agree. But I also believe Betty needs psychological counseling. At the same time, any psychiatrist would have their hands full with her and I'm not sure they could sway her. She seems mired in the past and unwilling to let go of the anger, betrayal and outrage. Betty's also unwilling to perform for the parole board. So a stalemate. Doubt she's getting out of prison anytime soon. I only see that happening if she becomes terminally ill and the Governor steps in and commutes her sentence for leniency. She killed Dan and Linda, destroyed herself and along with Dan, damaged their four children in different ways and in varying degrees.

R 239 I agree. It would be fascinating but uncomfortable to sit and listen to Betty rationalize her feelings. Especially when it comes to the murders. I don't think she see's herself as a murderer. Wasn't one of her statements "It's not like I planned to shoot them" So some where in all that fried state of mind she convinced herself it was an accident and the accident was more their fault than hers.

Can you imagine a therapist trying to break through that thinking?

For as much as I think she's served enough time for these murders I probably would be a little uncomfortable around her wondering if just the wrong thing is going to set her off and what her response may be. Although there has been no account of her lashing out at anyone other than Dan and Linda. Kim gave a few accounts of some odd behavior directed at her but I question the validity of those particular allegations.

R240 I agree. Any therapist would have their work cut out for them in trying to help Betty. Again, I think she's in jail for a long time to come.

Interesting blog post from August 2013 from a woman named Denise Noe who wrote to Betty Broderick in prison. Without making any judgments, it appears Betty still doesn't take responsibility for killing Dan and Linda and still blames Dan for driving her crazy.

Here's an excerpt:

“My case was about custody of the kids – not about his mid-life affair.” She continued that his “abuse of power” to take the kids and deprive her of assets she considered rightfully hers was the basis of the bitterness that ended with two people dead and a third imprisoned. Betty wrote, “He was a total bastard who abused his power in the courts to take house, kids and all the assets after a 20 yr. marriage. Everything he did was so uncalled for!!” She also complained, “He said, ‘the law says you own it but it doesn’t say I have to give it to you . . . try and get it!!”

I understand her frustration. Betty however, does not comprehend that without remorse, she's stuck in jail. And she refuses to let go of her anger which is just toxic (for her).

Still, she was nice to Ms. Noe who is handicapped and it appears they've exchanged a few letters. Interesting insights as to Betty's feelings and state-of-mind though.

The depiction of Dan and Linda in the Lifetime movie "A Woman Scorned" is laughable. They're both very nice, reasonable, blameless people, nothing like they were in real life. Dan had quite a temper; he would smash things when he got angry. And of course Linda was a bimbo who went out of her way to antagonize Betty and enrage her. At one point in the film one of Dan's sons says of Linda, "man, is she hot!" I seriously doubt either one of them said any such thing. Neither one of them even liked her.

It would be great if HBO would do a mini-series based on Bella Stumbo's book. I would love to see that!

R242 that was an interesting read thanks for posting that. It sounds like She's never going to have any remorse for what she did because she has a laundry list of reasons why things ended the way they did.

I think she has tried to convince herself she would never be so pathetic to let a cheating man reduce her to where she went so she hangs on to the idea that "legally" she was so screwed it led to her breaking point. Realistically it was a combo of both with the cheating probably being the catalyst.

I've said it a few times but honestly if you want an unbiased thorough look at each individual involved in this the stumbo book is the best. That 1st marriage was doomed before it began and what polish Betty may have had as a young woman was so tarnished by the time Dan had finally started making something of himself it really wasn't a matter of "if" someones going to die it was more like .. when? These were three extreme individuals. Linda brought to that situation a court jester role so to speak. She was already a piece of garbage willing to do just about anything to snag some quick wealth. She saw Dan as her Prey but he saw her as his. The things she did to Betty with Dan's blessing were so fucking childish you would have wanted to smack them all up side the head and send them to their rooms.

The oddest ( is there really just one thing you can call the oddest? LOL ) about Betty is that she never looked to the future as being the key to getting even with Dan. The likelihood of Dan and Linda's marriage failing miserably in no more than 10 years was pretty inevitable. If Dan had thought Betty was a real bitch to deal with during a divorce can you imagine a gold digging whore who went to any length to help destroy your first marriage, worked beside you all those years and knows every last little crooked detail of your life? I think Linda could have potentially bankrupt Dan and Betty could have sat back and laughed her ass off.

You read lots of comments or opinions about this case and one of the better comments I read suggests to anyone fostering a relationship do not under any circumstances completely give yourself over to that person. You invariably hand over your identity and should there be a break in that relationship you cannot truly see yourself functioning in life without that other person. I thought that was great advice.

Her comments sound like someone who's trying to explain what her thoughts were at the time and what motivated her to do it. It doesn't necessarily mean she's carrying anger and hate around all the time, only when she's asked about it. I'd probably say the same things. Maybe she doesn't want to pretend to be remorseful just to get out of prison. The guy was obviously horrible and she did what she did. If she had been able to handle it differently, she would have.

Let's be realistic here. Dan Broderick did not just randomly wake up one day and turn into a monster. Dan was a narcissistic SOB from the get-go and you'd better believe Betty knew it. But she didn't care... she was ambitious and at that time, many women carried out their ambitions through their husbands.

Betty had no problems with Dan being a brutal self-serving SOB... as long as she benefited financially and socially from it. She probably actually believed that by putting him through school, raising 4 children (she actually had 5 but one died soon after birth), and being the perfect socialite wife, that she had earned her keep and had nothing to worry about. She should have been right. But she knew Dan, and should have known better.

To make a long story short, throughout the shitstorm, Betty didn't actually care about the money or the kids. She cared about being Mrs. Dan Broderick. THAT was what was important to her. Without that title, she was just a thrown-away divorcee. That was what she couldn't handle. She had access to the cream of the crop of family law/divorce attorneys, but every time they made any steps forward, she set them back 10. Her attorneys were chomping at the bit to take Dan down and leave him gutted on the floor, but every time, Betty passive-aggressively stopped them. Or just plain fired them.

Dan could have offered her the house, the money, cars, everything... it would have never been enough, the outcome would have been the same. She wanted to be Mrs. Dan Broderick or nothing at all. She wanted him back and actually thought that was gonna happen, I think that is why she passive-aggressively fucked herself over during the divorce.

Dan and Linda's fate was sealed on their wedding day, when Linda legally became Mrs. Dan Broderick. And then, as soon as the opportunity presented itself (daughter left Dan's house keys at Betty's...I'm not so sure that was accidental either) Betty did the deed and made them pay with their lives. NOBODY but BETTY was going to be Mrs. Dan Broderick.

As soon as Dan hired that whore as his "assistant" Betty should have seen the writing on the wall. She should have immediately hired the best attorney ad PI in the biz and prepared to take Dan to the cleaners.

R246 it really is impossible to know what Bettys response would have been had Dan treated her with any type of respect and offered her every thing.

There is no doubt she was incapable of seeing life without the title of Mrs Dan Broderick but had he approached taking that from her by supplementing it with a fair settlement with no mind fucking attached Betty actually would have been played into a corner where she couldn't use the legal problems as a source for her instability, rage and anger. Admitting her rage really was all about losing that title always seemed to be the one thing she avoided.

Since we are running fantasy scenarios what if Dan did give her every thing and he and linda treated her with complete respect? What if Dan calmly and politely thanked her for being an exceptional mother and for supporting him all those years when working towards his success? What if he wished her great happiness and success in the future and told her if there is any thing he can ever do to help attain that success as an independent woman please ask? Would she have still gotten into a suburban and busted down his door? What would be the point? Betty always had a valid reason to exact her rage. There would have been none. At what point in that type of treatment would she feel compelled to call him and leave childish foul rants on voice mail?

I'd like to believe this wouldn't have ended in anyone's death had he been an even greater manipulator working around her instability and gave her every thing she asked and treated her with dignity and respect. With only having to deal with the break up aspect that could have been isolated for counseling even at the church level while he handled her as if she was under glass. The less stress he brought to her the more likely she would have gotten on with her life because he wouldn't fight back to fuel her rage.

As for what really happened there is plenty of information about why she also had great paranoia when it came to seeking legal council. You are incorrect that other local lawyers were drooling to get at Dan Broderick. None did that. Instead, they all collective said they would never turn her down if she requested the assistance. That's a huge difference. Not to mention Dan would have to pay the retainer. Although Team Dan states she "fired" her first laywer that is incorrect. The retainer was never paid and what that lawyer did even after he was side lined as a favor to her seeing the writing on the table wrote a scathing letter to the judge in SD about how the case was being handled and what she had not been properly informed of and immediately for the one and only time in broderick vs broderick Dans lawyer swiftly back the fuck off. There has been no movie that has ever accurately told this story. To even get to the point of saying she still would have done it had he given her every thing you'd have to fully eliminate all the bullshit he tossed at her beyond just simply not giving her things. Cruel would apply.

I definitely agree she couldn't see life without that title and would be damned if he took it and every thing associated with it but he was just as sick as her because I believe his mind fuck was so methodical he was banking on her taking her own life instead of his.

I thought it was stated earlier in the thread that Betty wanted to leave Dan when she first suspected the affair, but he kept insisting that she was imagining things. If she was prepared to leave him, that doesn't sound like someone who was hellbent on keeping her "title."

The evening she went on a burning rampage she told him to get out. That's when he told her she was cray cray for even thinking he'd cheat on her and a separation would be out of the question for him. He also pointed out the home was his and he wouldn't be giving that up. After spending that day ( his bday ) with his whore and essentially being caught and called on it he called her nuts, said nothing about the burnt clothing, refused at least a separation and climbed into bed right next to her.

At that point early on she was fighting for her identity and dignity to the point she was willing to at least see what it would feel like to hand over the title Mrs Dan Broderick. So I still think had he did her right early on this may have not turned out so tragic.

R247, it has been many years since I read Stumbo's book... perhaps my memory of some of the facts is hazy. Unfortunately I lent my book to someone and never received it back... I am going to order another on Amazon and re-read it. I also followed many discussions re: this case over the years and while I do believe that Dan & Linda fanned the flames I ultimately think that Betty was her own worst enemy.

Very early on, when Dan started seeing Linda and then hired her on as his "assistant", EVERYONE knew what was going on. Betty of course suspected; her very wealthy and well-connected society friends tried to point her in the right direction, ie get it documented via PI and hire a top attorney immediately. Yes, perhaps some of the SD attorneys were intimidated by Dan, though I think that was probably exaggerated... but there were plenty of rabid attorneys in other large cities who would have gladly taken Betty as a client. IIRC, she did at one point have one from LA maybe? Or SF? who was extremely frustrated with Betty because every time he tried to make headway she would do something to screw it up.

Keep in mind also that Betty not only harassed Dan CONSTANTLY, as in DAILY, as in MULTIPLE times a day, she also harassed their mutual friends and his family and co-workers. I remember on one message board years ago a child of one of the Broderick's friends recalled how Betty would call his mother, cursing at her and berating her for continuing to associate with Dan and "the whore". There really is no excuse for that.

Betty is hardly the first woman to ever break her back to make her husband who he was, just to get dumped for a newer model. Many women try to fight for their marriage, but eventually reality settles in and they start to move on. They wake up and realize that they have to stay strong for their children and to maintain their dignity. But Betty had no regard for her own children's emotional and physical well-being, and that is ultimately what lost her the support of many of her friends and family. All she cared about was bullying Dan into getting rid of the whore so that they could get back together and she could once again be Mrs. Dan Broderick.

Dan and Linda were vile, greedy, awful people. I don't disagree with that. What frustrates me is that Betty is a smart, educated, strong woman... I am angry at her for not holding her head up high and doing things the "smart" way. Linda was fucking her ex-boyfriend literally DAYS before her wedding, Linda & Dan's marriage would not have lasted. Betty would have had the last laugh, if she could have just let him go and been patient. And I mostly feel sorry for her kids.

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I'm reading the Bella Stumbo book, which is very interesting -- thanks to those of you who recommended it. So far, the most bizarre detail is this: right before she got married at the age of 22, Betty had her first gynecological exam. During the exam, she discovered she had "two cervixes, two vaginas, two uteruses."

She had an operation to remove one of the vaginas but the double uteruses etc. remained intact. She was told she would be at "high risk" of becoming pregnant (that turned out to be true) and that she'd never carry a child through to full term (that proved false).

This freaky anecdote appears in chapter four of the book -- p. 59 of the paperback.

TWO vaginas? OMG, did she have to wear two tampons?

R253 usually information like that will stick with you but after you are done reading the shit storm that takes place the two vagina's will seem forgettable. I forgot about that. They attribute the multiple miscarriages she had to this.

R247 I agree that Betty was her own worst enemy. No question about that. When you get the book again you'll see more of the details about her friends and the type of help and advice they gave her. Most of the advice came in the form of accepting these affairs as part of the game for the upper class of La Jolla.

I think the one attorney that was never paid a retainer was from Bev Hills. His complaint about her was legit. She was falling for every game Dan was playing on her and he kept telling her it's impossible to get to what he would be hired for which was all about money if she is going to keep fucking up with all the outbursts.

Again, in the book you'll be able to bridge Bettys daily rampage against what all the others were pulling daily on her to keep her fired up and bouncing off the walls. The phone calls to a so called friend cussing her out would be a response to overhearing gossip and very poor treatment. Yes you or I would suck it up but betty had zero monitor. You already know what Dan and Linda were up to on a daily basis. His bullying was masked in all the legal threats and delays knowing exactly what her response would be which would be all the freaky pissed off betty responses they were hoping for. All exactly as you said... creating her own worst enemy.

It's sad her behavior is scrutinized as any less of a parent when he to had zero concern for those kids and used them as tandem pawns to continue and fuck with her. Sad to say the non support of Bettys parents had nothing to do with the children. It was mainly her mothers own status and not wanting to even be a part of that mess. I never got the impression the parents were disgusted with Bettys horrid behavior around the kids they just generalized the whole situation as her problem so deal with it. If he marriage was failing fix it. Don't come to us for support if you divorce. The church frowns on that. Her mother comes off as a very cold woman.

Probably the only area I disagree with you is her motive to destroy the relationship of ex and whore and get him back. I think that was her game plan the first 3 years he lied about the affair. When he officially filed for divorce it became about making his life hell as he had made her life hell and the only thing she could think of was MONEY!

They both would be horrible chess players because where he thought he would drive her ape shit crazy to the point of offing herself his final analysis would be wrong about her. Yes she went ape shit crazy but she turned the gun on him. On her part she actually thought fighting him over money would bring her victory? It would have had she kept her sanity while pursing that. She aided in her own journey into the abyss with that choice.

I also agree it really is a shame she just couldn't rise above his bullshit. Accept the 16000 a month take the 30,000 and keep a complete filter on that mouth. The sweetest revenge was going to be the failure of Dan Brodericks second marriage and that failure would have cost him much more. Linda would have had the goods on him and all of his illegal bullshit and could have pretty much destroyed him financially.

my response to 247 was actually meant for 250. Sorry about that.

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Another story on the Tuesday Weld website:

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I don't understand this insult: too low to kick and too wet to step on.

Interesting how the blogger on the Tuesday Weld site is defending Linda a bit by saying that she was so young when she got herself in the mess with Dan and Betty. Linda was a born gold digger and that was her downfall, not her youth. There are young women who have attractions to older men, but some of those young women are a bit careful enough to not get involved with a married man. Linda was an idiot and she focused on money when it came to Dan.

I think if Linda and Dan had not been killed by Betty, a divorce would have eventually happened. Linda would have somehow gotten tired of Dan down the line and she would have found another wealthy man closer to her age.

Betty Broderick's daughter releases book Michael Chen, 10News Digital Team

SAN DIEGO - The daughter of local notorious murderer Betty Broderick is telling all in a new book.

Broderick, the La Jolla socialite shot her ex-husband and his new wife to death in the bedroom of their home in 1989.

"Betty Broderick, My Mom: The Kim Broderick Story" is now available on Amazon Kindle.

The story, as told by author Nanette Elkins, details how Kim -- Betty Broderick's first child -- helped herself and her siblings survive and triumph over the tragedy.

In 1991, Broderick was convicted of second-degree murder for the deaths of Daniel Broderick III and his bride Linda Kolkena Broderick. She was given a sentence of 32 years to life in prison.

Her story became the subject of a book and two made-for-TV movies. She has maintained she was driven to kill by a bitter divorce and custody battle.

Betty Broderick married Daniel Broderick in 1969, and they had four children. In the late 1980s, Daniel began an affair with another woman, Linda Kolkena Broderick, whom he eventually married. His divorce battle with Betty lasted four years.

It took two trials to convict her. The first ended in a hung jury, and the foreman was quoted as saying of the shootings: "We just wonder why it took her so long."

In 2010, Broderick was denied parole after a panel said she remained angry and unrepentant over her crime.

10News reporter Michael Chen spoke to Elkins this afternoon about her collaboration with Kim Broderick, and one specific item that stood out is the fact that after all of these years, Kim still does not believe her mother is remorseful.

All eyes were on San Diego as the Betty Broderick case unfolded. Let us know in the comments what you remember most about it.

Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Kim is a chip off Dan's block.

From #228: "I think it's out of line to call Linda a slutbag. She was obviously caught in the middle of a hostile and emotional divorce. And, being young, she acted like any young girl in love would act like when it came to protecting her man."

Bullshit. When I was in high school and college I had a pretty, sexy little friend who wasn't interested in a guy unless he had a girlfriend or wife. A guy had more value to her if she stole him from another girl. She told me once how one of her married lovers snuck her into his house while his wife was on a trip. They had sex in his bed and she drenched the pillows and sheet with her perfume. Somehow, hurting other women and using their men was sport to her.

At 24 she finally pried an older guy with kids from his wife and married him. It wasn't long before she cheated on him with another married man.

By then I was no longer her friend. She was a heartless, narcissistic, shallow bitch.

Some people are just evil, Dan and Linda seem like that.

I don't have a lot of sympathy for Betty either, but I can see how a strong, willful, and entitled Mrs. Rich and Powerful would be driven mad by the mean little bitch who stole her hubby and the asshole who done her wrong.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a download link for the sequel to the first movie. It's called "Her Final Fury" but I can't find it anywhere, even to buy!

In regards to the book supposedly telling Kim's side.

This review is from: Betty Broderick, My Mom: The Kim Broderick Story (Kindle Edition)

"I absolutely did not write this book. I have not authorized it or approved of its publication. In fact, I had no idea it was coming out. I have had no contact with the author in over four and a half years. I have no interest in getting my story out there or exposing my family to any more public scrutiny or pain. Yes, years ago Nanette penned the manuscript for a book, with the idea of putting out something that could encourage others dealing with tumultuous family situations and hardship. At the end of the day, I ultimately decided against completing and publishing it. It is inaccurate, it depicts individuals and events in a distorted light, and it does not represent my feelings, beliefs, or truth. The author has invaded my privacy, defamed my character, and caused much hurt and sadness. Further, she has used the name and likeness of my children without my consent. I would strongly request that she take this book down as soon as possible and encourage you not to buy it."

Dan, Betty, and Linda ALL were awful people. And they all got exactly what they deserved:

Dan and Linda got shot to death by the totally unhinged Betty. Why didn't her lawyers use an EED defense? No jury would have NOT believed she was totally insane after listening to the phone tapes of her raving like a lunatic.

Betty got sent to prison, where she will probably spend the rest of her life. She brought a hell of a lot of it on herself, but you can't help but feel some kind of compassion for her. Her husband's blatant infidelity, his flaunting of his affair with his bimbo office girl, his legal bullying, his refusal to offer her a fair financial settlement...it literally drove her nuts. She's still nuts. But Betty Broderick is truly a fascinating murderer. It's always interesting hearing about her.

I wonder how the old gal is doing these days. Every once in a while she's up for parole, but she refuses to show any remorse for her crime, so she always gets denied. Do you think she'll ever be released?

R269. No, she will never be released. Like you said, she refuses to show remorse. Two of the Broderick kids, Kim and Danny are opposed to her getting parole. Rhett and Lee support Betty being released and Rhett has said that he doesn't think Betty would hurt anyone if released from prison. Some of Dan's legal colleagues have stated that they would fear for their lives if Betty was released. Also, the Kolkena family will do what they can to keep Betty from being released.

Lifetime is big on mean husband movies, and "Woman Scorned" is the ultimate Lifetime movie, the most repeated of them all. Maybe Hollywood should take note of that and remake it with a big budget.

She did the RIGHT THING by killing that bastard and his whore who used her.

She should be let out of jail. She's a hero.

[quote] Maybe Hollywood should take note of that and remake it with a big budget.

Hmm who could play Betty? Maybe Reese Witherspoon in a fat suit?

The original Betty Broderick thread, has some reasons how she was set off: for the poster in the new thread asking about the how and whys of it,

Dan's birthday was November 22nd. He may also be a Scorpio. When two Scorpios are at odds, they usually both back off from one a other sensing the Danger. Linda was a Cancer.

bump

r275 Linda sure was a cancer...and Betty excised her from the world!

Betty forever! Love Betty, but ...

bump

Jesus r279. when I saw this thread was bumped I was worried our Bets died!

Bitch was always poking me in the stomach

I have found the perfect actress to play Betty Broderick, Brianna on Grace & Frankie. Every time I see her on that show I thnk of Betty.

Maybe because it is fascinating to see somebody get revenge like that and though it's wrong you kind of root for her?

Murder is so common it was written as the Ur-Crime, but every now and then a murder (or series of) captures the public's imagination as well as psyche.

The murder of a cheating husband and his paramour-made-wife; the Christmas slaying of a literal model child, with the parents as suspects; the discovered bodies of missing coeds, victims of an elusive stranger named "Ted"; the brutal slaughter of seven unwary people, including an 8-months pregnant movie actress and a coffee heiress, on a hot August night in a year of Woodstock, Altamont, Chappaquiddick, and the first Moon landing.

Betty Broderick's story is simultaneously unique and universal.

Correction: Two nights.

R43, Of course Sonny-Boy thought his old man was simply aces, with his adultery, his cruel treatment of the boy's mother, his pretty new replacement who had never changed a diaper or gone to a soccer game or worked at the same time to help make Daddy educated and rich.

No, it was only MOMMY, a betrayed older woman who needed to "get on with her life" minus home, children, friends, family holidays, and, yes, over-all lifestyle---because Sonny Boy couldn't take a thrown-away woman's swear words.

Try looking at DAN'S "ego," r43.

BTW, Betty Broderick will never express remorse, because she feels none. Her torment ended with the murders. Her torment from THEM.

She lied on the witness stand, of course. Betty might have become deranged, but the slayings were of malice aforethought.

But she probably considered her defensive perjury only a quid pro quo in response to a legal system that theretofore had sided always with Dan.

I don't think that I saw anyone state the obvious in this entire thread. Dan and Linda didn't just harass Betty to be cruel or for sport. No. Theirs was a well orchestrated, planned, intentionally carried out scheme with a specific end in mind as the end goal. They targeted her ruthlessly. They gaslit her. They victimized her with the specific intent of getting her to act out against them so that they could then assume the role of victims. Dan directed the whole thing from the very start to effect the outcome he had in mind. Everything went according to plan and expectation, except of course Betty doing the unthinkable, unforecasted. The legal system was in on it. They knew what he was up to. This is common practice among legal professionals with no ethical sense. This is how the deal with their enemies. So too law enforcement. The public, and in this case, Betty, are none the wiser. criminals walk and rule the halls of "justice."

Her trial was one of the first that had extensive TV coverage (lots to comment on and pick apart). She was a colorful character up on the witness stand. She killed her ex-husband and his new, younger, secretary wife. I remember one or two of her children getting up on the witness stand and I feel bad that they (the kids) had to do that (testify in open court). She supported her husband through both medical school and law school.

Curious case, I wonder why Dan and Linda baited her so cruelly. Were they trying to get her institutionalized?

She shot her husband and his new younger wife. They both deserved it.

I’ve thought of trying to meet her in prison. She was pushed to the bitter edge by Dan Broderick. He took everything including her mind and soul.

R290 I think they were hoping she would kill herself. Instead, she killed them both!

[uote] I remember one or two of her children getting up on the witness stand and I feel bad that they (the kids) had to do that (testify in open court).

Why did you feel bad?

R293 Yeah I guess that makes a lot of sense. If Betty committed suicide, Dan wouldn't have to worry about alimony. Whatever Linda and Dans motivation, their behavior seriously backfired.

Dan Broderick had to win. Cost him his pathetic and his pathetic wife’s cruel, mean lives. Team Betty

She really does not deserve to STILL be in prison after all this time.

R297 When Betty meets the parole board she always says she’s not sorry.

Young and beautiful Betty married what she thought would be forever. But she got old and fat, and Dan left her for a 20 his twenty something secretary. Betty went to Dan’s new house to talk with them, but she fatally shot them dead. Today she is alive and well and definitely not sorry.

Betty never say your sorry.

[quote]I have found the perfect actress to play Betty Broderick, Brianna on Grace & Frankie. Every time I see her on that show I thnk of Betty.

That's a pretty good choice. She also has psycho eyes.

We need an update from Betty in prison. I heard she knits a lot.

R182 The daughter Kim shows up occasionally at the beach where I surf. I didn't know about Betty Broderick, but I noticed the tall thin drug-addled or at least strung-out woman who'd drive up with a boy friend and act strange. She always wears weird "beachy" getups and is there early, acting familiar with some of the old dude surfers. San Diego is that way. Beach-obsessed Old Timers act like they've owned the place for 100 years. Anyway, a friend filled me in on the case. Said she testified against her mother?

Who knew one day Amanda Peet would play our Betty?