Daniel and Linda Broderick were married in April 1989 and by November 1989, they were dead, shot to death in their sleep by Daniel’s first wife, Elisabeth “Betty” Broderick. Daniel and Betty’s famously messy divorce and Betty’s subsequent killing of Daniel and his new wife are the subjects of Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, premiering Tuesday, June 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the USA Network.
Ahead of the premiere, here’s what you need to know about Daniel and Linda’s murders and the trials that followed.
Betty and Daniel’s Divorce Made Headlines Even Before The Murders
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Broderick divorce “played out over five vicious years.” When Daniel filed for divorce in 1985 after 16 years of marriage, what followed was “five years of battles so violent that Broderick vs. Broderick became known as the worst divorce case in San Diego County.”
The LA Times reported that Betty “spray-painted the interior of the $325,000 hillside home they had shared … rammed her car into Dan’s front door, left obscene messages on his answering machine, and defaced court documents.” Betty claimed that Daniel used his influence as a prominent local attorney to obtain sole custody of their four children, sell their house without her consent and withhold her rightful share of his income. Daniel eventually had Betty briefly committed to a mental hospital.
Daniel Married Linda Kolkena in April 1989
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Linda Kolkena was Daniel’s legal assistant whom he hired in 1983 despite the fact that “she hadn’t been to college and she couldn’t type,” according to the LA Times. Betty always claimed that Daniel and Linda started having an affair that same year, telling the LA Times, “The people who knew me before 1983 knew the real me. Nineteen eighty-three was like an ax through my life.”
Daniel always denied the affair, saying he and Linda didn’t become involved until after he and Betty were separated. When Daniel and Linda did become involved publicly, Betty began leaving the obscene messages on their answering machine. She also claimed Linda sent her advertisements for wrinkle cream and weight loss products. She further said that Linda refused to return Betty’s wedding china, something daughter Kim confirmed to the LA Times.
Friends of Daniel and Linda said that the two of them were much too busy enjoying their life together to torment Betty.
Betty Killed Daniel and Linda on November 5, 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haDz0ukZFlgThe Murder of Daniel Broderick (Crime Documentary)In 1965, Bisceglia met her future husband, Dan Broderick (1944–1989), at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Broderick was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; he was the eldest son of a large Catholic family akin to the Bisceglias, and both his parents were descendants of Irish immigrants. The couple married on April 12, 1969, at the Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe. Betty returned from her honeymoon pregnant with her first child, daughter Kim (b. 1970). She gave birth to four more children: daughter Lee, (b. 1971) two sons named Daniel (b. 1976) and Rhett, (b. 1979) and an unnamed boy, who died two days after birth. After Kim’s birth, Dan completed his medical degree at Cornell University. He then announced his intention to combine his medical expertise with a law degree. He enrolled at Harvard Law School. Betty became the main provider for the family, working to support the family while Dan attended law school with the help of a student loan. Dan was an attractive prospect for many firms that had backgrounds in medicine and law. He was quickly hired by a law firm in San Diego, California, and moved his family to the nearby community of Coral Reef. He began to specialize in medical malpractice cases. At this point, Betty functioned as a stay-at-home mom; she focused on caring for the children and being a housewife. In the fall of 1983, Dan hired 21-year-old Linda Kolkena (1961–1989) to be his legal assistant; she was a former Delta Airlines flight attendant of Dutch descent who came from a large close-knit family. As early as October 1983, Betty suspected that Dan was having an affair with Linda, and she accused her husband of cheating on her. He denied engaging in extra-marital sexual relations with Linda Kolkena, telling Betty that she was “crazy.” Eventually, the marriage broke down, and against Betty’s wishes, Dan Broderick moved out in February 1985. He bought a house of his own, and eventually took custody of their children after Betty dumped the children on Dan’s doorstep one by one. Dan confessed to Betty that she had been right all along: he had been having an affair with Linda since January 1983. Afterwards, a long, drawn-out, and very hostile divorce proceeded. Broderick vs. Broderick became one of the more famous divorce cases in the United States, not least because of certain legal issues involving women who had worked while putting their husbands through graduate and professional school. The long, drawn-out Broderick divorce was finalized in 1989, four years after Dan filed the petition. Betty’s behavior became increasingly more violent and irrational. He retained custody of the children, though this was for non-financial reasons; he had been looking after them for some time. During this time, Betty left hundreds of obscene and profanity-laden messages on Dan’s answering machine. She ignored countless restraining orders that forbade her from setting foot on Dan’s property. She vandalized his new home and even drove her car into the front door of the home despite the fact that their children were inside the house at the time. On April 22, 1989, Dan and Linda were married. Eight months after buying a Smith & Wesson revolver and seven months after Dan and Linda were married, Betty Broderick drove to Dan’s house at 1041 Cypress Avenue in the Marston Hills neighborhood of San Diego. Using her daughter Lee’s key to enter the house while the couple slept, Betty shot and killed them execution style. The murders occurred at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, November 5, 1989—two days before Betty’s 42nd birthday. Two bullets hit Linda in the head and chest, killing her instantly; one bullet hit Dan in the chest as he apparently was reaching for a phone; one bullet hit the wall, and one bullet hit a nightstand. Dan was 44 (17 days shy of his 45th birthday); Linda was 28. Evidence that worked against Betty at trial was the fact that she removed a phone/answering machine from Dan Broderick’s bedroom so that he could not call for help. Medical evidence indicated that Dan had not died right away, and Betty admitted that he had spoken to her after she had shot him. Dan’s last words were, “Okay, you shot me. I’m dead.” After contacting her daughter Lee and Lee’s boyfriend, Broderick turned herself into police, never denying that she had indeed pulled the trigger five times. Broderick’s explanation at both trials was that she had never planned to kill Dan and Linda and that her crime was not premeditated. Her account of the murders at her second trial was that she was startled by Linda’s screaming, “Call the police!” and immediately fired the gun. Linda and Dan Broderick are listed as buried together at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego.2018-02-10T20:37:31Z
On the morning of November 5, 1989, Betty shot Daniel and Linda to death while they slept in their new Hillcrest-area home. Police Lt. Gary Learn told the Los Angeles Times that Linda was was shot once in the back of the head and once in the chest. Daniel was shot once in the back. Two other shots were fired, one hitting a bedside table and one hitting a wall.
Police arrested Betty later that same day, finding a .38-caliber revolver in her car that was later proven to be the murder weapon. At the trial, she testified that she had been planning to kill herself but instead went to see Daniel. Betty also said she did not remember the shooting and was surprised to find out she fired five times, according to the New York Times.
Betty Was Tried Twice Because the First Trial Ended in a Hung Jury
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Betty never tried to deny that she was the perpetrator of the crime, but her defense was that it was a heat-of-the-moment killing. Psychiatrists and psychologists that testified for both sides all agreed that Betty was suffering from major depression and personality disorders. The first trial ended in a hung jury, as 10 members wanted to convict Betty of murder and two wanted to convict her of manslaughter.
The second trial ended in a conviction for second-degree murder. Betty was sentenced to 32-years-to-life in prison. She was denied parole in 2010 and again in 2017. Both times, the parole board did not think Betty demonstrated remorse for her crimes.
Daughter Lee (now going by Kathy) and son Rhett thought their mother should be paroled. Rhett told Oprah Winfrey in 2005 that his mother wasn’t a danger to anyone.
“She’s a nice lady. Everyone here would like her … if they spoke with her on any topic other than my dad. Keeping her in prison isn’t really helping her. She’s not a danger to society — the only two people she was a danger to are dead,” said Rhett.
Children Kim and Daniel IV disagreed that their mother should be released.
Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on USA.
