The Murders of Dan and Linda Broderick

I decided to write about another very well known case- the Betty Broderick case. Once again, the victims are often forgotten about, the victims were Dan and Linda Broderick. I watched the Betty Broderick Snapped episode on Oxygen for most of my research. I definitely think the relationship was tumultuous from both sides, BUT, Betty was often the aggressor. Betty constantly harassed Dan and Linda, and threatened them. Dan and Linda did NOT deserve to be murdered, and I think Betty is in the right place, which is prison.

Background

Dan Broderick grew up in Pittsburg, into a very large Catholic family. He was described as very hard working, and he worked for everything, it wasn’t handed to him.

Dan went to Notre Dame for pre-med. This is where he met Betty, who was 17 at the time. Betty and Dan had a lot in common, Betty also came from a Catholic family, and she knew her family wanted her to marry a Catholic man.

According to Snapped, Betty turned Dan down the first time he asked her on a date. Dan asked Betty out again, after graduating from Notre Dame and going to Harvard Law School. Betty finally accepted and they fell in love.

Marriage and Family

Betty and Dan got married in 1969, and it didn’t take long for Betty to get pregnant. Their first daughter, Kim was born in 1970. They would go on to have three more kids, Lee, born in 1971, Daniel, born in 1976 and Rhett, born in 1979.

They had money problems until Dan got a job as an attorney in San Diego. The Broderick’s lived in La Jolla, in a very nice house. They were also constantly spending money on lavish items, like country clubs.

They also were beginning to have problems in their marriage, especially after Betty heard Dan say his new secretary, Linda, was pretty.

Betty caught them together once when she went to surprise Dan for his birthday. He denied the affair at first, but then confessed. This is when their marriage ended. They finally divorced in 1989.

Betty’s Behavior

After their divorce, it seemed like Dan and Betty were both moving on. Dan and Linda got married on April 22, 1989. Betty even had a new boyfriend, named Brad Wright.

However, Betty was constantly threatening Dan and Linda. She left several messages on their answering machine, the messages used very vulgar language and the kids would often hear them.

A few months before the murder, Betty also drove her car into Dan’s house. Dan filed a restraining order against Betty and sent her to a mental institution for three days, and filed for custody of their kids. He also wrote Betty a letter about this, and this is rumored to be what made Betty “snap” and decide to kill them once and for all.

I don’t necessarily think it was just this one incident, I think Betty was planning on killing them for awhile.

The Murders

On November 5, 1989, just before 7am, a 911 call came into the police department from Brad Wright, Betty’s boyfriend. He said he found Dan and Linda dead in their house on Cypress Avenue.

The police arrived and found them in their bedroom. Linda was shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest and died instantly. Dan was shot once in the chest, he was also found on the floor and the police think he was reaching for the phone. There were also shell casings found on the nightstand and in the wall. The phone was pulled from the wall and found outside in the hallway.

The rest of their house was clean, and nothing was taken. They had to interview Brad, they thought it was really strange when they found out he was Betty’s boyfriend. Brad said he got a call really early in the morning from one of Betty’s friends, saying something happened to Dan. Brad also said Betty was not at the house when he left, and he hadn’t talked to her all morning. He said when he got to the house, he tried ringing the doorbell and entering the home, and that the door was locked. He broke into the house through a side door and found the bodies.

The police believed Brad’s story, and determined that the killer must have had a key.

Investigation

The police needed to speak to Betty right away, only they couldn’t find her. They put an APB (all points bulletin) out for Betty’s car. They got a tip that Betty’s car was found at her daughter’s house, but when they went there, Betty was gone. However, she left her purse behind with the gun that was believed to have been the murder weapon, a .38 revolver.

The police had also searched Betty’s house when they obtained a search warrant, and they found extra ammunition and a “manifesto” of Betty’s titled ‘What’s a Girl Got to Do,’ and in it Betty blamed Dan for everything.

The police didn’t have to wait much longer for Betty, because she arrived at the station with an attorney. She was arrested that day for the murders.

Trials

In trial number one, Betty’s defense was that she was a battered wife, constantly abused by Dan. Her defense said Betty was physically and emotionally abused throughout their whole marriage. The prosecution said Betty had planned to kill Dan and Linda for awhile because she hated them. Dr. Park Dietz testified for the prosecution and said Betty also suffered from depression and personality disorders.

Betty’s first trial ended in a hung jury, and Dan and Linda’s friends were furious. They wanted Betty to be held responsible.

Betty’s second trial was re-tried by the same defense attorney and the same prosecutor. This time, Betty was tried on two counts of second degree murder. Betty testified this time, and said Dan would grab her by the throat every time she did something wrong. Her daughters also testified, one for the prosecution and one for the defense.

Betty was found guilty, and sentenced to two consecutive life terms of 15 years to life, plus two years for illegal use of a firearm.

Appeals and Other

Betty had been denied parole multiple times. In 2010, she was denied because she didn’t show remorse and or admit to killing Dan and Linda. She was denied again in 2011 and in 2017.

She will be eligible again in 2032.

There are MANY documentaries on this case, as well as TV shows like Snapped. I also watched the new series Dirty John about this case and it was really well done. I believe it’s on Netflix now, as well as USA network.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I personally don’t think Betty has remorse at all for killing Dan and Linda. I think she was planning this murder for awhile, and the letter from Dan probably did push her over the edge.

I don’t think Betty is evil, maybe mentally ill. I think she was abused, at least emotionally. I think she was an abuser as well. I do feel bad for her that she was cheated on, and don’t think she deserved that at all, however she’s not completely innocent. Betty constantly threatened Dan and was emotionally abusing him, and didn’t care if the kids heard her or were hurt in the process.

Half of Betty’s children believe she should be paroled. I think if she was truly sorry about what happened, she could have been out awhile ago. She’s not sorry, that’s the true problem.

I know there are many people who have different opinions about this case, and that’s perfectly fine. I’d love to know what you all think about this case and about Dan and Betty’s relationship. Also, should Betty be released from prison?

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Broderick

https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/06/daniel-linda-broderick-cause-of-death/

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/dan-broderick-linda-kolkena-betty-broderick-snapped

https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a32870690/who-is-linda-kolkena-broderick/