Betty Broderick

Elizabeth Anne Bisceglia was born on November 7, 1947, in New York City and was raised in a large Catholic family. She later attended Eastchester High School before enrolling at College of Mount Saint Vincent, where she studied early childhood education. She subsequently met Daniel T. Broderick III while attending the University of Notre Dame, where Dan was studying medicine.

Betty and Dan married in 1969 and moved to San Diego, where Dan eventually became a prominent medical malpractice attorney. The couple had four children and initially established a prosperous family life. Over time, however, their marriage deteriorated severely, particularly after Dan began a relationship with his legal assistant, Linda Kolkena. Dan and Betty separated in 1985 and their divorce became prolonged and highly contentious.

On November 5, 1989, Betty drove to the San Diego home of Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena Broderick. She had obtained a key from one of her children and used it to enter the residence while the couple were asleep in their bedroom.

Betty carried a .38-caliber revolver and fired five shots. Three bullets struck Dan and Linda, killing both. After the shootings, Betty removed the telephone from Dan's reach and left the residence. Later that day, she surrendered herself to police, bringing the firearm with her.

Broderick's murders were targeted attacks against her former husband and his new wife. She entered their home deliberately, armed with a revolver, and shot the couple while they were sleeping.

The killings followed years of escalating conflict surrounding Dan's affair with Kolkena, the divorce and disputes over their children and finances. Prosecutors argued that Betty had formed a deliberate plan to kill the couple, while the defence portrayed the shootings as the culmination of years of emotional turmoil and claimed that she had acted without the level of intent required for first-degree murder.

Broderick did not attempt to flee after the shootings. She left the house and later contacted police, telling them she had killed Dan and Linda.

She was taken into custody on the day of the murders and remained incarcerated thereafter. The firearm used in the killings was recovered, and investigators established that she had entered the home using the key obtained from one of her children.

Broderick's first trial began in 1990 but ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Two jurors reportedly favoured manslaughter convictions rather than murder convictions, reflecting the defence argument that her actions had resulted from extreme emotional distress.

At her second trial in 1991, the jury rejected the first-degree murder charge but convicted Broderick of two counts of second-degree murder. She was sentenced in February 1992 to 32 years to life imprisonment, consisting of consecutive terms for the two murders with firearm enhancements.

Broderick became eligible for parole and appeared before the California Board of Parole Hearings in 2010 and again in 2017. Both applications were denied. Her next scheduled parole eligibility would have been in 2032.

Broderick died in custody on May 8, 2026, at an outside medical facility in San Bernardino County, California. She was 78. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation initially reported natural causes; the county coroner subsequently ruled her death accidental following a fall in prison that resulted in serious injuries and subsequent complications.

The Broderick case became one of America's most widely publicised domestic murder cases because of the lengthy and bitter divorce preceding the killings. Dan had begun an affair with Linda Kolkena, his former legal assistant, while still married to Betty, and he subsequently married Kolkena after his divorce. The breakdown of the marriage became increasingly hostile, with disputes over money, property, custody and the children continuing after the separation.

Broderick's defence focused heavily on the psychological effect of the divorce and her claims concerning Dan's treatment of her. She testified during her second trial and acknowledged shooting Dan and Linda while disputing the prosecution's characterization of the killings as deliberate first-degree murders. The jury ultimately convicted her of the lesser second-degree murder charges.

The case continued to attract public interest for decades after the conviction. Broderick's story became the subject of books, television movies and later a television miniseries. Her parole hearings also generated renewed media attention, particularly because her children expressed differing views about whether she should be released. She remained imprisoned until her death in 2026.

Source:

• San Diego Police Department
• San Diego County District Attorney's Office
• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
• California Board of Parole Hearings
• San Diego Superior Court
• Los Angeles Times
• NBC 7 San Diego
• CBS Los Angeles
• Associated Press
• United Press International