Tim Worstall

Betty Broderick

This story about Betty Broderick is making the rounds again. She was convicted back in the early 90s of killing her ex-husband and his mistress turned new wife, Linda Kolkena.

Her first parole date is in three years time:

Elisabeth Anne "Betty" Broderick née Bisceglia (born on November 7, 1947 in Eastchester, New York)
is a former San Diego socialite convicted of the November 5, 1989
murder of her former husband Dan Broderick and his
mistress-turned-wife, Linda Kolkena. She was convicted on December 11, 1991
of two counts of second-degree murder, and later sentenced to
32-years-to-life in prison, with her first possible parole date in
March of 2010.

There’s also this old interview with her from Oprah.

All she ever
wanted to be was a supermom, but a bitter divorce turned her into the
murderer of her ex-husband and his beautiful new wife. Was she an
emotionally abused ex-wife? Or a cold-blooded murderer? An exclusive
interview from 1992.

In

28 responses

  1. Beaner Avatar
    Beaner

    Betty Broderick actually got a light sentence for what she did. She deserves to spend her life in prison. To think that she might be paroled in 2010 is very frustrated. In a 1992 interview she made it clear that she has no remorse about killing two people. I wonder if she has any remorse about destroying the lives of her children. So, Dan had an affair. Not a crime worthy of the death penalty. And Betty claims of being afraid of Dan are ridiculous. She had been apart from him for 4 years when she slaughtered Dan and his new wife. It was not about Dan. It was about giving up her lifestyle, being somebody in her mind. Well, now she is “somebody” and Dan, his wife, their children have all paid for her “fame.”
    She planned it. She did it. Now she should pay for it.

    Reply
  2. jh Avatar
    jh

    Betty should stay in jail for the rest of her life. It was her own jealous rage that put her there…She wanted Dan back so bad….Because he was done with her is no reason for him or for his beautiful new wife to die…..THINK ABOUT THIS PEOPLE…..

    Reply
  3. colleen Avatar
    colleen

    Betty has served more time then people who have committed worse crimes. She has a good record in prison and a huge group of supporters. Funny thing about this site is that there is no mention of the fact that Betty put Dan throught college working and raising the children while he ignored them. Linda was fired from an airline job for having sex during a flight. Dan and Linda were cruel and evil. Betty did the world a favour. This should serve as awarning to cheating spouses and the people they cheat with. To bad that Betty once again had to pay for the slut and the jerks actions.

    Reply
  4. Shelly Avatar
    Shelly

    Dan Broderick was hard, cold, cruel, and calculating. After all he put Betty through, how could she have any remorse for what she did.

    Reply
  5. Shelly Avatar
    Shelly

    Dan Broderick was hard, cold, cruel, and calculating. After all he put Betty through, how could she have any remorse for what she did.

    Reply
  6. Jody Avatar
    Jody

    I have always sympathized with Betty because of all that she went through during her marriage to Dan. She stood by his side during his college years, multiple miscarriages and other troubles, just so he could dump her when he made his millions.
    I think she snapped after so much torment after he left her. I really don’t feel sorry for Linda either, she knew she was getting involved with a married man and didn’t care.

    Reply
  7. Lea Avatar
    Lea

    As a female I am insulted by women who feel sorry for Betty Broderick. If it had been the other way around, Betty leaving her husband for someone else, they would still blame Dan. I also don’t like the fact that she claimed to be an abuse wife. She walked into Dan and Linda’s house with a gun, yet she was the poor abused wife. Come on!! If someone falls out of love, people need to learn to just let go. As for her working to pay for Dan to go to college, was he suppose to stay in a marriage he no longer care to be in for the rest of his life. How many husbands pay for their wives to go to college and the wife finds someone else, and the poor husband still needs to pay alimony. Women need to stand on thier own to feet and not depend on a guy.

    Reply
  8. charlotte Avatar
    charlotte

    I see both sides of the argument but at the end of the day, this isn’t just her ex husband and his new wife that she killed.
    she killed her own children’s father.
    Dan was a bastard, he was a cheating jerk, he deserved revenge, so…. sabatoge him! embarrass him in public, make a spectacle of him, OK, if you are *that* angry about it, pay someone to beat him up. You don’t have to kill him.
    I agree with all you women that Betty supported dan through school, through miscarriages, through long, hard years of life. And that Dan was a bastard to her.
    but he was not abusive. There has never been any proof that he was abusive towards her. not one shred of evidence.
    Dan was a bastard, but anyone that would kill their children’s father is obviously not someone who cares about anyone but herself.
    If you love your children, you don’t kill their father.
    She should have had remorse for taking her own children’s father out of their lives.
    Anyone who doesn’t have remorse for that is evil and I don’t care if she rots in jail.

    Reply
  9. Helene Avatar
    Helene

    Let me put it this way: the story of Betty Broderick is a true tragic tale. And sadly, this is what often happens IF a woman/man devoted his/her ENTIRE life on one person in the name of love. Betty dedicated her entire life on Dan; she tried to be a supermom for his children. She really does not deserve the way he treated her, which was cruel and heartless. Bottom line, both Dan and Betty handled this (divorce)issue poorly.
    As a young woman who has her own series of rejection/unfair treatment from men and many others, this is my advice to all MEN and WOMEN who had been rejected or in an unhappy relationship: DON’T EVER COUNT ON YOUR LIFE AND HAPPINESS ON ONE PERSON AND REMEMBER, THE PERSON YOU LOVE THE MOST IS YOURSELF. IT’S A LOT BETTER BEING WITH ANY ONE OTHER THAN A PERSON WHO DOES NOT LOVE YOU.
    Remember, in a relationship, the most important issue is if that person you are with is compatible for you. For Betty, Dan is not the man for her on two counts: he did not love her and no, he was not the compatible man for her.

    Reply
  10. WT Avatar
    WT

    The woman is insane! ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!! It was all ego, jealousy & revenge. I don’t think that sentence was nearly harsh/long enough for taking not just one but two lives & for what? Social Status! She drove Dan to the point where he’d had to say enough is enough, he divorced her & remarried & she lost her ‘social status’ so yes, it was all ego, jealousy & revenge.
    ‘IF’ he was cheating on her… it was because she drove him to it! I mean honestly… who in their right mind would want to put in a full day worknig his hinden off to support his family because his wife won’t get a job then know they had to come home only to listen to endless petty bitching & bellyaching??? NO ONE! If I knew that’s what I had to go home to after a long day I wouldn’t want to spend any more time at home than I absolutely had to either.
    And who ‘really’ suffered/who were the ‘real’ victims? Her ex-husband, his new wife & their 4 kids that she ‘claims’ to love. Now really, what kind of ‘loving mother’ pulls the stunts she had that only confirm her stupidity, then for a ‘grand finale’ kills her children’s father in cold blood let alone his new wife at the same time? What kind of ‘loving’ mother puts her children through this without even thinking or seeming to care what it’s going to do to them??? A crazy, ego/revenge driven one.
    Sure she ‘may have been’ a ‘doting wife & mother’ but anyone with a brain knows you have to make a life for yourself & make yourself happy. You don’t just count/depend on someone else to do that for you then have the nerve to be surprised when they decide/realize they don’t need that headache/grief/agrivation & leave for someone who can/does.
    So bottom line & again… SHE’S NUTS!!! Totally & Completely INSANE! The ONLY good thing… she didn’t get to get away with a lame ‘insanity plee’.

    Reply
  11. Sabrina Avatar
    Sabrina

    Millions of women have husbands who don’t treat them right, who cheat, and who walk out. I had a husband do that to me 19 years ago…but MOST of us don’t go out and kill the ex and their new wife the way Betty Broderick did. So why should she get our sympathy, especially when she was in a better position financially than many women who are left behind in a divorce? Betty should be glad she’s not in Texas where this kind of murder would’ve netted her the death penalty.

    Reply
  12. Nicole Avatar
    Nicole

    Too bad Betty hadn’t been married to my father. She’d know what abuse is all about. She certainly wouldn’t have been fanning the flames by pulling the violent stunts she pulled on him. Betty had it too easy and she’s a prime example of a person who has no concept of gratefulness and appreciation for what one has as a result of having it much too easy in life.
    No truly abused woman would ever dare put themselves so blatantly in the face of a man she was afraid of. Dan was not abusive. To the contrary, he was a pushover, which is why she believed her violent stunts would continue working once he left her. Too bad she miscalculated and underestimated him.
    People say she “won” by killing him. Who really won? She does not have a life. She merely exists. She’s caged and has absolutely no freedom. Dan, on the other hand, never has to be subjected to her violent, self absorbed antics again.
    Dying is easy. It’s living that’s hard. Betty won nothing. That she still has no remorse that she damaged her kids so badly proves she’s right where she belongs.
    No threat to society? Tell that to the next man she feels “wrongs” her. She’s already proven just how far she’ll go for vindictive revenge.

    Reply
  13. Burt Avatar
    Burt

    Marriage as an institution is kaput. See, when the whole marriage thing started a few thousand years ago, people only lived to be 27, maybe thirty. So they married at 15, spent 15 years together, and died.
    NOW, they marry at 20, and they’re expected to spend the next 70 or so years together? Uh-uh!
    Women! DO NOT get married to someone your own age! They will dump you for someone younger, firmer, prettier!
    From a guy who cares

    Reply
  14. Jeanie RP Avatar
    Jeanie RP

    Poor Betty. Cheated on, lied to, financially cheated (by Dan giving away $450,000 to his brother and thus cheating her out of her half), tormented (wrinkle cream and weight loss ads from Linda Kolkena). She snapped. Linda had no business sleeping with a married man, and she put herself in harm’s way by having this illicit affair. What a tramp! Play with fire and get burned.

    Reply
  15. Missy Avatar
    Missy

    Dan and Linda got just what they gave, they tormented and went out of their way to take the children away from Betty all the while flaunting their affair in front of her and the children.
    Dan wanted Linda, the money, the house and the children. Since he was a former President of the bar he was able to rob her in court and she never got a fair divorce trial. Try starting over at age 45 without health insurance, there’s a lot that was never published about what these two evil people did to her. I really wonder when Linda looked down Bettys barrel that last moment if she still felt it was all worth it. A steep price to pay for robbing a woman of her husband, home and children. Dan and Linda murdered Betty long before she took their lives.

    Reply
  16. Laurie Avatar
    Laurie

    Just dont see how the trial was conducted and no one could see just how crazy she was. Well, truthfully everyone could see it except for Betty, but everyone chose to stay out of it and let her self implode. And to even have your own children turn is just a unmentionable hurt.

    Reply
  17. MariLynn Avatar
    MariLynn

    Linda Kolkenna knew what she wanted and went after it full force. That was great that Dan took her in and gave her a career in law when she had not one day of legal experience. She wanted Dan so much, well she should have known that Betty was a psycho and STAYED AWAY. If you wave a red flag in front of the bull, don’t be surprised when the bull skewers you. Linda brought it all on herself.

    Reply
  18. beverly reed Avatar
    beverly reed

    I can’t believe all i have just read, all of your comments are horrible, cheating , yes is a sin, but vengence is mine, sayeth the lord,how can we point any fingers , as far as i am concerned they were all at fault for various things, killing my friend….is a sin as well, so please don’t make excuses for anybody. my heart goes out too four innocent children, whom did not deserve any of it.

    Reply
  19. Lell Avatar
    Lell

    Yes, the kids paid the ultimate price&while I have sympathy for the position Dan put her in, would you not have to be out of your mind to cause your children that sort of pain?
    I also think that no infraction warrants death, but he sold the home she lived in? Gave her $16k a month, took her children?
    It is not what I would have done….BUT I UNDERSTAND!!!!

    Reply
  20. colleen Avatar
    colleen

    Linda & Dan got what they deserved. Betty should be paroled.

    Reply
  21. ALISONJONES Avatar
    ALISONJONES

    just like to say betty brodrick you have been serving a32 years prison service for a first degree on two counts of murder hell didnt you think of the childrens father and lindas family .my sister went through a divorce he left her with 2 children she came to live with us there were times in my family we all said I wish we could tell him what we though of him but you have to pull together has a family

    Reply
  22. colleen Avatar
    colleen

    Betty was abused phyically and emotionally by those two evil pigs. Lindas family knew what kind of whore she was and they supported her in campaign to ruin Betty. As far as the kids, they are much better off with that ass dead. Gee what a fucking role model he was. Karma is a bitch.

    Reply
  23. JeanWPT Avatar
    JeanWPT

    Betty Broderick has spent enough time in prison. She is 62 years old and can’t have much time left considering what she went through. Do not be so quick to condem her unless you have walked in her shoes. I have. It woiuldn’t have taken much for me to kill the bastard I was married to, but I wanted the rest of the life I have on this earth to be without him and with my son and family and friends.

    Reply
  24. Mrs. Nolan Avatar
    Mrs. Nolan

    Do you people understand what death is? What murder is? There is nothing more horrible that a human can do. No one has the right to take a life. It’s tragic that her husband left her. It is no reason for choosing the evil path she chose. She must never get out of prison.

    Reply
  25. Kath Avatar
    Kath

    Murder is murder… and should be punished. Yet as a humane society we acknowledge extenuating circumstances.
    As I read of the tragedy of the Broderick family, I was appalled and shocked like most everyone. But what I felt most was recognition of Betty Broderick’s descent into inexplicable reaction and continuing self-destruction. Her loss of control and seemingly wacked out decisions I could understand on a visceral level. Some people have the opportunity to completely beguile and deconstruct others…caution… i think most people’s inate defense will ultimately kick in…how?
    Who knows. So why not consider and learn from this terrible event.
    Respect everyone. Especially those closest to you.

    Reply
  26. Robert Avatar
    Robert

    “Linda & Dan got what they deserved. Betty should be paroled.”
    What misguided, absurd, and quasi-pathological logic. All one has to do is listen to Betty’s multifold, grossly profane phone messages to know that she was a crazed, narcissistic murderer. The fact that her husband may have been a prick is not justification for cold blooded execution.

    Reply
  27. jh Avatar
    jh

    Betty should rot in jail…She thought more about herself than her children… She killed two people, one, the father of her children..Does she ever think about what she put her children through…Please don’t let her out.. She may eat her children next!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  28. Valerie Avatar
    Valerie

    I think Betty Broderick has paid for her crimes now. I think after all her rat of a husband and his mistress put her through, that she snapped. Why shouldn’t she deserve to have half of all she worked so many years for? Is it all about youth and looks and sex? What an ass her husband was.Linda set her cap for him and he was too weak to resist. They got what they deserved for tormenting the poor woman so.

    Reply

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