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Betty Broderick, an American woman, who hit the headlines back in 1989 for allegedly killing her ex-husband, Daniel T. Broderick III and his new wife, Linda Kolkena, passed away at the age of 78. She was serving her sentence at the California Institution for Women, and it was on May 8, 2026, when she passed away. The cause of her death hasn’t been revealed, and as per reports, it happened due to natural causes. As she passed away, the old case has again started hitting the headlines.
It was in 1989, when Betty Broderick grabbed the attention, for all the wrong reasons and at a second trial on this case in 1991, Betty was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and later sentenced to 32 years to life in prison. Amid her passing, let’s know what allegedly caused her to kill her ex-husband and his new wife, Linda.
A look into Betty Broderick’s troubled marital life with Daniel Broderick
Photo credit: Court TV
From the outside, Betty and Daniel had a picture-perfect marital life. The couple met in 1965, when Betty was 17, and Dan was 21 years old. The couple met at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, either at a dance class or at a football match, as reported. Dan was a senior in pre-med and was about to graduate and attend Cornell Medical School. The duo started dating, and according to reports, Betty said that Dan used to woo her in many ways and even wavered from his goal of making her his wife.
Photo credit: lovemarykill/Instagram
According to Betty, he would do anything, and although back then the terms like ‘obsessive-compulsive’ or ‘stalker’ were not coined, he was like that. Well, the couple got married in 1969. Reportedly, during their honeymoon, Dan refused to help her with household work and made it clear that his bride should clean and cook. Betty returned pregnant from the trip, and while he was studying to complete his graduation, she was supporting their family by teaching and doing odd jobs. In her memoir, Betty Broderick: Telling on Myself, Betty revealed how Dan started to become controlling. She revealed:
“He took charge of the bank books and my paychecks, and I more or less had to do what he said. I felt totally trapped with [Dan] and cut off from my family. I just wanted to escape from it all and die. I was twenty-three and I couldn’t face decades more of this existence.”
When Betty and Daniel Broderick’s marriage faced a major blow, and they separated
Photo credit: KFMB
The couple welcomed four children, including their third child, who passed away only four days after being born. As per the reports, Betty revealed that it was for the first time after her kid’s demise in infancy that she turned suicidal. She mentioned that she was feeling stuck and completely cut off from her family, and was not able to spend her life like this for decades. However, Betty and Dan’s relationship remained strained as she would threaten him to leave. Dan got involved in his studies and in 1975, they relocated to La Jolla, California, where he was working as a medical malpractice attorney, earning USD 1 million a year, after starting a law firm.
A major blow came again in their relationship when Dan hired Linda Kolkena, a 21-year-old woman, as his assistant. Betty was suspicious as she found clear signs of an affair, even when he denied it. However, she eventually got to know that her intuition was right when she got the information that Dan and Linda went out on his birthday. According to the reports, after finding this out, Betty went to the backyard of their home and burned Dan’s clothes. It was in 1985 when Dan filed for divorce from Betty, and she shielded his assets and moved into his family home, where Linda reportedly joined her.
How and why did Betty Broderick kill her ex-husband and his new wife?
To mention, reports claimed that Betty Broderick’s ex-husband, Dan, had their assests and properties, custody of their children, and even he ended up selling their family house, against her wishes. He was reportedly controlling her even then by docking the supporting money, having her temporarily admitted to a mental health facility. Reportedly, Betty was giving death threats as well, and even drove near his home, ignoring the restraining orders.
It was during one day that she entered Dan’s home, entered their bedroom and allegedly shot him and Linda. Reports claimed that Linda was hit by a bullet in the chest and head. Speaking of Dan, he was reportedly hit in his chest with the bullet. Linda was 28 years old back then. Well, it was in 1991, a second trial on this case took place, and she was given 32 years of imprisonment. At the age of 78, she passed away. To mention, it was her attorney who revealed that while Betty opened the fire that killed Dan and his wife, Linda, her intention was to kill herself on that day.
Pic credits: TMZ/Instagram, X
She reportedly had been suicidal for a period of time before that. Betty also testified that she went to Dan’s home to converse with him, and eventually planned to kill herself. Well, it was not clear what happened there, but the murder was reportedly stemmed from betrayal and anger, while mental health experts also brought out an angle of ‘narcissism’ in this case.
What do you think about the incident surrounding the American woman, Betty Broderick and her troubled marital life, imprisonment, and finally her death?
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