Dec 30, 1989 · The disclosure, at a hearing before San Diego Municipal Judge E. Mac Amos Jr., marked the first time Broderick’s lawyers have hinted in open court that they are preparing an insanity defense and ...
Aug 20, 2020 · After her marriage ended Betty Broderick had a secret boyfriend for years, but here's why Netflix chose to keep this storyline out of Dirty John season 2.
Sep 04, 2020 · Betty Broderick made headlines in 1989 when she committed a brazen double murder. The case still finds relevancy decades later, and even spawned several TV adaptations, including Season 2 of USA's ...
Jun 07, 2021 · The Netflix series is told from Betty's point of view and details the events leading up to the night she shot and killed Dan and his second wife, Linda Kolkena Broderick, on November 5, 1989.As ...
Betty Broderick's marriage further unraveled after Dan Broderick hired a new legal assistant, a 22-year-old former flight attendant named Linda Kolkena. According to the Los Angeles Times, it only took about a month before Betty's mind fixated on a possible affair, which she later chalked up to "a midlife crisis" when Dan purchased "a new red Corvette."
Betty Broderick was thrust into the spotlight in 1989 when she committed the harrowing double murder of her ex-husband Daniel Broderick and his new wife Linda Kolkena. The case made national headlines, spawned a handful of TV adaptations, and still finds relevancy more than 30 years after the fact.
In 2020, Betty's story became the subject of the second season of USA Network's Dirty John, a drama originally adapted from the eponymous Los Angeles Times podcast about a different, albeit just as fascinating true crime story.
After the divorce, Betty Broderick was receiving $9,036 a month in spousal support, but the Los Angeles Times reported that she still continued to harass her ex. She even reportedly made up "obscene nicknames" for Dan Broderick and his then-girlfriend Linda Kolkena, and admitted that the messages she left on his answering became "more and more crude." Dan reportedly took matters into his own hands, penalizing Betty by fining her for each alleged infraction.
When Betty Broderick's daughter, Kim Broderick (above), testified at her mother's preliminary hearing, she admitted that her mom had an awful habit of aiming her vitriol at her children — even saying she "hated" them on numerous occasions, according to the Los Angeles Times. Even worse, Betty reportedly had a history of using her four kids as ammunition against her husband. The most egregious allegedly incident occurred in 1985, a few months after the Brodericks relocated to a rental property so their Coral Reef home could get necessary repairs.
Betty Broderick's divorce wasn't a shock to anyone on the inside. According to the Los Angeles Times, Dan Broderick's brother, Larry Broderick, estimated that Betty "threatened" to divorce his brother "a hundred times" — so much so, that Dan just started to ignore her. Kim Broderick heard the same threats as her uncle.
During their divorce trial, Dan Broderick had his estranged wife committed to a mental hospital. The whole situation devolved over the sale of their Coral Reef home. According to the Los Angeles Times, Betty Broderick was resistant. She wouldn't sign over her half, even though Dan had already bought her a different $650,000 property. He eventually went in front of a judge, who signed over Betty's portion.
While Dirty John covers most of the facts of the case and follows Betty through two trials – the second of which saw her convicted for the second degree murders of Dan and Linda – it doesn't bring the story completely up to date.
Betty – portrayed by Amanda Peet in a powerhouse performance – met Dan (Christian Slater) when she was 18 years old and they were married four years later in 1969.
She's not a danger to society – the only two people she was a danger to are dead.". However, son Dan testified in 2010 for Betty to remain in prison. "In my heart, I know my mother is a good person. But along the way she got lost.
The Betty Broderick Story is based on Betty's own recollections, along with court testimonies and interviews that took place over the years before and after Dan and Linda's murder. While largely based on fact, there are some omissions that are interesting.
Their son died soon after being born, and was never named. Later that year, Betty attempted suicide for the first time.
1965: Daniel and Betty met at a party as undergraduates. Daniel, 21, and Betty, 17, met at a party in South Bend, Indiana, where Betty traveled to see a Notre Dame football game. According to Betty's 2015 memoir, Dan introduced himself by writing "Daniel T. Broderick III, MDA," on a napkin, and passing it to her.
Premiering June 2 on USA, Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story unspools Betty (Amanda Peet) and Dan Broderick's (Christian Slater) relationship—from their meet-cute at a college party in 1965, to their five-year-long divorce process, to the day in 1989 that Betty shot Dan and his new wife, Linda Kolkena (Rachel Heller), who were in bed.
Betty fired five shots at Dan and Linda, killing them both. Afterward, she turned herself in to police.
On April 12, 1969, Dan and Betty were married in an elaborate ceremo ny at the Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe, NY . In the lead-up to the wedding, Daniel and Betty's mother fought over his outfit: He refused to wear a rented tuxedo, and instead wore a blue pinstripe suit and a flowered tie, per Bryna Taubman's book Hell Hath No Fury.
Daniel Broderick met Linda Kolkena, a 21-year-old former flight attendant and receptionist, after she got a job at his building. Betty first heard of Linda at a Christmas party, when Daniel called her beautiful. In 1983, Daniel hired Kolkena to be his personal assistant.
A famous example is Betty Broderick, the jilted wife who broke into the home of her ex-husband, Dan Broderick, and his new wife, Linda Kolkena, and shot them both to death as they slept. The entire story is documented in Bella Stumbo’s excellent true crime book, Until The Twelfth of Never, which I read a number of years ago.
For Betty , an insecure woman whose entire identity had been tied up with being Dan Broderick’s wife and the mother of his children, his cruel and malicious behavior must have been unbearable and something eventually snapped. Dan was able to convince everyone that Betty was insane–not to mention fat, stupid and old.
Wright later testified about his relationship with Betty during a 1990 preliminary hearing, according to the Los Angeles Times. He told the court that Betty often spoke about how much she hated Dan and that she wanted to kill him.
Betty’s younger daughter, Kathy Lee Broderick, later testified in court that Betty told her daughter that after she fired, Dan sat up in bed and said, “Alright, you shot me. I’m dead,” according to CourtTV. Dan dove to the floor, landing near the phone, which Betty ripped from the wall.