December 31, 2011

Betty Broderick: This Message Is For Fuckhead And The Cunt

A note from Laura:
I have decided to republish my pieces about Betty Broderick in light of her continued incarceration.  I feel that my words, coupled with your words, are the only true justice Betty will see.  She deserves to have her story told.  Perhaps these truths will, in some measure, set her free.
January 4, 2017

A NEW piece about the Broderick case, in light of the Dirty John series:


Betty Broderick murdered her ex-husband, Dan Broderick, and his longtime mistress and wife of six months, Linda Kolkena Broderick, seventeen years ago today.

You know the story: maligned ex-wife and philandering ex-husband are locked in a vicious divorce battle. Ex-husband marries The Other Woman. Ex-wife kills them both.

My mind has changed about Betty. At first, I felt that she was a total victim, a woman wronged both by her man and by the system where her man was clearly king. I cheered her for murdering the philandering ex-spouse and the tweetie bird he fucked on the down-low for years before finally marrying her. After all, there was very little to like or appreciate about the victims. Dan Broderick was your garden-variety sleazeball personal injury attorney who weaseled his way into a post as the President of the San Diego Bar Association. Linda Kolkena was your typical skinny vapid blonde, a fantasy girl for a midlife crisis case who is stuck with an iceberg for a wife and has a fierce desire to spend his lunch hours Proving His Manhood while entangled in sweat-soaked sheets after sipping cheap champagne in the airport Holiday Inn.

It's the oldest story in the world. Rich successful man in an unhappy marriage takes a mistress who grew up poor and was looking for a sugar daddy. Rich successful man leaves the wife who helped to make him so damned rich and successful. The bimbo gets the spoils. It's vastly unfair to the wronged wife.

But now, I am just angry with Betty.

Not for the murders, mind you: while I do believe that all killing is wrong, I will also say that there were never two people who were more hell bent on antagonizing a woman who they claimed was crazy. Repeatedly...and loudly...and in their shared community...to mutual friends, to judges and therapists, to reporters, to anyone who would listen. People frightened of the tiger do not put their hands in the cage. Dan and Linda Broderick relished putting Betty Broderick through hell in the legal system, and of course there was no one to stop them. No one was willing to stop them. Dan was President of the Bar Association and had a lot of powerful friends.

After all, it isn't every day when the judge who presides over your divorce case just so happens to be a guest at your wedding to your office tramp with whom you cheated on your first wife for almost three years.  I guess it's only fair to invite the judge after all.  He was so helpful, looking the other way, while you robbed your first wife of her marital assets so that you could legally screw her out of what's rightfully hers when you finally got around to dumping the poor sad bitch.

Yet, on this anniversary of her crimes, I'm angry with Betty because she didn't think enough of herself and her womanhood to realize that she didn't need Dan Broderick or his money.

I'm angry with Betty that she didn't love her children enough to realize that they were the victims in the vicious divorce, and that her behavior greatly increased their suffering, up to and including the moments where she pulled the trigger.

I'm angry with Betty for failing to see that the ultimate revenge against two people like Dan and Linda Kolkena Broderick is to make them absolutely irrelevant in your life. You don't accomplish this with a gun. You accomplish this by refusing to play their games, by being the bigger person and knowing when to walk away.

By refusing to be their pawn any longer.

By realizing that she was giving them total control over her life every single time she took their bait.

Instead, she gave them total control over her life. She allowed it to happen. She allowed it right up until the moment when she shot and killed them both in their marital bed. I'm angry with Betty for failing to see that she had so many more options than that.

That she always did, even when she felt like nothing after years of abuse at the hands of Dan and Linda Broderick, both in the legal system and out. When she felt like she was lower than low after years of their petty antics, yet another fat and wrinkle cream ad sent "anonymously" to Betty by Linda Kolkena. When Linda sent Betty a photo of Dan posing with Linda at some legal function, with the scrawled caption, Eat your heart out, bitch!, Betty took those words to heart, and did.

It didn't have to be that way. Betty is not a stupid woman, but for some reason, she was never able to see that.

Ultimately, she freed herself from her tormentors, but in doing so, she just exchanged one kind of jail for another.

Both were of her own making.

It would have been so much better if Betty dried her eyes, realized that Dan wasn't coming back, and then focused her life and her energies on making something for herself, instead of obsessing about Linda taking what used to be hers.

After all, Linda Kolkena was used to taking Betty's sloppy seconds. In fact, Linda's entire life with Dan Broderick was pretty much Betty's sloppy seconds...right down to Betty's wedding china, which Linda Kolkena refused to allow Betty to have, even after the Broderick divorce went through, even after Linda Kolkena had ordered new wedding china for her marriage to Dan.

Here's a thinker: the needlepoint cover on the bed in which Dan and Linda were murdered was purchased by Betty, early in her marriage to Dan. One must ask: was the blanket so beautiful that Dan Broderick simply had to keep it, even have it on the bed you used to screw your second wife? Creepy. Not to mention tacky.

I always thought that Betty should have gone to law school. She was basically raped by the San Diego legal system and every attorney involved in it. What better way to beat them at their own game than becoming one of them? Can you imagine what Dan and Linda Broderick would have said about that? It would have eaten them both alive.

There were a million things that Betty could have chosen to do. Instead, she engaged in the most self-destructive behavior possible, providing both Dan and Linda with ample material with which to victimize her. Incredibly, Betty left many terrible messages on Dan Broderick's answering machine, when she would call about picking up the children. It just so happened that the airy voice of Linda Kolkena Broderick was on the outgoing message, stating that "we cannot take your call." Betty wasn't a big enough person to let things like that go. She took their bait every single time, as Dan and Linda knew she would. That's why they did it in the first place. "This message is for Fuckhead and The Cunt," is a direct quote from one of Betty's expletive-filled calls.

Dan left Betty for what was basically a younger version of herself. The physical similarities between Betty Broderick and Linda Kolkena are shocking. Both were beautiful blonde women with svelte figures. At the time of Dan's departure from their marriage, Betty was as close to perfect as a woman could get. She was easily one of the most attractive women in La Jolla society.

Understandably, when Dan dumped her for Linda, her vanity was attacked. She was humiliated and embarrassed. Did Betty resolve to maintain her unbelievable good looks, have enough of a sense of self-worth to realize that it was Dan's loss, and to realize that she, Betty, could find any number of men willing to marry her? No. Instead, Betty stopped taking care of herself. She overate and gained a lot of weight. She was pudgy and puffy and usually looked like a mess. This only intensified her envy of Linda, who now had Dan's entire wallet to spend in order to look her absolute best.

Betty didn't have to do that. She didn't have to do any of it. She could have chosen to ignore them. She never had to hand them both her power.

Instead, she chose to end three lives in the early morning hours of November 5, 1989. She fired the shots that murdered Linda Broderick and Dan Broderick, but as soon as she did, Betty Broderick ceased to exist, too.

I don't shed any tears about Dan and Linda Broderick. The world needs fewer sleazebag attorneys, it seems. It certainly could use fewer raging alcoholics with obnoxious fellow alcoholic friends who have predilections for quoting The Blues Brothers ad nauseum, which was apparently a cherished past time of Dan Broderick's. (How original.)

As for Linda Kolkena Broderick, she was a disgrace to every person who has ever worked hard for their money, to every woman who used their brains and their talents, other than sexual, to get ahead in a man's world. As a paralegal myself who holds a degree from Purdue University and who graduated at the top of my class and who paid for every dime of her university education herself, I especially bristle at when Linda Kolkena Broderick is referred to as a "legal assistant" or "paralegal." Being the office hoer and cheerleader to your partner in infidelity does not a legal assistant make.

The end of Betty Broderick, however, is a crying shame. What might have been, had Betty decided to rise above their pettiness and cruelty and realized that happiness is your own to make?

The truly sad part is that I believe that, had they lived, there is no way that Dan and Linda Broderick would still be married. Have you ever heard Dr. Phil say, "If they'll do it with you, they'll do it to you?" Dan would have tired of Linda as she aged, much as he tired of Betty when she started to age. There is always another bimbo glossing her lips in the ladies room who is only too happy to take your man. Then again, Linda Kolkena Broderick was supposedly sleeping with her ex-boyfriends, namely a cartoonist named Steve Kelley, by all accounts a very nice man who truly loved Linda, around the time of her marriage to Dan. Linda was never the sharpest pencil in the box, with only a high school education, and her only talent seeming to be spreading her legs for other women's husbands. It would have caught up with her, eventually.

Nope. Now Dan and Linda Broderick are rotting corpses, she buried in the wedding dress she wore only six months earlier. They are also martyrs because of the murders, and Betty is widely regarded as a nutcase, a pariah, a fool.

I'll agree with that last one. She could have played it a million ways, found her own thing, and discovered that a man who thinks that he is enough for two women is always barely man enough for one. She could have gotten back at her tormentors by refusing to let them define her, manipulate her.

Instead, she was their ultimate victim...by making them her victims.

Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena
"Count du Money" and "Liebchen"
 I guess The Count hadn't du Money 
to fix Liebchen's teeth just yet.



406 comments:

  1. what goes around comes around in this life. too bad dan and linda had to learn that in a barrage of bullets. no two people ever have been more deserving of what they got. fuckhead and the cunt. Yah, that pretty much covers it nicely.

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  2. Excellent commentary!!! If I was on the jury she would have walked or gotten manslaughter...I her ex and his lover got what they deserved. I can't believe that after all she did for him, she only received a lump sum of $30K!!!

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  3. OK, SO HE CHEATED. IT HAPPENS. SHE COULD HAVE CHOSEN SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO DO. SHE IS VERY SMART. HONESTLY, WITH $16,000 COMING IN EACH MONTH, I WOULD HAVE BEEN INVESTING, PARTYING AND HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE. THOSE TWO WOULD HAVE BEEN THE LAST THINGS ON MY MIND. SO, SHE WAS STUPID TO GET CAUGHT UP IN IT. IF I WAS ON HER JURY, SHE WOULD HAVE WALKED, NO JOKE.

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  4. i found this after reading UNTIL THE TWELFTH OF NEVER about Dan and Betty and Linda Broderick.
    This is my second time reading this book. First time I was going through a divorce -- after 19 years husband left for a 22 year old who he said "would solve all his problems and that she was like the thunderbolt mentioned in the GODFATHER".
    I don't advocate killing though I think both Dan and Linda were shits.
    As far as Linda being a bimbo, probably she was.
    Dan was an alcoholic and I can tell you that from my first marriage, alcoholics have no emotions. Their emotion is alcohol. So Dan's behaviour during his marriage to Betty is not surprising.
    What is surprising is Betty never realized that fact.
    Betty should have waited it out. I did. My husband's new bride was cheating on him less than 5 years after the marriage with a couple of men.
    He did come to me for comfort and told many stories about how she constantly hounded him for money and decried that he had been generous during the divorce (actually according to the state laws, he had no choice).
    I was willing to hear him out for a time. MostlyI just wanted to hear how she had humiliated him after all he put myself and my child through. To hear him say that she was not worth what he thought she was.
    Betty should have waited. The satisfaction would have been there eventually.

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  5. This is the best piece I have read yet on the Broderick case, other than Stumbo's book. I agree with every single word. Let's not forget that sleazy Sharon Blanchet, close friend of Dan and Linda and who helped Linda break into Betty's house, still practices divorce law in San Diego!

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  6. Anonymous02 May, 2009

    Absolutely wonderful piece, but just one change: Dan Broderick was a medi-mal attorney (medical malpractice), not a personal injury attorney.

    I used to feel sorry for Betty, too, when I was younger. Now I don't condone her actions, but that doesn't mean I condone what the sleazy new Mrs. Broderick and her meal ticket did to Betty, either.

    This is a great piece. Love the blog.

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  7. Anonymous02 May, 2009

    I knew both Dan and Linda. They were both a couple of shady characters and everyone in the legal community knew it. They would have been stopped had Dan not used his influence to get the Broderick divorce sealed. He didn't want it getting around how much he was torturing his ex-wife and what a crook he was! She Linda was just a young bimbo and we all pretty much thought correctly that she was Dan's "assistant" about as much as Bush II was a great president. We all thought that she was just the eye candy on the payroll. The funny thing is, she wasn't even that pretty! She was young, blonde and skinny, but I would see her from time to time and I just didn't think she was that hot.

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  8. Betty's up for parole soon, isn't she? Wonder if this case will get new publicity.

    I think this blog about Betty is superbly written...so wonderful and empowering to women :) Thank you so much!

    When will women realize that by being catty to each other they only hurt themselves?

    I can understand falling hopelessly in love with someone that you can't help but be with her/him, hisspouse be damned. That is the tragedy of love. But I can't understand the needless torment and baiting of Betty. She had already "lost"...let her be. To bait her and mock her like that is sociopathic. Dan and Linda will not be missed. No one will remember Linda, sorry!

    As for Betty, I'm ambivalent. I don't pity any of Madoff's victims either though!

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  9. Okay, I've thought about it and I am no longer ambivalent.

    I understand Betty and she was horribly bullied. Being bullied like that makes you lose your sense of self and you start to harm either yourself or others.

    Think of those high school massacres, etc. Those kids were being bullied.

    I'm not conding any of those actions AT ALL, but...honestly...something needs to be done about this rampant bullying situation that is only getting worse with the internet. It can lead to tragedies like this.

    Betty's situation really brought unfair laws against women to the forefront. This is what can happen when you push and push and bully people. They snap. That's human nature. Read "The Lucifer Principle"

    Thanks for reading.

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    Replies
    1. This article was written in 2009 if you scroll towards the end, it would appear that Betty is on speaking terms with all of her kids now.

      http://thedebbiedaily.com/?page_id=1804

      Rhett alluded on the Oprah Winfrey Show that he was treated badly by Dan's family and was punished because he wanted to continue his relationship with his mother.

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    2. Anonymous29 June, 2012

      This doesen't surprise me at all. The Bordericks (Dan's siblings, mind you) seem like truly horrible people.

      Delete
  10. I've been fascinated by the Broderick case for years. Thanks for saying everything I would have about Betty. She was an educated, intelligent woman with many friends, who could have been successful in any career she chose. Instead, she allowed bitterness to corrode her soul. She effectively orphaned her four children; the two youngest were passed among relatives for years. No matter what Dan did to her, and he did a lot, she should have put her children first. It will be interesting to see if she gets paroled in 2011. I'm betting not, because from what I have read, she has never shown remorse for killing Dan and Linda.

    Linda Kolkena was a cheap tramp, we all know women like her who thrive on seducing married men and breaking up marriages. Two of my friends, married for over 25 years, have been deserted by their husbands for modern-day Linda's.

    My husband left me for another woman and it nearly killed me. He was the love of my life, the man I wanted to grow old with. Knowing that my children needed me is what gave me the strength to keep going. For their sakes, I kept up a civil relationship with their father, although it was very hard, especially when he married his new love. Ten years later, she left him for another man. He was crushed and devastated, just like I had been so many years before. Time heals all wounds and wounds all heels. He got back exactly what he gave out.

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  11. I hope Betty is paroled. The only good thing lost that November day was Betty's freedom.

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  12. In the know in San Diego22 January, 2010

    Dan was an asshole, Linda was a slut, their friends and family members will see to it that Betty never gets out of jail. Larry Broderick has been shooting off his big mouth again on CNN. Hey Larry, why don't you tell us about how you stole from Dan's sons after his death? They can try to make Dan and Linda's story seem less sleazy but the reality is Betty has done more time for her crimes than many hardened criminals, and that's not fair.

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  13. I just hold true to what I said in my essay: if only Betty could have found something else to focus on, the justice she so craved would have provided itself to her on a silver platter. I don't believe for a second that Dan and Linda Broderick would still be married today. It has been documented that Linda was sleeping with Steve Kelley a scant three weeks before her wedding to Dan. It would have caught up with her eventually. Yes, we have been subjected to nauseating odes by dear Larry, as usual, $16K per month, blah blah blah. Methinks someone needs to acquaint himself with the fact of the case (beyond the Epstein credits he helped Dan accrue against Betty's stake in the marital assets).

    Betty could have done so much better. It is so much better to have the last laugh, especially when a midlife crisis alcoholic and his dumb slut are involved. They would have made a colossal mess of their marriage and their lives. It would have been so much better for Betty and her kids if she had just stayed out of it and let nature take its course.

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  14. I was a paralegal at Gray, Cary in the 80s and came into contact with both Dan and Linda frequently. Linda always talked trash about Betty Broderick. She seemed fixated on the woman. She also never forgave Dan for the period where he was sleeping with both her and Betty. Linda had absolutely no class. It's one thing to sleep with your boss while he's married, but she was never discreet about it. Lots of attorneys sleep with their staff. You just don't talk about it. Linda always did.

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  15. What the Kolkenas don't want to admit is that Linda would probably be alive today if she hadn't been a homewrecking whore. The problem with the world today is that no one wants to admit the truth and say that actions have direct, and sometimes deadly, consequences. What Betty did was terrible, it was wrong, and she should stay in prison for it IMO. But let's not forget that had Linda not taken up with her Prince $$$ Charming, she would be alive today.

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  16. Well, I suppose you can say what you want, but Dan and Linda were together something like 7 years before finally getting married. And it wasn't 16k for life. That was temporary alimony, and not even 20% of what Dan was taking home each month. Granted, I wish Betty could have picked up,t oo, but I don't agree that she should have been forced out of a reasonable settlement. She asked for 4 million for 20 years of marriage, pregnancies, miscarriages, stillborn children... an amount that Dan would have made back in 2 years. Why not give it to her? If she was a nut beyond that, it would have revealed itself.

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  17. I worked at a San Diego law firm in the 80s and knew Dan and Linda very well. Her nickname, behind her back of course, was "Linda Vagina," because that's the way she got her job. Everyone knew it. It's funny to those of us who knew them when their friends insist that Linda was some legal genius. She wasn't. She was Dan's office bimbo.

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  18. I just received an interesting email from an employee of Greenwood Cemetery, where Dan and Linda are both (supposedly) buried. Not so. Dan is buried there, but Linda's corpse and coffin were confiscated by the Kolkenas and buried in another, very private location. Of course, Linda's name remains on the tombstone. SIGH. Well, I guess Miss Delta Airlines earned that "privilege," so good for her.

    Dan's wife for all of eternity...what a prize.

    I find this whole thing very curious. Guess Dan and Linda's love affair wasn't the fairy tale dream all of their so-called friends and family members would have the media believe. I mean, if I died with my husband, you goddamn better believe that I would be buried with him. My right. Taking Linda and burying her elsewhere is as shady as the Broderick-Kolkena liaison itself was. Maybe it's fitting.

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  19. I have always felt sympathy for Betty, felt that she was cruelly tortured & baited and that Dan was trying to goad her into asking for a divorce. I can't imagine going up against the president of the bar association and all his contemporaries. It would be devasting and would be more humiliating. I am sorry she murdered them, I do not condone it, if she could have just held it together, she would have "won" in the end. Hope she gets out in 2011 and realizes she has to play the system like her ex played her.

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  20. Dan broderick was a douchebag and Linda Kolkena a gold digging slut. They got what they derserved.

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  21. I feel Betty was driven to the point of not being able to make rational decisions. She should have been charged with manslaughter instead. I hope she gets paroled soon and is able to salvage what life she has remaining and finds peace and happiness.

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  22. I understand from a piece Mike Reidy wrote about his battle with cancer, that he and his wife took Linda and Dan's ashes to Ireland, where they tossed them from a cliff. Fitting. During her trial, Betty said that they hadn't been buried in those expensive show caskets at their funeral, but were cremated...

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  23. I SO agree with this article. I just watched the TV movie today about Betty.
    The absolute best revenge when a guy dumps you is to go on with your life and look like you DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS.
    Betty should have walked around with a huge smile on her face, dated other men etc....
    It would have gotten back to Dan and trust me when he saw she din't care if would have been a slow burn for him.
    Maybe he would have eventually wanted Betty back even and then SHE would have been the one to have the power to tell him to take a hike rather than giving them both power over HER.
    I agree that she should have made them irrelevant and would have come out of this looking like a million bucks and FEELING great too.
    Easier said than done, i know, but in this case extremely necessary.

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  24. Unbelievable about Dan and Linda's ashes...yet I have no trouble believing it. Did I miss the memo, or wasn't Linda Kolkena DUTCH? More Dutch than Dan ever was Irish. But no, Danny Boy had an Irish fixation and that is what mattered. You know, it almost makes me feel sorry for Linda Kolkena, despite how she behaved in life...to be an afterthought, yet again, even in death. It's sad.

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  25. This is absolutely without a doubt the best piece I have ever read on the Broderick case. Are you a professional writer? If you aren't you should be.

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  26. The reference to Dan and Linda's ashes are in The Power of Two by Brian Montigue. It chronicals his experience with cancer. That's not the entire title, but the story is that they went to an irish pub in Ireand, 14 people who had made this jaunt, drank and then went to a cliff under the cloak of darkness, dug a hole and buried the ashes.

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  27. November 5th 2010
    The 21st anniversary of the Brodericks' homicides. Unfortunately Betty is still in prison and will be there for a while. Even her children are divided about her release. Very sad.
    From everything I've read about the Brodericks, the three of them, all of them Dan, Betty and Linda were less than stellar people. Betty had her problems long before Dan and Linda drove her off the deep end.
    So unfortunate.
    I agree that Betty was a bright woman. She should have taken the money from her temporary alimony and written two books about it. The first one should have been Dan's legal ploys against her from the moment he told her he was divorcing and the second one a fiction -homicide-piece with lightly disguised characters and murdered them there. I'm sure both would have made her a fortune. The move on with her life.

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  28. Interesting that the daughter Kim that went against her has a daughter that is the spittin' image of Betty. They seem to stick together, though, Kim and Dan, Jr.

    I don't think that I would be surprised that the Kolkena clan has nothing to do with the Brodericks. After all, Larry didn't want to give the family any money from the insurances, claiming that since Linda was killed instantly and Dan died after she did, her estate reverted to him. He eventually settled with the family for 200k. I guess Maggie took her clothes and has Linda's emerald engagement ring.

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  29. I had to laugh when--after the murders--Linda and Dan were lauded and mourned as paragons of virtue. Everyone that knew them thought they were slimy sluts that found their equal in the mud they lived in. I worked with them both and Linda was HATED by every single person and known as a gold digger and slut. Dan was book smart but too stupid to realize that Linda only wanted him for his money and would've moved on to another victim until her looks were gone. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. Poor choices led to a very poor and sad end for all.

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  30. I have no sympathy for Dan, Betty or Linda...as far as I'm concerned, all three of them are wrong in a messy situation and the kids are the ones who were wronged. Linda had no business being with a man that didn't belong to her, Dan was wrong to cheat and manipulate his way to taking everything his former marriage had, and Betty had no right to harass, destroy property and ultimately murder the couple. In the end, no one wins and no one is truly in the right.

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  31. There were never three adults more hell bent on acting like children, while completely ignoring the children who were actually involved.

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  32. I am watching the Lifetime movie right now. I wish they would've focused more on how Linda tormented Betty. I agree with you 100%, I too wish Betty had focused her energy on something else. Dan would've dumped Linda as soon as he grew tired of her. I stumbled upon a website a few years ago, I think Linda's family was behind it (can't find it now for the life on me), and it painted Linda as a saint, yes a good person sleeps with a married man...not.

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  33. laura,
    applause applause. your blog is the most comprehensive insightful reading ever written
    you have summarized beautifully everything i have thought for so long about those 2 low lives but was unable to express in writing.
    i truly understand how betty snapped the way she did. yes,it would have been so much better if she had utilized her talents in a more productive manner. however---------she may have been able to do that if dan and linda had not so viciously antagonized her over such a long period.
    they (will full intent) tried to make her look and act like a nut case. they had all the allies and poor betty had none.
    it's also hard to believe that her 2 children kim and danny (now that they are older and have life experience) cannot see what their father and his mistress did to their mother.
    i have always been a firm supporter of betty and will continue.
    she should be out of jail. it's time.
    if you can post this on your blog, you may do so as i am not sure how to do it.
    let me know your thoughts
    sincerely, laura

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  34. I agree with everyone on here who said that Linda was a tramp and that she and Dan deserved what they got. I have read Bella Stumbo's book (the best one by far) and a couple of others which were vastly inferior. I also saw the Lifetime movies and they made me see red. The only good thing is that Dan can't rape anybody else out of money and Linda can't steal anybody else's husband. Betty should get out, like, years ago.

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  35. betty deserves a medal for getting rid of scum like dan and linda

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  36. Relationships end every day. Both men and women cheat. But then Dan and Linda taunted Betty relentlessly and put themselves in danger with this already unstable person. I'm not saying it was right......but I understand.

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  37. Really great job of summing up the Brodericks story. I think Betty snapped.I mean that dickhead Dan and his slut Linda played her. I know she shouldn't have killed them but they got what they deserved!They were cruel.I agree it is too bad that Betty couldn't hold it together but when emotions and heart are involved, it's easy to lose oneself. I do feel badly for the children but if Dan hadn't whored around and then be so cheap after all Betty had done. Well, I'm just saying, I hope the kids blame dear old scummy Dad and not Mom. I still feel badly for Betty.

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  38. Betty will be 77 for her next parole hearing in 2026. Think she'll wise up and show remorse by then?

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  39. No, I don't think she will...even though it would be in her best interests to do so. In a weird way, I admire Betty for remaining resolute in her anger and her utter lack of remorse. So many convicts lie in order to get parole...found Jesus, yes I'm sorry, that whole shebang...but not Betty. Not Betty.

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  40. As I sat and read this blog it was as though you had seen the inside of my mind. It's exactly the way I feel.. I have read all I can find for years on the internet. Nothing I have ever read has been as close to what I deem to be the truth, as this piece. There is not another thing I can think of to add. Thank you for expressing what I believe so many of us feel about this entire situation. This was awesome.. So the TRUTH........

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  41. How NOT to comment on my blog:

    1. Barge in here and refer to other posters as "fucked up."

    2. Use letters as substitutes for actual words. We use proper English grammar, spelling, and punctuation around these parts.

    You know who you are. Your comments were deleted.

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  42. Let's see. Betty Broderick was a beautiful, smart woman with four children, a husband for whom she had worked so he could go to school to become who he was so they would be successful, she was well liked, she was a active socialite etc. but inside their marriage Dan was a workaholic, a cheat, egotistical, maybe an alcoholic etc. but Betty was portrayed to be terrible because she got angry and threatened divorce.

    So he finally leaves her for a break but will not listen or talk to her. Then the bimbo that he has been having an affair with for years enters the picture. Yes, I can see how this would make any wife angry.

    Then her so called friends accept him and his bimbo into their social circle and she is put out. What is wrong with this picture? What kind of friends are these? So she loses not only her friends but her social standing too. I can see this making her angry too.

    Then she has problems finding an attorney, all seem to be Dan's friends. Frustrating I am sure.

    Betty is acting out because Dan will not talk/listen to her. She is fighting for her life, her family, her husband and getting nowhere.

    Then she makes it to court and gets a Judge that is obviously partial to dear old Dan. Any idiot can see that from the settlement she got. HELLO!! Who is the one having the affair for years here? Surprise, Surprise the same Judge goes to dear old Dan's wedding to the bimbo!! Seems like he needs to be disbarred.

    Then there is the torment that Dan and Linda did to Betty. For some reason there was not much of that shown in the movies. Merideth Baxter is a good actress, I thought she played a good part, not too sure how accurate a portrayal of Betty it was though.

    Then there were the kids. I am sure they did not know the whole story then and I doubt they do now. They heard and saw the effects of what all of this had on their mother though. Betty lost everything she had worked for and accomplished in her life; her marriage, her family, their success, their social standing, her friends and a fair financial settlement. I can see why she snapped.

    I don't condone murder but if anyone was ever driven to the brink of destruction it has to be her. I know she was protrayed as a terrible person but I think Betty was fighting back the only way she knew how, verbally. This was a lot more than a woman losing her cheating husband to his slut. This woman was destroyed and betrayed in every aspect of her life and was taunted and tortured with it for years. It turned her into a bitter person who finally put an end to the tormentors and the torment. There are a lot of people involved that should not sleep very well and need to take a real good look in the mirror.

    As for Linda's family, I feel sorry for your loss but perhaps you should have told your daughter/sister that is it wrong to commit adultery and to be a slut and maybe she would have made better decisions in life.

    I feel sorry for Betty because she was the victim here from the beginning but she was betrayed by her family, her so called friends, her social circle and the legal system and she could not handle it. If Dan had been treated as the cheat he was and his bimbo for the slut she was, if her friends had stood by her, and if she was the one invited to parties and events and Dan and the slut excluded as they should have been maybe she would not have been so bitter and if she had gotten a fair judgement in court maybe she could have moved on with her life.

    No one in this story stood up for what is right and look where it led.

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  43. This was a very interesting read, the first I've read anything other than "fluff" about Dan and Linda. The posts from their former coworkers were particularly enlightening. I'd love to read Bella Stumbo's book, but unfortunately, it has been out of print and is unavailable (except at ridiculous prices).

    But at the end of the day, it was wrong for Betty to murder Dan and Linda. Period. They may have been scumbags, but she had no right to kill them. In doing so, she sacrificed her children, who essentially became orphans. As a result, I'm sure their lives have not been easy. They are the real victims of this sad story.

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  44. It makes me really sad to know that other law professionals in San Diego referred to her as "Linda Vagina," but people tend to call 'em like they see 'em. I think it makes things easier for those in the Dan-Linda camp to remember them as paragons of virtue, a modern-day pair of star-crossed lovers, and Linda some sort of magical legal genius while only having a high school education. And really, can you blame them? They have to know the awful truth about who Dan and Linda really were. Coupled with their murders, it must be way too much to deal with. It's understandable. Nauseating, but understandable.

    I agree with your statement about Betty 100%, if only because she had so many other options in the situation. Really, killing Dan and Linda was the easy way out.

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  45. From what I've read about Betty, it seems to me that her entire identity was wrapped up in being Mrs. Dan Broderick. They both worked to further his goals, and his success was hers. Once he dumped her, she lost her identity. It didn't matter that she had a teaching degree and plenty of money to make a fresh start. She lost her identity and with it, her sense of self-worth. She reacted with rage, and maybe it had even been simmering for years.

    I read an article about this case where her parents were mentioned briefly, and it was very telling (at least I thought so) in terms of why Betty is who she is and did what she did.

    As for Dan and Linda's families and friends, I'm sure their truth doesn't leave room for anyone else's, which is understandable. It seems as though the lines were drawn in black and white as far as their camp or Betty's camp, even right down the middle of the four children.

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  46. THE FACTS

    Judge Howatt valued Dapper Dan's law practice at the date of the separation and ruled that Betty owed Dan $750,000 in Epstein credits Dan and Dan alone accrued in his and Betty's joint estate. This was deducted from her settlement. Judge Howatt also accepted every single one of Dan's estimates and valuations of property (unheard of ...in a divorce).

    Betty received half of the pension fund, which was roughly $240,000, which she could not touch until she was 65 years old.

    Dan owed Betty $33,000 in cash, but Judge Howatt reduced that by another $5,000 because Betty owed, incredibly, for DAN's legal fees because Dan kept hauling Betty into court for using bad language. (Order to Show Cause...again, absolutely unheard of)

    Dan received sole custody of the boys, although it is well documented in Stumbo's book that he really didn't want custody of them...it was a means of sticking it to Betty, who desperately wanted the boys back, and, it must be noted, the boys did NOT want to live with Dan and Linda. Denied their mother, they were basically being raised by housekeepers.

    Dan was ordered to take out a $1 million life insurance policy, with the children, not Betty, as the beneficiary. This is the famous life insurance policy that Larry Broderick, um, helped himself to in the way of vacations and vehicles after Danny Boy was killed. The Kolkenas had to fight the Brodericks for any money at all after the murders.

    Spousal support was ordered by Judge Howatt to be $16,000 per month, with the following proviso: "until further order of the Court." Again, this is virtually unheard of in divorce law. Betty knew by that time that "further order of the Court" meant "until Dan Broderick sleazed his way out of paying what he should."

    Betty WAS NOT AWARDED HER HOUSE. That is a LIE. In fact, at the time of the murders, she was living in a rented condo in a downscale area of San Diego.

    Betty wound up with a cash sum of $28,000. This for the woman who worked two, three, four jobs at a time while Danny Boy finished up med school and decided to go to law school. Betty bore him five children during this time, also. One of the children died shortly after birth. DAN BRODERICK WAS ON A SKIING VACATION WITH HIS BUDDIES AT THE TIME.

    Dan Broderick was making roughly $1 million annually, and this was in 1988-era dollars, at the time of the divorce. Betty, the woman who helped him get there, received NOTHING for her contributions. Indeed, Linda Kolkena had stepped into her life and reaped the financial benefits...without ever working a day for it.

    Roughly four months after rendering his financial judgments in Broderick versus Broderick, Judge Howatt enjoyed being a guest at Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena's wedding.

    One more thing about the Epstein Credits: the reason the number was so high is because Danny Boy was hiding assets in the form of "loans" to Larry Broderick for almost a year before walking out on Betty. This not only lessened how large their shared marital estate would look to a judge, but in effect screwed Betty out of large sums of money that she was entitled to as Dan's ex-wife in advance.

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  47. Anonymous17 May, 2011

    Bu that isn't how it is done in La Jolla. Every book on Betty I ever read indicated that divorced wives were disenfranchised, and the social circle went with the man, regardless of what he may have done to cause the divorce. I wish that Betty hadn't seen murder as the only option that she ultimately had... but I can see why she did. She asked for 4 million in a divorce from a man that was taking home over 100k a MONTH. He would have earned any monies he might have paid is ex-wife back within 4 years. What would have been wrong with just cooperating and giving her something reasonable for 20 years of supportm social building, earning money so that he could go to school, pregnancies, miscarriages, stillbirths... And the college tuition for the kids would have been included in that 4 mill. Why not do it? If Betty had continued to behave badly THEN, then of course you'd have to look for other reasons why, perhaps even menta illness. But why rip everything away from a former spouse... especially if you don't really want it, anyway? She got the girls because they were considered problematic, but not the boys and Rhett was quite young at the time.

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  48. I agree with you...and I have an answer to your query: because the truly mentally ill individual in this case was none other than Daniel T. Broderick III. An overgrown frat boy alcoholic with a mean streak a mile long. It wasn't enough for him to merely leave Betty. He had to destroy her in the process. Well, he got what he sought, didn't he...but he never anticipated the price he would have to pay in order to truly get it.

    Betty would have moved on, I think, if Dan The Drunk had played fair with her regarding the kids and the money. But no...it had to be all Dan's way, all the way. Someone should have informed the brilliant attorney and his "legal assistant" bimbo that divorce doesn't work like that.

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  49. Debra Kelley24 May, 2011

    It's too bad Betty snapped before she could finally come to the realization that she was a much better person than her asshole ex-husband and that sleazy slut he left Betty for. If Betty wouldn't have killed them, those two would have paid for their immoral lifestyles in one way or another eventually. And Betty would have come out of the situation better than anyone!

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  50. Anonymous30 May, 2011

    One article estimates he was making $300,000 a month, so in comparison $16,000 a month isn't much at all. She was severely wronged by the justice system because her husband was so connected. Dan should have given her millions, thanked her for her support in creating his successful career, and helped her to move on as best he could instead of treating her so poorly. It's terrible what she did, really awful. They clearly toyed with her to the point of insanity.

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  51. Anonymous16 June, 2011

    Clearly, Dan threw Betty away when he reached middle age. Both narcissistic personalities, but one is dead. Murder is wrong, but like so many posts I'm reading, I can empathize with Betty being pushed so hard for so long by an attorney that no one else in the legal community was going to say "no" to. To be honest, I never thought I'd read so much negativity about Dan- but what I've thought for 20 years is pretty much spot on. I wonder how many in the legal community feel the same way, but didn't have the spine to say so?

    I'm realllllllly tired of hearing Linda called Dan's "new wife." What fucking difference does it make if she was a new one or they'd been married a while? Makes it sound more sensational I suppose and kept the Copley's rich. Did they deserve to die? No. Do I empathize with Betty? Yes.. to some end.

    Screwing up your first parole hearing after 20 years really has to suck, but she really needs to OWN what she did and FEEL remorse. It's clear she doesn't get it. I just watched a 2010 program about this and her tone is shrill and manic. She has another 15 years to get through this awful situation and maybe get out at her 2nd parole hearing.

    The kids are the other 4 victims. How awful to not have parents when it was totally unnecessary.

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  52. Dan and Linda wanted to drive Betty crazy. They succeeded. And they continue to succeed from beyond the grave, even today.

    I just can't see allowing anyone to have that much control over my life and emotional well being. Betty Broderick made Dan Broderick seem much more important by her behavior than he was...certainly more than he and Linda Vagina deserved.

    Betty ended her life, too, when she murdered Dan and Linda.

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  53. Anonymous05 July, 2011

    I wonder if Betty has received any psychiatric counseling in prison. Too bad she didn't learn to play the game like the Manson family, and turn to a fake Jesus and cry and go for an Oscar nom. She might have gotten out. I mean they let two women out who tried to shoot Pres. Ford I think Betty should be let out too!

    Derek

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  54. Anonymous07 July, 2011

    I've read through all of the comments on this very interesting discussion. Although I feel for Betty (trust me, I know from where I speak -- my husband left me after 16 years of marriage and married a snit 13 years younger than himself) -- murder was wrong. No ifs ands or buts about it. I am back in college at the tender age of 48 and have lost my home, my social life, etc. I've been through mental hell and back these past three years, but we have choices in life. You either sink or swim. I decided to swim. Betty (whatever the true settlement was) has more than quite a number of women my age whose husband's have left. Some have nothing. Yet, they are back in school, raising children (alone) and trying to get their life together. Yes, I do admit to feeling a little satisfaction that the hose-bags are dead. However, I have learned in life --- that two wrongs definitely dont make a right and most importantly -- KARMA. What goes around, sure enough, does come around.

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  55. Yes, Anonymous 7/07. You are absolutely correct. Like I have said, the greatest revenge Betty Broderick could have ever gotten would have been to made something of her life without Dan. Murder was, in so many ways, the easy way out for her. I am a big believer in What Goes Around, Comes Around. And although I don't know you, I am very proud of you and the choices you yourself have made.

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  56. Anonymous14 July, 2011

    One clarification -- Dan Broderick did other personal injury cases besides medical malpractice, although that was his speciality. At the time of his death, I was a paralegal with a large law firm in Los Angeles. We were defending a trucking company against the wrongful death claims of Dan Broderick's client. His law partners were inept and didn't do anything with the case it dismissed based on "non-prosecution". The case was worth at least $2 million, but I guess Dan Broderick's law partners were too grief stricken to worry about their clients. I hope the family went after that firm for legal malpractice. I, too, wish Betty could have let it go and move on with her life. She saw no other life other than the life she had with Dan Broderick, but she had so much going for her, she could have made that same life with another man. The Lifetime movie was based on interviews with the Brodericks and the Kolkenas. They made Dan Broderick out to be this long-suffering husband married to a harpy, and Linda as the sympathetic office person who was a good listener. Oh please.
    I wish Betty had chosen another path, but really, she doesn't belong in jail any longer than she has already been.

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  57. Anonymous17 July, 2011

    This is actually one of the best blogs written about Betty Broderick. I first encountered her story on Youtube, a film-made-for-TV by Lifetime Network. I did not notice the biases because the film was obviously taken from the sides of the Kolkenas and the Brodericks (shame on LIFETIME NETWORK for the partialities implied in the film). But even though with such biases, I began to feel for Betty Broderick and it makes me remember the poem THERE IS NO CRY IN HEAVEN LIKE A LOVE TO HATRED TURNED, OR HELL HAS NO FURY LIKE A WOMAN SCORNED. This depicts basically the story of Betty and I actually do not condone her killings of the douchebag-scumbag ex-husband and the whore new wife. But after all, they drove methodically Betty to insanity and after all the years of torturing him, she snapped back. All is left is photograph of them, or an epitaph that no one wishes to remember. I hope Betty came to forgive and move on. One cannot simply live with all the anger or else life is a big burden!

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  58. Anonymous28 July, 2011

    I feel Betty had done her time and should be released. I don't condone her actions but anyone who has been in the position of living with a cheating scumbag at some time has had a daydream of making them pay for all the hurt they caused. I wish she had been granted parole and I think 15 years is way too long to wait for another parole hearing.

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  59. Anonymous29 July, 2011

    I totally agree with everything that has been written on this blog. I have always been of the opinion that Dan Broderick and his bimbo office assistant, treated Betty appalingly and what is particularly sad about this whole story, is that the legal system, including judges allowed Dan Broderick to destroy Betty without mercy for a long time. Dan and Linda got what they both deserved, good riddance to bad rubbish i say.

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  60. Anonymous30 July, 2011

    When Linda Kolkena started her affair with Dan Broderick, she knew that he was a married man and the father of four children, did any of this matter to her? Hell no, all she cared about was herself,not to mention the money and the lifestyle that went with being Dan Brodericks mistress. Not once did she or that slimeball Dan stop to think about the pain and hurt they was causing Betty, infact they seem to enjoy the mental torture that they both subjected her to. Linda cruelly taunted Betty by posting her ads about fat and wrinkle treatments, how childish, how catty and bitchy is that? It truly gives a real insight into Linda Kolkenas true character, she was a selfish,cruel, vindictive individual, just like Dan Broderick was. Linda's friends can deny it all they want, but i have no doubt that Linda was responsible for sending those ads and that picture of her and Dan, posing together at some posh ball to Betty, with the words 'EAT YOUR HEART OUT BITCH' written on it. Linda even use to countersign legal documents for Dan which Betty would receive during their divorce proceedings, cruel or what? These two sick individuals was not happy with just hurting Betty, they were both hellbent on totally destroying her. I totally understand how Betty was turned into a human time bomb by Dan and Linda, but what Dan and Linda failed to see coming, is that the bomb of their own making is the reason why the two of them are not here today. It is a pity that Betty has spent so much time in prison for the murders of these two, it just doesnt seem fair to me, especially as they both killed Betty many, many years ago,

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  61. My ex tried that mental manipulation on me but he was not successful at it, I removed myself from the situation...too bad Betty couldn't have done that but hindsight is 20/20.

    The only thing Linda had going for her was that she was younger, she could never compare to Betty who was a beautiful woman. They did drive Betty crazy. If you look at the pictures in Stumbo's book, Betty looks progressively worse as time goes on as she gets roped into Dan and Linda's sick web.
    Linda used to sign Betty's alimony checks and write "Maintanence of Cow" on the memo. Nice touch, Linda. I guess you achieved what you intended. Pushing Betty over the edge.

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  62. Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena definately got what they both deserved. Betty once said in an interview, "I may be in prison but i am alive", that is something that Dan and Linda can't say. I hope Danny boy was worth it Linda.

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  63. I always wondered why Betty couldn't have gotten a little nip tuck and had a little fun with the pool boy. Interestingly, Dan's attorney Tom Ashworth, went on to become the supervising judge of San Diego's family court....followed by the extremely obese, Bill Howatt, whose financial rulings against Better were overturned by the Court of Appeal. San Diego is why in part why www.Familylawcourts.com
    was begun ten years ago.

    As I asked one of the recipients of the Dan Broderick award.....who'd want it? (And yet the Bar Association still funds it. Which pretty much tells you all you need to know about San Diego.)

    I always tell people San Diego is at peace with its corruption. Not only is San Diego not safe for women or children....it simply is not interested in becoming so.

    Last, hate the title of this piece. Very trashy. Not that I'm a prude. I sometimes swear in real life just not online as it follows one around like a bad tattoo. :)

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  64. "This message is for fuckhead and the cunt" are words, verbatim, taken from one of Betty's obscene phone messages on Dan's machine. Yes, it is trashy. Bad language was the only weapon Betty had left at that point, and Dan and Linda took even that away from her in the form of their ridiculous wallpapering of San Diego courtrooms with OSCs.

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  65. So what exactly happened to the bodies of Dan and Linda Broderick? In Bella Stumbo's book Betty said that the coffins were empty and that Dan and Linda were cremated. If so, what was done with the ashes? Were the ashes buried in the coffins or scattered or buried somewhere else? And now I hear that Dan was buried in the grave but Linda's body was taken elsewhere and buried. Or cremated. Or something. If she was buried somewhere and not cremated, was she really wearing her wedding dress, which incidentally, was not very flattering? I'm just curious. This was such a facinating crime; Stumbo's book "Until the Twelth of Never" is one of the best true crime books I've ever read.

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  66. According to well placed persons at the Greenwood cemetry, Dan Broderick lies in his grave alone. Apparently the Kolkena family had Linda buried at a private location, although her name remains on the memorial stone. Dan Broderick was a cold, heartless man, he was truly evil. When he hit the 'big time' and the money started rolling in, he forgot all about his wife of 16 years, he disgarded Betty like one of yesterday's newspapers. He didnt really want custody of his children, he only wanted them so that he could hurt Betty. This world is a better place without the likes of Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena, the homewrecking, money grabbing bimbo. I truly think that we should start considering a 'free Betty' campaign, she has served enough time in prison and its about time she was freed.

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  67. Maggie Kolkena Seats was a married woman when her sister Linda Kolkena started having an affair with Dan Broderick a married man. One would have thought as a married woman she would have sat her sister down and advised her that what she was doing was very, very wrong, i mean how would maggie have liked it if Linda had been sleeping with her husband? Not very much is my guess. No one seemed to have the care or the courage to tell Linda what she was doing was very wrong and Maggie has never voiced one ounce of sympathy over what her sister put Betty through. Linda for her part relished in the fact that she could hurt and taunt Betty, it must have been a huge ego boost for her sick mind to watch Betty grow fatter and more depressed by the day, while she no doubt kept herself in tip top shape and made sure she looked her absolute best(all with the help of Dan Broderick's cash), at all times. Linda even turned up for Kim Brodericks graduation ceremony hand in hand with Dan, knowing that Betty would be there and would naturally be very hurt by the sight of them on their daughter's special day. many other women in Linda's position would have stayed away and let Dan and Betty enjoy the pride of seeing their first born graduate, not Linda Kolkena, for her it was just another opportunity to rub Betty's face in the fact that she had been sleeping with her husband for years. Linda obviously was not bought up right. If maggie had taken half the time to teach her promiscuous little sister what was right from wrong, like she did when she was trying to make out that Linda was some kind of innocent saint after the killings, then perhaps Linda might be alive today. But then all is not lost Maggie, i heard you managed to inherit some of Linda's nice clothes (all bought with Dan Broderick's cash of course)and her diamond and emerald engagement ring, so i suppose all what not lost for you. Your sister lived by the sword and she certainly died by the sword. She paid the ultimate price for her selfishness and unnecessary cruelty.

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    Replies
    1. Oh come now, haven't you heard? Gap-toothed legal genius and bestest buddies of Dan and Linda, Sharon Blanchet, says that Linda had "the right" to attend Kim's graduation. Never mind whether or not it was the RIGHT thing to do. Linda had "the right."

      I wonder if Linda also had "the right" to taunt Betty via the mail with the wrinkle and weight loss ads, two actions that Blanchet not only acknowledges, but defends. Then again, Blanchet did help Linda break into Betty's house...something, assuredly, neither of them had "the right" to do.

      Sharon Blanchet is a divorce attorney, if you can believe that.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20 June, 2012

      Is Sharon married herself? Sounds like a bad woman.

      Delete
  68. Maggie Seats had a website in memory of her sister Linda up until recently. I guess she couldn't handle the comments it received - namely that her sister was a home-wrecking, money-hungry skank.

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  69. I am a relative of Maggie Kolkena. Do not think for a moment she condoned Linda's behavior -- we all questioned it and spoke frankly with Linda about it. It bothers me that people think that Maggie is somehow responsible for what Linda did -- Linda was responsible, that is all there is to it.

    You also must understand that Linda knew Betty was a threat -- she said to me about four months before the wedding, "I wouldn't be surprised if she came after me with a shotgun." Of course, at the time I thought she was being melodramatic and attention-seeking. How very wrong I was.

    I thought Linda was infatuated with Dan's money, looks and power. I do not think she ever considered the feelings of the children or Betty. It was always about her. Yes, she was foolish, naive and self-centered, but she certainly did not deserve to die.

    Also, Linda's family was not poor -- not rich, but definitely not impoverished. Strictly middle class. Her mother died when she was young of breast cancer -- give her a break.

    Some of us still care...

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  70. Anonymous 11/23/11:

    That is just about the saddest thing I have ever read.

    Age and the wisdom that comes with it tells me that Linda's greatest mistake in all of this was also the one that was the most unavoidable: her youth. She was young and foolish. So was I once.

    Thank you for writing your comment.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous20 June, 2012

      Even so, I knew better than to sleep with married men. And if Linda expressed those sentiments, I wish someone would have told her to cool her behavior. Sending the mailings wasn't necessary. It wasn't necessary to have her voice on the phone or her signatures on checks. Why was Dan paying her out of a business account, anyway? The notations were wrong. Linda made very poor decisions and was probably encouraged to do so. Theo nly Dan was angry about was that she broke into Betty's home.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous28 June, 2012

      Using youth as an excuse here is ridiculous. She wasn't 14. All of ushave been that age, probably many of us better looking and could have, but we still didn't date a married father of four for over 3 1/2 years. Excuses!

      Delete
  71. Anonymous 11/23/11, I do have a question for you, though:

    What did the Kolkenas think of Dan Broderick? Linda and Maggie's father was still alive when Linda was shot to death, and he must have been at the wedding and had met Dan before. What did he think of Dapper Dan? What did Maggie Kolkena think of him? Did they like him? Did they think that Dan treated her well?

    I also find it so sad, yet a fascinating portrait in family dynamics, that even the most cursory search of Maggie Kolkena's and Daniel Broderick IV's friends lists on Facebook reveals that the Kolkenas and the Brodericks literally have nothing to do with one another now.

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  72. Dear annonymous(relative of Maggie Kolkena)
    I have read your comments, you ask for us to give Linda a break? Please may i repond by asking did Linda give Betty a break? You also mention that Linda lost her mother to breast cancer at a young age, i also lost my mother to cancer at a young age, just like millions of other people all over the world have, but that is no excuse for the selfish and cruel way Linda treated Betty. You also mentioned that Linda did not deserve to die, well i would like to remind you of the biblical saying of ' he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword '. Linda chose to live by the sword and paid the ultimate price, she is the one who should have given Betty a break.

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  73. I believe that Betty Broderick should remain in jail. My view is that if you take another person's life without a justifiable reason (ex. self-defence), you should not be required to give up your own life, but you should lose your freedom in perpetuity, so to speak.

    That being said, I don't think I've seen any murder victims as unsympathetic as Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena. To tell the honest truth, it's not even Dan Broderick's affair that bothered me as much as his dishonesty about it all those years. If he really was unsatisfied with his marriage (which it sounded as if he was, even before Linda came into the picture), why didn't he just call it quits right off the bat?

    I also agree that Betty Broderick should have thought more of herself after she realized Dan was not coming back. Personally, looking at his picture, I don't find Dan very attractive. The other question: would Dan and Linda be together if they hadn't been killed? It's impossible to say with 100% certainty, but judging from another famous example of unfaithfulness, remarriage and subsequent divorce, look no further than Donald Trump (or as I call him, Donald Tramp) and Marla Maples.

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  74. Dear annoymous (11 December 2011).
    There are many people who agree that the mental torture that Betty endured at the hands of Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena was justifiable grounds for second degree murder. Betty was driven to insanity by those two, she deserved to be treated a lot more fairly than she was by Dan Broderick after 16 years of marriage and four children, when the big bucks started to pour in he replaced Betty with the money obsessed Linda Kolkena, who simply stepped into Betty's life and reaped the financial benefits without working a day of her life for it. I believe that We reap what we sow in life and these two certainly did.

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  75. I don't condone violence in any fashion, but God help me, I understand why Betty killed them. Anyone who says otherwise is obligated to read Until The Twelfth Of Never; *then* form your opinion. I personally believe that Dan Broderick had a couple of screws loose himself, to be so vicious in his attacks against the mother of his four children. It wasn't enough for him to leave Betty for Linda; he had to absolutely and utterly destroy Betty in the process. It wasn't enough for Linda to live with her "prize," she had to taunt and bully the woman she replaced, too. I hope it was worth it to Dan and Linda. I doubt that it was.

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  76. Hello. I'm the person who posted on December 11 (my name is Emilia, by the way). No, I absolutely do not believe that the deaths of Linda Kolkena and Dan Broderick were any loss to humanity. I can understand why Betty was driven to do what she did. I just don't think that there is a legal justification for it.

    In some ways, another tragedy was Betty's belief - shared undoubtedly by many women of her time - that the be-all and end-all of life was marriage to a successful man. As one person said, Betty didn't even develop her own career. A career, or even a steady job outside the home, might have boosted her self-esteem and buoyed her through the loss of the person she considered the love of her life so that she wouldn't have felt driven to commit murder. I also think that she most likely would not have chosen to have four children in quick succession (I'm a one-child-by-choicer, so I might be introducing my own biases here). So although, again, I don't think there's any justification for murder here, I can understand where she's coming from.

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  77. The one thing that i find particulary disturbing about this case is the fact that Betty's eldest daughter Kim went totally against her and assisted the prosecution heavily in putting her mother away, she sided with the Brodericks and the Kolkenas all the way. Kim was old enough at the time to understand the pain, cruelty and humiliation her mother was subjected to under the hand of her controlling, dishonest and downright deceitful father, Yet Kim seemed to forget all of this and sat daily throughout the trial with dear old uncle Larry (Dan Broderick's greedy brother) who charged Dans estate an astonding monthly rate of $5000 a month just to look after Dans two small boys, yes his own nephews after their fathers death. Dear uncle larry also failed to declare the huge amounts of money that was loaned to him by Dan ( up to the tune of $450.000 ) and only owned up to this when it was discovered by lawyers acting on behalf of the Broderick boys. If this had not been discovered then uncle Larry would have happily pocketed the cash without ever declaring it as a loan, thus depriving his nephews money out of their inheritance, what a lovely uncle!!! No matter what my mother did i would never help any court to put her behind bars the way Kim broderick did, i would have left that to the legal system and stayed back and kept my mouth shut.

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  78. I agree with you 100% about Kim Broderick. She's a piece of work. Betty always said that it was Like Father, Like Daughter. I always thought that her photos from growing up were very telling; frankly, she always had a sneer on her face like a real little bitch.

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    1. Anonymous20 June, 2012

      She's been paid back. Short term marriage, and two daughters that look just ike Betty.

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  79. Larry Broderick had to be sued by lawyers acting on behalf of the Broderick boys, to repay the money that was loaned to him by Dan Boderick. Larry also knew from the very beginning about Dans affair with Linda Kolkena and supported Dan fully in his deceitand lies to Betty. After Dan left Betty for Linda, the whole Broderick family turned their backs on Betty. Dans parents refused to talk to Betty and totally erased her from their lives inspite of the fact that Betty had been married to their no good son for sixteen years and had given them four grandchildren. The apple certainly doesnt fall far from the tree, the Brodericks were simply not nice people, it is clear to see how Dan turned into the kind of monster he was, coming from a family like that.

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  80. This case has fascinated me for years..I have been a woman scorned, and it does make you want to kill somebody! I had a child to take care of, and that is the one thing that kept me from going insane. I wish that Betty had been able to see that her children needed her MORE because their father was such a creep!

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  81. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Betty a peaceful christmas and i hope that one day the legal system will wake up and set this woman free. Good luck Betty.

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  82. I sincerely hope Betty is given parole. She was treated terribly by everyone involved in this case. She deserves a life because she has more than paid for what she has done. What has been done to HER?

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  83. Over the Christmas weekend, when I wasn't having fun with family and friends, I gave Until The Twelfth Of Never a re-read. God bless Bella Stumbo (she died several years ago) for giving us the definitive archive of the Broderick marriage, affair, divorce and the murders. I am amazed even more at this subsequent read that *anyone* is on Dan and Linda's side in the whole sordid affair (pun intended). It is astonishing, how much legal shenanigans Dan Broderick was allowed to pull on his wife and the mother of his children, in effect raping her over and over by taking what was rightfully hers. Astonishing.

    Here's an example: when Betty, who was contesting the divorce, attempted to hire Daniel Jaffe, a superstar attorney out of Los Angeles, to represent her in the divorce case, Dan Broderick refused to pay Jaffe's fees. He would not even pay Jaffe's $10,000 retainer. The reason for this, of course, is that Dan Broderick knew that Jaffe would play hard ball, and take Broderick to the cleaners, as he so richly deserved. Dan Broderick may have protested that he wanted to do fair by Betty and just get the divorce over as soon as possible, but his actions say otherwise. Plain and simple: Dan Broderick had to have it all. He was greedy. It wasn't enough for him to leave Betty for his child concubine; he had to utterly destroy Betty in the process. Jaffe was eventually so aghast at how Betty Broderick was being treated in the San Diego family courts that he wound up writing a letter of protest about the case.

    It was ignored, of course.

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  84. The judge who allowed Dan Broderick to treat Betty so appalling during their divorce should hang his head in shame. I always thought that the legal system was set up so that justice can prevail, not in this case. Dan Broderick was allowed to get away with paying his wife of sixteen years what was due to her. He kept the children from Betty not because he was father of the year (he never really wanted them, read until the twelth of never to get a real insight into this and how the children would turn up at school dirty and not dressed properly), but because he needed the children as an excuse for not having to pay Betty an extra dime to maintain them. It didnt matter to Dan that the boys yearned to live with their mother instead of him and missed her terribly, no he needed them to use as a weapon to beat Betty into submission. Dan Broderick in my opinion needed psychiatrict help, no sane man could be so cold, callous and downright calculating towards a woman who shared his life for so long, a woman who gave him four children, not to mention the help Betty gave him so that he could achieve his goals in life. If Dan Broderick was not insane, as i am sure his friends and family will say, then all i can say then is he must have been truly evil. May God forgive me but i truly have no bad feelings about Betty killing him and Linda, after all this case is not clear cut or black and white, just read Until The Twelth of Never the book fills in all the grey areas that Dan brodericks friends and family would rather you didnt know about.

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  85. Dan and Linda are dead, thank goodness for that. You cannot and should not treat a human being like they treated Betty just because you have more money and/or are more powerful. It's amoral. I hope Kim Broderick one day learns what her mother went through when she goes through her own problems with her husband. Maybe then, she'll have more sympathy for her mother.

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  86. I was watching the Lifetime movie today about Betty Broderick, and decided to do a little research. When I came upon this site and read more, I was shocked at how biased the movie was, without including anything much about what Betty went through and what Dan and Linda did to incite her rage.

    Having put my own husband through medical school, and having him leave me (for the receptionist) a year after our son was born, I totally understand Betty's pain and rage. While I would not have done what she did, because I had my son to raise, I do understand the emotions, and if my ex had behaved the way hers did, I might have done the same. She didn't even have her kids to give her a reason to move on.

    Unless I'd found this website, I would have thought Betty was just insane. Thank you for speaking the truth about this. I pray for Betty, and agree with another poster who suggested that she get herself out of prison by saying what the parole board wants to hear. Far worse criminals have done so and gone on to commit heinous crimes. I don't think that Betty would do so.

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  87. Kim Broderick is divorced. Daniel Broderick IV (Danny) just got married...to a Linda Kolkena look-alike.

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    1. I saw their wedding picture on Danny's facebook profile. Like Linda, Danny's wife is not especially beautiful - just tall, thin, and blonde. She's more handsome than pretty or sexy.

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    2. Handsome? She looks like a transsexual to me.

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  88. The apple certainly doesnt fall far from the tree. Kim and Danny Broderick are very much like their father, they both have never shown Betty one bit of sympathy towards their mother, Danny Broderick went on the Oprah Winfrey show and said that he hoped his mother will never be released from prison and we all know how Kim Broderick was the prosecution's 'star' witness at the murder trial and gave evidence against her own mother who carried her for nine months and went through the pains of labour to bring her ungrateful behind into this world. Both Danny and Kim know what their father put their mother through, yet none of this seems to bother them, just like it didnt bother their father what he put Betty through. I hope Danny Broderick will be happy with his Linda Kolkena lookalike, but lets not forget karma is a bitch.

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  89. These were two people who should never have married. Each was royally messed up and it was doomed from the start. Sadly, it's yet another example of how organized religion makes people stay in bad situations. Neither Dan nor Betty is very admirable as they were both money-hungry and much too concerned with status and image. I could never, ever live in LaJolla. Besides being way too right wing for my tastes, the way those people cling to out-moded gender roles is sickening; it's as if they are permanently mired in the 1950s. They expect cheated-on wives to just look the other way...please! The people in that community live such shallow, empty lives. The way Betty's "friends" turned on her was truly reprehensible. Linda and Dan's friends apparently had the morals of alley cats...Ms. Blanchett and the secretary with the name of the stripper got on my nerves the most.
    Betty's "family" disgusted me even more than Dan's did. At least two of HIS siblings treated Betty like a human being after Dan married the office girl. Betty's family couldn't have cared less about her. I didn't think much of either of Betty's daughters when it came trial time. Serpent's tooth, anyone? But the person I came away HATING the MOST? Prosecutor Kerry Wells. This is a cold, sanctimonious, judgmental, prissy, little piece of work who turned the trial into a personal vendetta against Betty. She had no sympathy whatsoever for a woman who was brutalized by both her cheating, lying husband and the legal system. The term I use for women like Ms. Wells is "pilotfish for the patriarchy". It is my fervent hope that Ms. Wells finds herself in Betty's situation one of these days. Let's see how SHE likes it!

    And was Betty upset about losing someone she loved? Or the lifestyle he gave her? All she talked about was marriage being like a business. She cared more about money than her children. Not that Dan Broderick was much better. He sounded like a prize jerk - a real sexist pig. When he showed up at his wedding wearing that horrible suit and those awful shoes, Betty should have seen the handwriting on the wall and said "Thanks, but no thanks." That's what happens when young women are told from the time they are able to understand that they have no choices in life besides being wives and mothers. That retro garbage causes so much damage and I am so glad I refused to buy into it. And what WAS the big deal about him, anyway? By all accounts, he was a cold fish. Handsome? Maybe - if you like that Ralph Reed/Mitt Romney/Rick Perry department store mannequin type. When he tried to be "funny", he came off like some immature high schooler. ("The Turtle"? Please!) The telegrams he sent out from his honeymoon with Linda Kolkena made me cringe. They didn't show much respect for his second (much-younger) wife. Don't even get me started on Linda Kolkena. I have no patience for homewreckers, male or female. She was just as cruel to Betty as Dan was. (She stayed with a person who dumped beer on her? Where is HER self-respect?) Betty was many times her own worst enemy. She had a chance to be happy -- many chances, in fact -- but she thought no man was good enough for her. Why in the name of all that is sane and rational would she keep comparing every man she met UNFAVORABLY to the very individual who threw her away like used Kleenex? Millions of women are dumped every day (some get left for a younger model, some for other reasons). Most of us DON'T receive $16,000 a month in alimony. We've gone on with our lives. Betty's "solution" to her "problem" was misquided, to say the least. NOTHING....no person, no cause... is worth your freedom. Betty should have gotten some much-needed counseling and showed her cheating, lying bully of an ex that living well is indeed the best revenge. Eventually, that cold fish would have traded Linda in for a new model and that would have been fun for Betty to watch.

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    1. Anonymous20 June, 2012

      What telegrams were sent from his honeymoon?

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    2. Anonymous29 June, 2012

      He sent several telegrams from his honeymoon with Linda to his drinking buddies in San Diego, describing how "sexually exhausted" he was - real class!

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    3. Anonymous25 July, 2012

      True, but all she had left WAS looking at the marriage like a business. Betty said it best herself. When they were married, WE were wealthy. When they were divorcing, HE was wealthy. I certainly think my contributions to our marriage are equal to that of my husband and if we divorced, I would want everything divided properly. I would see to it that it was, too. And the 16k was TEMP alimony. It was never anything in stone and Dan himself calculated that all she needed was less than 10k. This sounds like alot of money and it is, but to someone taking home 100k each month, it isn't. It's all relative.

      Delete
  90. Here's a goodie for you that was sent to me by someone who wishes to remain anonymous (but who knew both Dan and Linda):

    For those of you very familiar with the case, here is a clip about the infamous Reidy O'Neils bar, financed by Dan and his fellow drunks. Be sure to watch until the end of the clip to see the artist's rendering of Dan and his pals Bella Stumbo details in her book.

    Also note that no mention is made of Linda.

    http://youtu.be/RbF8gIYKL1E

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    1. It went belly-up a few years later. The world doesn't need a shrine to Dan Broderick.

      Delete
  91. I've been thinking a lot about this case recently, and I really think Dan was not only mentally ill, but the most selfish piece of shit San Diego has ever seen. He had all of these little kids, they're starving, they live in a dump, they're on public assistance, and he goes and signs up for law school, because he wants to suddenly become an attorney? Where's the thought for his family? Where is the consideration for his wife? People need to remember that in the Betty story, how much she sacrificed for him, only to be thrown over for a bleached blonde twat with only a high school education. Dan Broderick was a selfish prick. Betty did the world a service when she took those two out. I know murder is wrong, but that's how I feel.

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    Replies
    1. You'd be surprised how many people share the same feelings!

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  92. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  93. Dan was undoubtedly a piece of shit along with his whore Linda and whilst I certainly do not condone Betty's course of action that eventually led to her being behind bars,had the former remained faithful or perhaps even been straightforward from the start,his life would not have ended in the way that it had.

    One thing in particular that never fails to piss me off again and again is that of the attempts by Dan & Linda's family and friends in trying to paint these two as if they were some 'holier than thou' entity,so much so that it appears they are blatantly 'oblivious' as to what it is in the first place that set off Betty into an abyss of destruction albeit Dan was a lying philanderer!

    As for Linda,the thought of her alone makes me sick,to think that this rather hollow (pun intended) individual was aware of the fact that Dan was married with 4 kids and continued to pursue the relationship in light of this and even went insofar aiding Dan in his schemes to destroy Betty,is beyond disgusting and her sister Maggie expects us to remember someone of this caliber?!Give me a break.

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  94. Here's a recent pic of the Broderick children, now all grown up.

    https://www.facebook.com/lists/10150326708872118#!/photo.php?fbid=3466939474711&set=a.3466939394709.2171553.1307788208&type=3&theater

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    1. Thank you so much for this! What lovely looking people. Danny looks so much like his dad, it is nothing short of remarkable.

      We make a lot of comments around these parts, and we do a bit of trash talking that is born of our outrage....but please, let's never forget that those four people are victims in this whole situation and always should have our concern.

      I still find it absolutely amazing, and incredibly sad, and very very telling, that the Brodericks and the Kolkenas have *nothing* to do with each other today, as evidenced on Facebook.

      Thanks again for this. -LL

      Delete
    2. I'm happy to see a picture of Lee Broderick after all these years. Of the four children, I feel that she was the one most negatively affected by their parents divorce. I wish her well.

      Delete
  95. I think you touched on a very important fact, that may seem irrelevant to some: Betty and Dan had a FIFTH child, who died shortly after birth. As a parent of six, who has had an infant daughter die, I would like to add a little perspective. I think this "unimportant" or often-overlooked fact of the case could be monumental.

    Part of Dan's continuous torture of Betty, was his calling, accusing, or telling others that Betty was crazy. I can tell you from experience that no other event in one's life can make a mother feel like they are on the edge of sanity, like the loss of a child. Each day is a living hell of grief and panic, as you watch your family grow, all the while conscious that someone is missing. As I experience even a happy day or occasion, I will be suddenly gripped with a moment of terror that a child has wandered off or been left behind. It is an existence where I feel ever obligated to be thankful for each moment, since I know how quickly one can be taken from me. Yet, I feel a betrayal to my lost daughter, like enjoying life without her diminishes her importance.

    When the child lost is an infant, it intensifies the sensation that one is losing their sanity. In my experience, I think this is because that many people that I run into now, do not even know that my missing daughter existed. I am constantly bombarded with the recognition that I have many children, and the question, "How many do you have?" or, "Are they all yours?". I am put into the spot to answer, "5" (which somehow feels a dishonor to the one passed), or, "6, but one passed away a few years ago..." (which, I feel, makes me sound all the nuttier).

    The loss of child draws much sympathy and (unwanted) pity, at first. But, if one is able to have more children, quickly grows into a feeling that the whole world is watching and waiting for the mother to "get over it". This sensation that everyone is growing impatient with your grief is unbearable and surreal; and I mean everyone grows impatient- parents, siblings, other children... and your spouse (the ONE person you feel should feel as you do). Accusations of being CRAZY from your spouse are a cruelty that few can understand.

    What Dan and Linda did to this woman is unforgivable. To make this woman believe she was losing her sanity was, I am sure, not hard to do. To be a father of the same child who was lost, and still forge ahead on a campaign to belittle Betty's importance and drive her to madness is a terrible betrayal, both of her as his wife and as the mother of their FIVE children. This betrayal, I feel, was even worse than Dan's adultery.

    I am not sad for the "loss" of Dan or Linda. I am disgusted by the lengths Dan went to, in order to make Betty feel she was insane & out of options. It is even more despicable, to me, that Dan allowed Linda to behave this way towards the mother of his kids. I am heartbroken for their living kids, both those who took Betty's side, and those who fought their own mother when she needed their support. I am sorry that Betty has had to endure so much pain, when she worked so hard to build her dream life. I feel no sadness or sorrow for this world's loss of Dan or Linda Broderick.

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  96. i feel that betty should be released.Every time i watch that movie ijust get sick and angry.this bastard left his supporting wife ,that went with him thru all these years, for this whore LInda.And her lovely family made her out to be a saint bullshit she is a whore.And dans brother ripped of the kids, greedy bastard

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  97. When this happened, I was so struck with sympathy for the family especially the two boys. Only a few years ago, some friends and I were discussing this and made a mental note to myself to check on her parole hearing. But life got busy and totally forgot to check until earlier this week. I have been reading up on it and glad to find this site.

    I am not surprised she is was refused parole. Betty will never get out, not with all the people who put her there still in the legal system in California. The "star searching" prosecutor is now a judge. I know legally these people cannot influence other judges, but we all know that is not true. I am certain Ms. Wells used her status and discussed with those judges on the parole board. Look no further than the videos of that hearing, the way the judges were questioning her. I think Betty knows deep inside she will never get out, so she didn't even bother to show remorse and for that I admire her even more. She stood her ground and justified again why she did what she did. If all women put in her situation to the exact, I have a feeling more than half would have done what she did. It's easy for us to say she should've done this, that, but we were not in her shoes, we cannot know her pain.


    Ms. Betty Broderick, If you ever read this, know that there are many women who stand by you.

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  98. Thanks for putting up my post. I have one last thing to add after reading up on this again. I think Dan thought he was invincible and didn't believe Betty would come true on her threats. He said to someone once, "she would not get rid of her golden goose." Everyone thought Betty was just after the money - but I think she was just broken from the loss of her family, friends and most of all the man she worked her whole life to support. Quite frankly I don't think Dan would have been so successful if it hadn't been for Betty taking care of his every need and encouragement. She was the one who pushed him to go out on his own. She put up with his working around the clock because she knew that someday, they would make it. That's what kills her is that he finally made it, gained an attitude with it, knew he can reach the stars now and some young Betty look alike comes around and snatches him away.

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    1. Anonymous25 July, 2012

      That brings up another point. Dan WASN'T Betty's golden goose. He never gave her anything without a fight. The 16k was temp alimony and that was set by the judge, not Dan, who felt she only needed less than 10k. This out of man that was taking home 135k a month. Why not just be fair?

      Delete
  99. In reply to post about the 5th child. That actually was the 3rd, the 1st boy. They did not name him because he would have been Daniel T Broderick IV - unnamed because the doctors did not expect the baby to live born so prematurely. See this is what Dan was like - cold from a long time ago even before he made it - that he didn't want to give his name to a baby who might die.

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  100. Anonymous07 May, 2012

    I knew Betty (we knew her as Elizabeth) in college. I attended a small college near St. Vincent's and the boys and girls intermingled quite a bit as kids do. This case is very complex and some of the simple comments such as "Dan and Linda got what they deserved" tend to mask the enormity of the subject. Elizabeth was called "Crazy Liz" by many of the other girls at St. Vincents. She repeatedly talked about marrying rich and being "on top of the world". She was nice to those around her but in the years since the murders I have wondered if her rage was over loss of Mr. Broderick or loss of social status that she knew she could not regain. By the way, I did not know Mr. Broderick so I have no comment as to his nature. I hope my experience can maybe shed some light on the issues discussed here. I wish there was more focus on the children, they went through hell.

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    1. Anonymous10 May, 2012

      Thank you and well said. I always felt Betty was a little crazy before she ever married Dan.

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    2. Anonymous20 June, 2012

      She may have been, but she was also from an era where you married well. She was brought up in a traditiona Itaian family, and her job was to marry well and have ots of kids. I think she showed in their earlier marriage that she was willing to give what it took to help get them where they both wanted to go. Why is it fair to congratulate Dan on his ambitions but not Betty?

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  101. Sorry to say this but all young girls during that period dreamed of marrying rich and being on top of the world. I did and I grew up the same time as Linda Kolkena. I am sure she (Linda) also had the same dream and talked about it to her friends in high school. I cannot accept your experience to blur the situation Betty was in at the time of the murders. She was already dealing with the loss of status for 5 years. If she was hell bent, she would have murdered them much earlier. I believe it was the combination of loosing everything she worked on with her husband and children, and unrewarded in love and in finances, that drove her to it. Plus the fact that her husband did so many things to purposely drive her beyond the point of no return. As many have stated: cheating, hiding money, showing off his new younger conquer to all their friends, getting married the same month that would have been their 20th anniversary, a lot more. So no...you did not change my mind with your post.

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  102. An Anonymous sent me an email saying that Danny Broderick and his wife have a lovely new baby, and that Rhett is now married, too. I am not going to put a link to any photos here; however, I will say that they are easy to find on a certain social networking site, should you want to see them. They look like wonderful people who obviously love each other very much and enjoy spending time together. Let's never forget that the Broderick kids are the TRUE victims in this case...victims of what three incredibly selfish adults did, a horrible mess not of their making. They all deserve happy lives.

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  103. Anonymous14 May, 2012

    I really cannot believe that the person who wrote the post about knowing Betty in high school, could even begin to believe that she could change the majority of peoples opinion about this case. I for one stick firmly to my belief that Dan and Linda both got what they deserved. If by wishing to marry a rich man makes a woman ' crazy ' then half of all the women in this world must be crazy and let us not forgrt, Dan Broderick was far from rich when Betty married him, Dan's success was partially due to the hard work and sacrifices that Betty made so that he could fulfil his dreams of becoming powerful and rich. As for the notion that Betty would never have regained her ' social status ' after being dumped by Dan, that is a load of nonsence, Betty was a smart, attractive, intelligent woman, if Dan and Linda had not drove her to insanity, Betty would have had every chance of maintaining her social status. So to the person who claims to have known Betty in high school, if your post was designed to make us rethink our opinions about this case, then you have failed woefully.

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  104. Anonymous15 May, 2012

    Someone created a Betty Broderick fb account which is very nice. A few people corresponds with her frequently so you can get information about her there. There's also a request to send emails to the Governor of California to plea for pardon or parole. California is in deep financial woes and looking at all areas to cut costs. I believe the prison system could cut costs by issuing parole to all the senior citizens, especially those like Betty who would not be a danger to society in general. Betty used to serve the community of La Jolla by volunteering. Please go to the FB page for Betty and get the information to write and plea. She's up for parole again soon, it's been almost 3 years since her last parole hearing.

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  105. Anonymous17 May, 2012

    Here's an article that will make you blood boil. Just imagine the frustrations Betty had in the court system during her divorce. Too bad this article came out only after all the dust had settled.

    http://www.callawyer.com/clstory.cfm?pubdt=NaN&eid=14412&evid=1

    This is a reputable magazine in CA. When this came out, I wonder what Dan's friends thought of him? But then again, his friends were all in the law community, so they probably just shrugged their shoulders and said "so what?" I wonder if the woman Ronnie Brown is still alive today. She would be in her 80's. The money he did not disclose in the settlement sums up to around 750,000.

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  106. Anonymous19 May, 2012

    Men like Dan Broderick would never succeed in treating their wives like scum without the help of the LINDA KOLKENA'S of this world. Linda could have easily found a man of her own, she knew that Dan was a married man with four children when she got involved with him,she should never have ' gone there ' but his money and so called power was too much of a temptation for this young, silly, dizzy blonde. What a price to pay for dapper Dan, or should i say Count De Money, as he liked to call himself. I hope that Betty gets paroled soon, she has done her time, infact i think that she has done far more time than those two was worth.

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  107. I know..."Count du Money" or "de Money" or whatever Numbnuts Dan called himself. Yeesh, how gauche and embarrassing. If I had known Dan Broderick in real life, I know that I not only would not have liked him at all, I probably would have made fun of him behind his back. Possibly to his face, too. Count du Money does The Turtle and his priceless Blues Brothers impressions for his fellow drunks...didn't speak too highly of the legal profession in San Diego, did it?

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    1. Anonymous01 July, 2012

      Laura, it wouldn't have been a good idea for you to have made fun of Dan Broderick either behind his back or to his face. He probably would have served you with an OSC.

      Delete
    2. Point well taken, but I'm a Boilermaker. No matter how badly we might do in football, we never, ever back down to someone from Notre Dame!

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    3. Anonymous25 July, 2012

      How many times can you do either and have it still be funny?

      Delete
  108. Anonymous20 May, 2012

    I have read until the twelfth of never and its a sad story. Betty worked so hard to support Dan through law school and then med school. Looking after 4 kids and running a home and being a dutiful wife must have been a job in itself.
    To be 'fired 'from your role and replaced with a bimbo with no opportunity to seek marriage guidance would have broken many womens hearts. The nastiness and underhand side swipes at Betty from both Dan and Linda must have been humiliating.
    I do feel sorry for Betty as she worked so hard to watch a younger replacement just step into her shoes and have it all.
    Dan played hardball and lost......Linda played Betty and lost. Betty played victim and lost too.
    Money - Bimbos and marriages do not mix - what is it with men and their egos???? Whatever happened to gratitude and loyalty?? Sorry to Lindas family but when you step in and steal a married man do you really think the wife is going to say be my guest???
    Terrible story fuelled by power money and sex......shame on all the dickheads out there who cheat on their wives everyday.

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  109. Anonymous25 May, 2012

    I just happened to watch the Aphrodite's documentary on this story the other day. How sad. There was a photo of the crime scene with the bodies. From reading all the articles without the photo, you would presume they were shot in their sleep. But if you look at the photo, you can see that Linda was on the other side of the bed and Dan was on the floor of the bed. Linda was shot in the front first then in the back of her neck. Dan was shot in the back. This means they were awaken and then shot. It looks like Linda moved towards her husband and ended up face down on his side of the bed. Mr. Coward Dan, was found on the floor which meant he leapt as fast as he could after the first shot to get under the bed away from range. He didn't even try to protect the woman he claimed he loved so much. Also did not look like he was going for the phone as the phone was right next to the bed but he ended up at least 3-4 feet away. His face was toward the bed and he was crouched, which could mean he was in pain before his death. I hope in those last moments he had time to reflect on what he had done to this woman, why he didn't just give in to her request. After all, he had gotten his freedom to be with the woman he claimed to love so much. Why did he have to be so cold and calculating?

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  110. "Why did he have to be so cold and calculating?"

    The short answer? Because he was a self-centered little prick.

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  111. Anonymous28 May, 2012

    Apparently it took up to half an hour for Dan Broderick to die. Must have been an interesting time for him. In pain, immobilized and powerless to do anything but think and wait. That is, if he was conscious.

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  112. Yeah, poor guy. Couldn't even get in one last Order To Show Cause against the mother of his children for the shooting.

    I'm not sympathetic.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous29 May, 2012

      Me neither.

      I just find this possible scenario ironic in the extreme. Dan Broderick rendered powerless.

      Delete
  113. Anonymous28 May, 2012

    Ronald Reagan also was shot thru his lung, he survived. He was conscious. I am sure Dan was conscious for a while as well. What amazes me is that he didn't even muster his energy to climb up to check on the love of his life. I bet he felt so defeated at the end, he never expected Betty to really do what she has been threatening because he thought all she wanted was his money. He told people that she would not kill off her money trail. I always thought it was not really the amount of money, it was the fact that it was the way he handled everything.

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  114. Anonymous29 May, 2012

    According to the book, Until the twelth of never, by Betty Stumbo, right up until the time of their deaths, Dan and Linda had been trying hard to make babies. It seems to me that this S.O.B. should have been concentrating on the four children that he already had, not trying to produce even more, but that was typical of Dan Broderick, he wanted to torture Betty by flaunting his younger wife in public, then he planned to really stick it to her real good by flaunting the children that they never got the chance to have in her face, knowing that, that would really have finally destroyed her. This man was ruthless in his quest to destroy Betty. There are many people, myself included, who believe that when Betty heard that Dan and Linda was trying hard to have a baby, that was the final thing that drove her off the edge. If life is about teaching us lessons, then i hope that wherever the souls of Dan and Linda are today, they would have learned that what comes around goes around. We should treat people the way that we want to be treated, if only Dan and Linda did then they would be alive today.

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  115. I think the final straw for Betty was yet another threat to put her in jail for some nothing transgression against Count du Money and his new Countess. That, and more hateful squabbling from Dan's camp over returning custody of the boys to Betty...something the boys themselves were actually begging for. They hated living at Dan's and having to deal with Linda Kolkena and being raised by the hired help. Of course, I think you make a great point here about Dan and Linda trying to make a baby and it affecting Betty as a sort of "last straw." It makes sense that Linda wanted to have a baby. She was a young and healthy woman and by all accounts from those who knew her best, she always wanted to be a mother. I personally have to wonder how quickly the bloom would fall off the rose for Dapper Dan, as his hot blonde young girlfriend became his wife and then the mother of his child. It appears that Dan hooked up with Linda, at least partially, because it made him look good to the other drunks in San Diego legal circles. When Linda finally got Dan to marry her, she dramatically changed the game. I don't believe that, had she lived, it would have worked out happily for her.

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  116. Anonymous29 May, 2012

    They were married 7 months. Didn't the book tell about the telegrams Dan sent from their honeymoon to friends saying something like, "I am exhausted. I think Linda is now with child.." So they were trying the whole time but not successful. Why? I think it's the drinking and his age. According to researches in the 90s men over 40 has less babymaker sperms because they are not as strong to swim that far. In addition, the drinking reduces those even more. In the book, at death Dan's alcohol level was .04. A man's body processes alcohol at .015 per hour. So lets say he was dropped off by the friend at 11:30. That's 6 hours which means his alcohol level when he got home was .13. That is pretty high!!! Although the coroner says he has no liver damage to confirm he was a drunk, some drunks don't always have liver damage. He was definitely an achoholic which is why for 7 months they were not successful in getting Linda pregnant. I wonder if he would concede to IVF with Linda? Didn't he refuse after the doctor told Betty and him that he was not able to reverse Betty's tubal ligation. I think he hated Betty for having her tubes tied and those abortions. Remember he wanted to be a politician and Betty having had abortions does not look good on his resume. I have a feeling that was the reason he hated her so much.

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  117. Anonymous29 May, 2012

    I too think his decision to finally give Betty custody of the boys was because of their starting a "new family". Isn't that sad that their friends would say things like that? It's so hurtful to his existing children. They could at least have said "They were thinking of adding to the family". Classy group of friends. I think Linda was probably starting to get stressed out about not getting pregnant - the big O on the calendar for the day after. Karma always get it right. As for them being together, I think she will finally taste what Betty had for years. An absent father who never changed a diaper. Then out drinking with friends, without Linda since she would have had to be a good mother to her children. Then same old &h!t, different woman.

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  118. I believe that she behaved incredibly badly and her behavior directly brought about her murder, but I still sometimes feel a little sorry for Linda Kolkena. She must have felt Count du Money was one hell of a prize, to put up with as much as she did for as long as she did. Women who marry for money earn every penny.

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  119. Anonymous29 May, 2012

    Didn't Linda give up a very good boyfriend? I have looked him up, he's a Dartmouth graduate and has quite a career, just not the millions Dan had. She would have been alive and most likely happier with someone who adored her. Sure, I do have some sympathy for her. She should have thought more clearly of the situation but she was so full of conceit that she couldn't see that what he was doing to Betty could totally be happening to her in 10 or so years. How sad.

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  120. That boyfriend to whom you refer is Steve Kelley, a very talented editorial cartoonist and sometime comedian. I believe his cartoons can be easily found online. In Stumbo's book, he said that he really loved Linda and wanted to marry her, but Linda was just too committed to Dan. Interestingly enough, Kelley says that he encouraged Linda to continue with her education, to go to college and even law school, if that is what she wanted to do with her life. Dapper Dan has never been said to have offered the same to Linda. I think Count du Money had Linda right where he wanted her, the way that he wanted her.

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  121. Anonymous30 May, 2012

    I know, I read that too. I also viewed an interview on youtube and he's not a bad looking man. Definitely a better age for Linda. It seems this man loves his son very much and would have been a much better choice for Linda.

    There are a lot of people out there who have no sympathy for Betty. I think most of them are younger ones who don't know what it was like for women born during Betty's era. How many girls now have the real virtue to wear a pure white wedding dress? Betty went on her honeymoon a virgin. She had her first baby while she was barely 22. Linda had her affair with Dan when she was 21! She had a serious boyfriend that she followed to San Diego after her employment with Delta was terminated. I wonder what lies she told Dan about her termination. If he knew the facts of that, I bet that relationship would have been over.

    It's too bad that this happened in the 80's. If it was handled now, Betty would have been treated way more fairly. However, one reporter in the 90's did say that Betty was the one who paved the way for fairer treatment for women in divorce and murder.

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  122. Anonymous30 May, 2012

    Is it true that Linda had contusion (bruises) on her right hand and wrist that occurred a few hours before she died? It is in the book Forsaking All Others. I doubt the author would lie or make it up. She was quoting from the coroner's report. It appears that Linda was brutally grabbed by her hand and wrist and it happened just hours since the bleeding was fresh. Wonder what happened? could Dan have done this? Who else could it be? If so, that woman was already being abused but the $$$ was still the top of her list. Stupid.

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  123. Anonymous21 June, 2012

    Every few months, Lifetime repeats both movies. Wish they would mention in the credits that the story was written w/o Betty's consultation - only the prosecutor and the Broderick family. Yet, everytime the movies air, the interested parties start their internet searches and hopefully come to sites like this to find more information. What these people don't think about is this important fact: Betty was raised in the 40s/50s/60s where women were taught to be wives and not question their husbands. It's so different from the 80s/90s/new millenium upbringing. Dan wanted to relive his youth because he felt cheated of life, yet he was the one who insisted on marriage. He wanted Betty when she was young and beautiful - someone who could help improve his image. Still don't see why Betty who was 5'11" and beautiful chose a shorter man. As mother said, there were so many boys chasing after her but she chose Dan. Even her friends couldn't believe it.

    Also, recently read that in the parole hearing, there was a confidential file full of letters written by Dan's people stating that they feared for their lives if Betty was paroled. Imagine that!!! What do they have to be fearful of if they didn't do anything wrong? Anyone say "Guilty Conscience". Let me take a shot (no pun intended :)) at who these people might be: Larry Broderick, Judge Howatt (divorce judge), Sharon Blanchett (who helped Linda breaking into Betty's home), David Monahan (the man whose tactics to divorce his wife that Dan followed to the T), Brian Forbes (supposedly Betty's friend but testified against her), Helen Pickard (same as BF)...

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  124. Anonymous21 June, 2012

    They didn't deserve to die like that. Betty acted like an enraged, crazy ex with no self-control. She shows no remorse and continues to obsess over how she was wronged. She's a narcissistic woman who will never grow because she won't acknowledge her own wrongs. She let her bitterness Rob her children of a healthy childhood. I doubt she even thinks about that. Those kids were put through hell by both their parents. I'm a single mom myself who has been through it. I put my kids first, moved on with my life, lost thirty pounds and went back to school. I'm happier than I ever was with my ex. Too bad Betty was too insecure to move on, she would be better off.

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  125. Anonymous22 June, 2012

    Just saw both movies about the case last night.. I think Betty Broderick had been driven over the edge to mental illness; therefore not responsible for her actions. I think she should have been let out at her first parole hearing; she has served enough time. The movies do not go into the facts of the case. I had read one of the books years ago. The $16,000 a month alimony was temporary or could be made so; she did not get the house; she took home $30 thousand dollars as a "settlement." When Dan returned custody of the two children to her, now that she was penniless to raise them, he held the power to take back custody at any time, ensuring Betty could not ask or adequate child support. They drove her to the brink, toyed with her in every way, could see she was completely unstable and then continued to goad her.... I do not think they feared her, although Linda made a joke that she would come after them with a shotgun. Dan and Linda were incredibly stupid. If he had given her a decent, not even generous, a DECENT, divorce settlement, they would both be alive today. Betty may or may not have been unstable the entire time of their marriage. Dan played with fire and he got burned. I think Linda would still be alive if she had just married the man and acted with a little class... not signing all the orders to show cause, not taunting Betty. She should have stayed out of it; if she had, she also would have been alive today.

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  126. Anonymous24 June, 2012

    I agree with the above post Linda should have kept out of the whole situation and just minded her own damn business, but that was just impossible for her to do because she was just as spiteful and cruel as Dan Broderick was. Linda enjoyed making Betty suffer, she taunted her in many ways, let us not forget the ads in the post about wrinkle creams and treatments that she took delight in sending to Betty, let us not forget how linda would sign Betty's maintenance cheques from Dan with her own added touch by writing
    ' MAINTENANCE TO COW ' on these cheques, she even took delight in turning up to Kim Broderick's graduation ceremony arm in arm with dapper Dan. Many mistresses would have kept a low profile, but not Linda, it was all about her. Both she and Dan wanted to drive Betty crazy and they did, Betty was indeed crazy the night she killed Dan and Linda, this whole mess was of Dan and Linda's making and they paid the ultimate price. If only life was as simple for all wronged women to simply move on and lose weight and forget, like one blogger said that she did, life is not black or white, there will always be grey areas, we all handle things differently and Betty handled this her way.

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  127. Anonymous24 June, 2012

    Laura are you freaking kidding, Linda, who was supposedly so in love with Dan, had sex with Steve three weeks before her marriage to Dan? For me this says it all. Dan was loved for his money, but Steve was handy for the times when Danny boy could not ' stand on parade ' . This is quite a common problem amongst alcoholics like Dan was.

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  128. No, I am not kidding. Linda's renewed affair with Steve Kelley is documented in the "other" book about the Broderick case, Forsaking All Others (which is a decent read and contains a lot of details about Linda's life that didn't make it into the Stumbo book, like her use of recreational drugs prior to meeting Dan).

    The story is that Linda left the office early one day to do some shopping at a mall (did this "indispensable office frill for Dan" ever work a whole day?) and she ran into Kelley by chance. They realized that they were still very attracted to each other and spent the rest of the afternoon in Kelley's bed. The really sad thing is, Steve Kelley still loved Linda, and he tried to convince her not to marry Dan, but to marry him. I guess the lure of Count du Money's money was just too strong, because Dan and Linda were married less than a month later.

    One of Linda's friends, maybe Stripper Wetther or Laurel Summers, commented in the Stumbo book that Dan and Linda did not have a very good sex life, by Linda's own admission. He would leave her in bed to read legal briefs in the bathroom while she supposedly wanted sex.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous03 July, 2012

      This seems to be a common issue among older men who take much younger wives - keeping them happy and satisfied sexually is a big problem.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23 July, 2012

      Even one unabashedly pro-Dan, anti-Betty website out there admits that following her wedding, Betty complained about her sexual experience with Dan. So it seems that despite his reputation as a lady-killer, Dan Broderick may have been a dud in bed. I know there was speculation that he may have been gay. I think that's a bit of a stretch (not impossible, but unlikely). Rather, he might just not have 'had what it takes' in bed.

      Just a poll (to the ladies on the poll, and any gay men, or any lesbians or straight men who may have an opinion on this), does anybody think Dan was that good-looking, given that Linda Kolkena's relative who posted here implies that Linda went for Dan partly because of his looks? My view is that Dan wasn't particularly ugly, but he wasn't good-looking either. In other words, he was pretty average, not somebody who would strike you on the street as either really ugly or really handsome. Then again, I'm of (part) Irish descent, so maybe he's the type of guy I've seen all my life so he doesn't really strike me either way in looks.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous25 July, 2012

      I think he was reasonably attractive. There is a photo of him with the family where he looks good and Betty looked rather frumpy. He got his hair cut in a feathered blow dry cut, had his nose done. He was described by Bella as a man that any woman would look at twice.

      Delete
    4. "Blandly attractive" would be a better description of Dan Broderick. Like how one person posted above, he did have a department- store-mannequin-like look about him.

      Delete
  129. Anonymous24 June, 2012

    This confirms what we all knew already, Linda was classless trash who used sex to lure Dan away from Betty and his four children. Dan Broderick actually believed that Linda loved him for himself, but it is so very obvious that his bank balance played a big part in her so called love for Dan Broderick.

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  130. Anonymous24 June, 2012

    I wonder if the reason she had bruises on her right hand and wrist that the coroner reported, apparently the injury occurred just hours before she died. The O around November 6 on the calendar supposedly meant Ovulation and she was probably begging for sex which he couldn't fulfill. At death, his alcohol level was .04 and supposedly was dropped off by Kathleen Cuffaro (his divorce attorney, also partner at his practice) at 11:30 the night before. If you factor in that a man processes alcohol at .015 per hour, that would put his level at .13 when he got home. That is almost 10 drinks. This is not to count the drinks his body already processed before 11:30. If they started at 7 - that's 4 hours/4 drinks, plus the 10 - yes, I'd say he's an alcoholic. And then expected to have sex because the big O was to be the following day. Linda was desperately trying to get pregnant, so I think the bruises came when they probably fought about his drinking. How dare she tell Dan Broderick to stop his drinking when Betty couldn't since the beginning of their marriage.

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  131. Anonymous25 June, 2012

    Steve Kelley, Linda's ex, actually had a meeting with Dan Broderick, Steve described Dan as the coldest person he had ever met. There was one person who Dan Broderick truly cared about, that person was his self. This man had no regards for the feelings of others. On the night of the shooting, it was obvious from the crime scene that Dan tried to save himself, he did not even attempt so save Linda, even at the end it was all about Dan.

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  132. Anonymous25 June, 2012

    Yes, I remember reading about the meeting. I guess Linda told Steve that it was over with Dan and Steve wanted to hear it from Dan. Linda had told Dan that if he won't leave his wife then she was going to marry Steve and Dan told both of them to "go ahead". This was at the end of 1984 before the ring incident with Betty. I don't think he ever really loved Linda - the affair was fun for him but he didn't want to lose asset from the divorce. But I think sometime between the breakup and him leaving, he probably got a lot of advice from his law friends, especially David Monahan on how to divorce without losing too much money. That was when he started moving the money around. I think sometime in early 1985, he asked Linda to go away for the weekend with him. Linda asked Steve and Steve said that if she went, they would be over. Linda went. If Dan really loved Linda, he would have been mad that she was sleeping with other men, but he was not. I think he ended up with her because she was serving him on her knees and catering to everything which included being nasty to Betty and he LOVED that. His daughter Kim said they were happy for a while after the divorce and she begged her father not to get married. But as soon as she turned 18, he kicked her out and proposed to Linda. I think he just needed a wife to cater to his home needs, not just sex. He needed someone to manage his home and she was more than eager. She was all sweet to the kids and helping them, even took Kim to get an abortion. I have a feeling Dan actually really loved Betty when they first got married, along the ways with Betty's strong personality and probably argued with him too much, he ended up hating her because she was not submissive enough.

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  133. Anonymous26 June, 2012

    Please tell me Larry Broderick didn't do better than than Dan's kids when it came to dividing the life insurance payout? This is what it looks like to me, based on what I have read Until the twelfth of Never (not yet finished reading it). That the kids shared half the payout (1m), then he got the other 1m. 800k after the Kolkena 200k subtraction. If Larry Broderick got more than the kids, that is so very wrong.

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    Replies
    1. The thought of Larry getting any money is pretty nauseating. When I researched my two pieces on the Broderick case, I came across old articles from newspapers at the time of both trials and it was incredible how "Uncle Larry" managed to make more of an ass of himself each time he opened his mouth to provide a quote. The Broderick kids were the victims in all of this; it makes me sick to think that a dime of what was rightfully theirs went to finance the continuation of Larry's "live out of my means, Mr. Big Shot with my brother's money" lifestyle.

      Delete
  134. Anonymous28 June, 2012

    I do think Steve Kelley lacked character--why else would he fall for someone who would date a married father for almost four years. Most worthy men would run as fast as possible AND be horribly repulsed. Soemthing just isn't right about that guy.

    Also, and perhaps a bit petty--Linda ins't attractive, so I wonder what the attraction was other than trashiness. She has a nose like an anteater and those gums! Perhaps some kind of morality-challenged folie a deux was going on.

    This is such a sleazy story from every angle.

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  135. Anonymous30 June, 2012

    I totally agree that Linda had an ' aura ' it was a mean and dark aura, she was quite cruel and callous for someone that was so young, she and Dan was a match made in hell.

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  136. A heads-up: there's a lot of Steve Kelley's comedy on YouTube now, along with at least one interview. He seems like a really nice guy, and he is also very funny. Were it me who had to choose between him and the Count Du Money, it would have been no contest. I will never, ever understand Linda Kolkena.

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  137. Anonymous12 July, 2012

    I understand Linda Kolkena, she choose Dan Broderick over Steve because Dan was wealthier, it's as simple as that. Linda was attracted to the lifestyle that Dan's money and influence provided, she didn't have one bit off sympathy for Betty, she only cared about herself. Linda was greedy and could not see passed the dollar signs when she met Dan. I wonder if she and Dan are members of any country clubs now, do the have them in hell?

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  138. Anonymous12 July, 2012

    Bella Stumbo, the author of the book ' until the twelth of never ' describes the prosecuter, Kerry Wells, as pretty, please! I totally disagree, Wells has a face that looks as if it could turn fresh milk sour, she is far from pretty, more hard faced if you ask me.

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  139. Anonymous13 July, 2012

    I'm currently reading Forsaking All Others and have recently finished Until the Twelfth of Never. How I wish there was a film based on these two books. I can't quite bring myself to watch the films already made as I am not interested in anything with a prosecution / Broderick family bias. With the Stumbo book, for some reason the final few lines really summed up events and what a note to end the book on. Reading Forsaking All Others, I am inclined to agree with the with the appropriateness of Dan and Linda being called fuckhead and cunt. I can't believe what I am reading re Dan's antics in this book. In my opinion, she would have had a hell of a time not getting screwed over, no matter what she did in the lead up to the shootings. Until I read this book, I didn't realise just how much over a barrel Dan had Betty.

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  140. Anonymous13 July, 2012

    Betty would have had a hard time getting screwed over, I meant to say.

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  141. Anonymous15 July, 2012

    I've always wondered about the fate of the four children.

    I've heard a few things...that Kim is divorced...that Danny married a Linda look-alike. Is Danny a mortgage broker? I heard someone that he was. And what about Kim and Lee? Did they ever have a job or career or did they just go the Betty route and get married to a guy they hoped would provide for them handsomely? Did either of the girls finish college? I think I heard Rhett is a photographer; I'd seen him on Oprah Winfrey and he seems to be quite well-adjusted. But I always wondered about Lee and Kim, both of whom seemed to be airheaded and trashy girls as teenagers. Did they straighten themselves out after their father was dead and their mother was in jail or did they go along the same way for years afterward? At any rate, Lee and Rhett seem like they turned out much better than Danny and Kim, both of whom strike me as completely without empathy and compassion for their mother.

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  142. Kim is divorced. It looks like she has two beautiful blonde little daughters, very very cute.

    Danny married a Linda look-alike and they have a baby together. I've been told that Danny works in real estate in La Jolla, and is embraced and friends with many of the same people who were bestest buddies with Fuckhead and the Cunt. Danny bears a startling resemblance to his late father. Startling.

    I think Rhett is married now, too. I know he worked with kids in some capacity, at a school or something, for a while. I worry about Rhett the most out of all of the Broderick kids; he had a lot of mothering that he still needed when Betty murdered Linda and Dan. He was very young when it happened.

    Lee is, as always, the dark horse in all of this. I think she just has as little to do with all of the drama as possible. All that I hope is that she is happy.

    Let's never forget this: before Dan left Betty for Stinky, all four of the kids were excellent students and happy at their home. After Dan broke up the family home by leaving the mother of his children for his side ho, the Broderick kids went downhill fast. Both Kim and Lee flunked out of their exclusive private schools; Lee got an expensive and destructive cocaine habit; Kim got pregnant by a construction worker and had Stinky take her for an abortion; Danny and Rhett both went to school while ill, and often unwashed and in dirty clothes. Because the Count du Money was so unforgiving of his wife's fit of temper, the Broderick kids were forced to continue to live in Dan's house with Linda, which was constantly under construction, and be raised by a succession of babysitters and maids. The kids, especially the boys, begged to go back with Betty, but Dan (and, incredibly, Stinky Kolkena...although she was still just the side piece until April 1989) would not allow them to go.

    The kids were always the victims, not the adults, who should have known better.

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  143. Anonymous16 July, 2012

    Excellent article! I've read about this case for years and while I believe Betty should have gone to jail for what she did, she should be released. No one else is in any danger if she's walking the streets.

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  144. Anonymous19 July, 2012

    In Betty's last parole hearing, there was a seal folder that was only for the parole board and a set for Betty. Inside this folder were letters from a dozen or so people who wrote the parole board that if Betty were to be released, their lives would be in danger. I know for sure one of them was Larry, the brother with whom Dan was hiding all his funds.I think the others comprised of David Monahan, who Dan received advise on how to hide assets because DM himself did the same to his wife Patty; Brian Forbes, who was supposed to be friends with Betty as well - then testified against her; Helen Pickard, who was Betty's best friend but testified against her; Patty Monahan, who claimed Betty called her to brag after the incident - she said Betty told her that it was true that dead people shits; a few of Dan's friends who embraced Linda immediately... Betty didn't even know of this folder until the day of the hearing which shocked her. These people are scared - I wonder why? I always believe that Betty acted out of final rage when she received those last summons. I believe her when she said she only wanted to talk and probably scare them. If she was a "killer" she would have killed them back in 1985 when he filed for divorce and told her that her suspicions have been true that he was having an affair with Linda. If she really was hating him because of that, she would have killed him then...

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  145. Anonymous19 July, 2012

    I feel immense sympathy for all of the Broderick children except for Kim, what she did to her mother by siding with the Brodericks and being the prosecutions 'star witness' for me is unforgivable, what child testifies against her own mother? Kim played both of her parents during the period of their divorce, by running to Betty for money and clothes etc with stories about Dan and Linda when she could not get money out of her father. When she could not manipulate Betty (which wasn't often), then she would go running back to her father with stories about Betty. Kim is without a doubt a 'Broderick' a nasty piece of work, her sister Lee was always so much more prettier than she was.

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  146. Anonymous20 July, 2012

    We all have to feel sorry for the Broderick children. Please don't hate on Kim, remember she was a teenager, 15 when it all started. No matter what Dan did, he was still her father. After the murder, she lost not only her father, but in the process her mother. So when the Broderick, especially Larry embraced her, she turned to him. I am not sure what Larry promised her financially, but it must have been huge becaused she declined to join the bank in suing Larry for the money Dan loaned to Larry, $750,000. The boys were represented by the bank and sued for on 2/3 of the amount. Also, Kim suffered probably more than any of the other 3 because she was the oldest and have more memories of her parents.

    In speaking of Larry, I read that he is now worth around $30M today. I wonder if Dan's kids will ever get a piece of his worth. After all the money Dan poured into Larry's sinking lumber business? Larry bankrupted the business with a few Millions in hand and bought a hardware manufacturing. Struggled for years, but that business is now worth a lot!

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  147. Anonymous20 July, 2012

    Kim Broderick was old enough by the time of the murders to know exactly what she was doing. It really is irrelevant what Larry Broderick offered her, no amount of money should have tempted Kim to become the prosecutions star witness against her mother, she should have stayed out of it completely.
    Who cares what Larry Broderick is worth today? You can dress a pig in silk, a pig will always be a pig and my late mother used to say that you can not expect nothing from a pig but a grunt and we have heard enough of Larry's grunting over the years. Please do not get me wrong, i do not hate Kim Broderick, but i absolutely hate what she did to her mother by helping the prosecution during the trial

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  148. Anonymous20 July, 2012

    I agree with the above poster that Kim Broderick was old enough at the time of the trials to know What the implications of assisting the prosecution would be, that goes without saying. I also agree that Kim should have stayed out of the trial and let the prosecutors find their own damn evidence, no doubt they would not have had much difficulty with the help of dear uncle Larry. Just because a poster does not agree with Kim's actions at the time of the trials, this does not mean that they hate her, it's what she did that some people hate.

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  149. Anonymous20 July, 2012

    How Ludicrous of Anonymous 20th of July to suggest that Kim Broderick suffered the most by losing both of her parents as she was the eldest child and therefore had the most memories of her parents. I am sure all of the Broderick children suffered in their individual ways, let's not forget the suffering of Rhett Broderick the youngest of the Broderick children, who along with his brother yearned to be with their mother, but because of their fathers cruelty towards their mother, this was denied them. I am sure Kim Brioderick has not suffered anymore than her siblings.

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  150. Anonymous21 July, 2012

    Please don't forget the guilt she felt for leaving the keys that Betty used to get into the house. She was 18 almost 19. You all say that she was old enough, yet some excuse Linda for being too young to know better, Linda was 8 years older than Kim. Please don't get me wrong, I am on Betty's side and I think those two villains got what they deserved. I just hate having to read comments villifying Kim. She was still a teenager, with nobody left to protect her. Of course she would turn to the dark (Larry, the other Brodericks and Dan's friends) side. In fact, I read that she even went on the trip with the group to Ireland to bury Dan and Linda's ashes. I feel for her and to know that she is also a product of divorce just adds to my sympathy for her. I am not saying the rest of the kids (lee, danny or rhett) did not suffer, I just feel bad for Kim when comments are pointing at her negatively.

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  151. Anonymous22 July, 2012

    Well I guess you are just going to have to feel bad, because a lot if people see Kim as traitor, even some members of the jury commented about the role Kim played during the trial. As for the KEYS comment, give us a break!!!

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  152. Anonymous23 July, 2012

    I don't think that Kim would have been able to sue Larry because she had been written out of Dan's will before he died. If that is true, then she would have had no grounds since she hadn't been cheated out of anything. Lee now goes by Kathy, and she and Rhett did want Betty paroled and to come home. Kim has two little girls that look just like Grandma Broderick. Wonder what Kim thinks of that. Danny is in mortgage banking, and he is big in that Irish club Dan was so proud of. He was up for an award and his video is online someplace. I feel certain that Dan would have been worth more than his brother at this point, but I doubt he and Linda would have still been married.

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  153. Anonymous23 July, 2012

    It was Lee that was written off the will, not Kim.

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  154. Anonymous24 July, 2012

    Wish this attorney firm was available for Betty back then...

    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fifty-shades-of-divorce-2012-07-17

    Why was she so stupid to not follow what the lawyers instructed her? Was it because she was afraid to piss off Dan? or did she think he would turn around?

    Will never understand that part of the story. She had the best of lawyers who wanted to take her case. Dan stalled the payments, but per law he had to pay, so if she would have been patient eventually he would have had to pay.

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    1. I don't know. Had I been Betty, I would have begged, borrowed, stolen, and sold whatever I had to in order to hire Dan Jaffe, who most certainly would have taken Count Du Money to the cleaners. You are right; Dan would have had to pay Jaffe's fees (or anyone else's) and it would have become a matter of lawyer suing lawyer, leaving Betty out of it. It's just one more puzzling, sad aspect of this fucked-up case.

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  155. Anonymous24 July, 2012

    I am sure that the Brodericks thought the world of Linda, so much so that they billed the Kolkenas for Linda's share of her own funeral bill, that how much the Kolkenas thought about Linda.

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    1. Yes, you are correct. And that is very telling, isn't it? Also, if you look at the friends lists for the Broderick kids and Maggie Kolkena, you see pretty early on that the two families have *NOTHING* to do with one another today. As in, absolutely nothing. I have seen families of murder victims who were involved in the same drug-related gang shooting show more kindness and consideration toward each other. So much for true love, huh?

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  156. Anonymous24 July, 2012

    Sorry that's how much the Brodericks thought about Linda.

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  157. Anonymous24 July, 2012

    Have a question that has been puzzling me. In the books, it states that Dan Broderick is 5'9" and that Betty was 1" taller. Yet in all the photos, Dan appears to be slightly taller - almost 6'. Was he on a 3" heel? Also Linda was supposed to be quite tall, yet the wedding photos show Dan much taller, even taller than Kim and Lee who are pretty tall themselves. Couldn't measure the boys because they were too young at the time, but Danny is very tall now, as well as Rhett.

    Another question that puzzles me is the burial. In a book by Brian Monaghan, the one about his recovery from cancer, he says that a group of 14 friends/family (all Dan's brothers, 1 sister and Kim) went on a trip to Ireland with Dan and Linda's ashes. But then the comments here say Linda's family took hers after they received the bill for her funeral. Funny as hell that the Brodericks toll the funeral home to bill separately even though the service was a dual affair.

    As for the insurance, Betty's settlement did require Dan buy a life insurance of at least $1M but he bought 2M with half going to Linda. I guess he thought that knowing Linda would gain from his death would prevent Betty from killing him - how wrong was he LOL. Lee even though was not on his will for his estate, she was a beneficiary of his life insurance because he did not singly name the children, on states his beneficiaries are his children. Maybe he expected more children with Linda, but Linda could not get pregnant. Not sure if they specifically wanted to wait the 6 months or she was having trouble getting pregnant. Also strange that for newly weds to have the ovulation calendar, you would think they were having sex all the time...

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    1. All interesting, excellent points. I always found the "funeral trip" to Ireland to be incredibly disrespectful to Linda Kolkena, her family, and her heritage. Linda was Dutch. So Dutch, her parents were born in Holland and lived there until adulthood. The Kolkena children observed strict Dutch traditions in their household, and while English was spoken in the home, all of the Kolkena children know/knew Dutch fluently. (I am quite sure this was a selling point for Linda at Delta...airlines love attendants who can speak another language competently. Too bad she screwed it up.)

      Linda was not Irish. She had no ties to Ireland, save for her drunkard knight in tarnished armor. Her brothers, sister, and father were all alive at the time of the "funeral trip." No mention made of their participation, or even their inclusion as far as Linda's ashes were concerned. She wasn't Irish, she was Dutch.

      An afterthought, even in death. It's a shame that Linda is remembered as a gold-digging whore; however, it's understandable, when you consider how the Count Du Money and his alcoholic asshole friends all treated her.

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    2. Anonymous25 July, 2012

      Linda will always be remembered as a gold digging whore because that is exactly what she was. Think about this, does anyone really believe that she would have been interested in Dan Broderick, a married father of four and old enough to be her father if it wasn't for the fact that he was very wealthy? It was Dan's money and power that attracted Linda to him, nothing else. It could not have been the sex as the first opportunity she got she was back in the sack with Steve Kelly just before her wedding. Linda was used as part of Dan's plan to destroy and humiliate Betty, you know the scenario, younger, slimmer blonde, Dan used Linda big time and the sad truth is Linda was to stupid and full of hate for Betty to realise this. I am sure that behind closed doors and on more than one occasion, Linda saw Dan for what he truly was, a cold heartless bastard, I am sure as time went by he would have treated Linda the same as he had treated Betty, remember that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and the Broderick men was bought up by a father who had little or no respect for women. If Linda had not met Dan she would be alive today, it was her biggest mistake in life the day that she got involved with him.

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    3. Anonymous25 July, 2012

      You would think so, but they had also been together for several years before the marriage. Maybe they didn't have sex that often, but it was a surprise that she would have an ovulation calender. That is usually the suggestion of a medical advisor.

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    4. Anonymous25 July, 2012

      In Stumbo's book, she mentioned that a few months after their deaths, the SD Irish Assoc had a fund raiser in honour of Dan Broderick. A lot of Linda's friends attended that function. But Dan's so called friends did not once mention Linda during that event. In fact, some of Linda's friends were so angered by it. The event only detailed Dan's life and of his children. Like Maggie Kolkena said to the press, "What about my sister? She was murdered too."

      In the Forsaking All others book, Loretta mentioned the coroner's report that Linda had bruises on her wrist that were inflicted merely hours before her death and confirmed that the murderer did not inflict it. So it must be her handsome prince (NOT) who must have done something. I am sure the Kolkena's read that report as well. Then getting the funeral bill, as well as contesting the family in the will disbursement claiming Linda had no rights to Dan's insurance because she died prior to Dan thus relinguishing to the children all the money. They finally settled for $200,000 with which her father took to move back to Holland. He ended being a widow 3 times and died in Holland. Feel bad for the Kolkena's, am sure they were decent people - just a messed up daughter who lost her mother too young and a step-mother who was not very nice.

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    5. I think about that "function" to remember what a wonderful swell guy the Count Du Money was, all of his fellow drunks getting together to mourn and booze it up, all at $500 per plate or whatever. I think about it a lot. I actually think it is one of the saddest details in the Stumbo book. You know that Linda's girlfriends weren't all that rich; it was probably quite an undertaking to come up with the money to attend the dinner. And. Linda. Was. Not. Mentioned. Once. NOT ONCE. The detail of the friends of Linda "crying in the audience, they were so upset, angry and hurt" (paraphrasing) sticks with me as much as the seedier aspects of what Dan did to Betty.

      From the various books, we know that Dan and Linda spent their last day alive with friends (surprise, surprise...did they ever spend any time together, just the two of them?). First they went out for a ride on Dan's boat. They then ate their final dinner at a local Mexican restaurant with Kathy Cuffaro (Dan's divorce lawyer at the end) and Bob Vaage, who was Dan's junior legal associate in the firm. Dan and Linda were talking about their plans for a baby, and Cuffaro remarked that Dan got liquored up at dinner, as usual, this time drinking peach schnapps (blech! at a Mexican restaurant?). Dan and Linda apparently both got drunk enough that Kathy Cuffaro had to drive them home.

      I always wondered if the mysterious bruises happened on the boat somehow. Maybe she slipped, or something, and Dan grabbed her?

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  158. Anonymous25 July, 2012

    I am not surprised that Linda needed an ovulation calendar, with the amount of booze than dapper Dan consumed, instead of swimming upwards, which is the norm, his sperm probably swam around in circles. I'm talking about the occasions when he wasn't experiencing ' boozers droop.

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  159. Anonymous25 July, 2012

    Dan said Betty had mental problems for most of their marriage. Reading the books on the case, I would say any such health problems (IF they existed) were caused, or at very least, made worse by Dan's behaviour from the start of the marriage.

    I tend to think Dan got what he so richly deserved, in the end. :)

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  160. Anonymous26 July, 2012

    Only if she let it. I wish that Betty could have seen the writing on the wall when she told Dan to get rid of Linda in the office by October or else. She was still beautiful and thin then herself. But Betty couldn't see any other way than how she did things. It would have been hell to watch, but Betty has herself to blame for some of that. She always acted as if Brad was really nothing to her, that she didn't want to be half of a middle age joke when she was a forerunner of the Cougar Craze! He was cute and nice, and she obviously was sleeping with him. She focused more on sitting at back cheaper tables at social events than at the 50k tables Dan would buy that were up front. While I understand her anger, there were some ways where she was just her own worst enemy. Dan wanted the kids sent by cab to his house because Betty would always act up. Of course she would have been willing to bring the kids by for the wedding because she would have wanted to know all the details. She just couldn't behave after awhile. While I don't think that Dan and Linda would still be married, I am not sure that Betty could have become just another divorcee.

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  161. Anonymous26 July, 2012

    Linda could have just fallen down. Nothing much said about her BAC.

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  162. Anonymous28 July, 2012

    I guess the comments have exceeded the page limits? Anyway, had to go to comments link to see additional comments.

    Just wanted to say that the bruise on Linda's hand was not from a fall according to the author. According to the report, it was a bruise that appeared to have been completely around her wrist which could only have been inflicted by a hand squeezing and twisting. If it was a rope, the coroner would easily have been able to identify because ropes burns are different. Also the coroner said it would have happened just hours - approximately 5-6 hours before, so it must have been after they got home as Kathleen Cuffaro said she dropped them off around 11:30. His alcohol level at death was .04 so when he got home, it was over .10 above legal limit for driving. I have a feeling LInda was probably upset that he was too drunk to have sex. If following Ovulation calendar, sex must be 1-2 days prior in order for the sperm to swim up to the tube. Wonder if they quarreled because of that.

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  163. I dont condome what she did. But now that bulying is against the law and get a copy of tje divorce and the people who knew about what wa going on why not take it back to court and maybe she could get an earlier release hasnt she suffered enough with the mental and emotional abuse and bulliing

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  164. Absolutely smashing this article is. You have done a wonderful job. You have summed up every thought I have ever had about this highly thought-provoking case. The Betty Broderick tragedy is a tragedy of women...and that of one woman in particular, who had all the ammo to rise above this and yet chose real ammo to end the source of her pain. But perhaps one of the greater tragedies, was that these selfish adults used four innocent children as weapons in their battle....they are the lingering victims of this case and will be for the rest of their lives.....

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  165. Can I get a few links to more articles like this blog entry? I'm eager to find out the REAL story, and I really cannot afford to buy a copy of any of the books listed here. I'm highly intrigued by what I've read so far, and I'd love to see more of what really happened.

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