Daniel T. Broderick III
aka "Danny Boy"
aka "The Count du Money"
So many of you have read my posts about Betty Broderick and her crimes. With the recent interest in the case due to the Dirty John television show, I felt it was necessary to post some truths about who Daniel T. Broderick III was regarding his first wife, the mother of his children, and ultimately his murderer, Betty.
The short answer: he was not a nice person, he was shady, he was dishonest, and he was a gaslighting philanderer.
The San Diego Bar Association hands out an annual award in Dan Broderick's name, supposedly for civility and integrity as an attorney. Sorry, I don't see it.
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Dan Broderick had so much integrity as an attorney, had so much professionalism and regard for the law, and displayed so much civility, he stood by while the mother of his children, who was, as he claimed loudly and often, so mentally unstable she could not be trusted to have custody of said children, to *represent herself* in their divorce proceedings.
Dan Broderick had so much integrity as an attorney, and so much respect for the law and judgments passed down upon him, that he continued to "fine" his ex-wife Betty from his court-ordered support payments for behavior he deemed to be improper. Dan Broderick was ordered to stop his self-imposed "fining" system for Betty as part of the Broderick v. Broderick divorce settlement, an order that he almost immediately disregarded with the very first support payment.
Dan Broderick had so much civility and respect for the mother of his four children, he actually sent Betty a support check with a negative amount one month, a result of his own self-conceived, self-imposed "fining" system as a means of punishing Betty for behavior that he and Linda Kolkena deemed unseemly.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he refused to pay the attorney retainer and fees for Betty to hire Dan Jaffe, a well-known and excellent attorney from Los Angeles. This is no doubt because Jaffe would have seen through Dan's legal shenanigans and taken him to the cleaners...or at least see that Betty was awarded what was rightfully hers. Even after Jaffe was no longer officially involved with the case, he wrote a letter to the family courts in San Diego protesting how Betty Broderick was being mistreated, both legally and otherwise, by Danny Boy and his cohorts.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he used his influence in the San Diego courts so his divorce proceedings with Betty were not open to the public.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he sent his young sons to school when they were sick, rather than allow their mother to care for them. The boys were also sent to school in filthy clothes, and unwashed. A sick and ailing Rhett, too ill to remain in school, was taken by Dan back to his law office, instead of home and bed, or to the care of his loving and willing mother.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he ignored the pleas of his sons, who begged to be returned to the custody of their mother, Betty. Dan Broderick never behaved in his children's best interests. The children did not like to live at Dan's house. They were being raised by housekeepers and ignored by their father. They disliked Linda Kolkena so much, they would not speak to her. Dan constantly upended whatever plans Betty may have had with her children, very often cancelling at the very last minute. The final instance of this was Halloween 1989, roughly a week before the murders. (It must be noted that Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena would likely still be alive today, had Dan returned the boys to Betty. Being denied her children for another school year, via a remarkably childish and unprofessional pair of letters from Dan's attorney, Kathleen Cuffaro, was, according to Betty, the final straw.)
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he ignored the pleas of his sons, who begged to be returned to the custody of their mother, Betty. Dan Broderick never behaved in his children's best interests. The children did not like to live at Dan's house. They were being raised by housekeepers and ignored by their father. They disliked Linda Kolkena so much, they would not speak to her. Dan constantly upended whatever plans Betty may have had with her children, very often cancelling at the very last minute. The final instance of this was Halloween 1989, roughly a week before the murders. (It must be noted that Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena would likely still be alive today, had Dan returned the boys to Betty. Being denied her children for another school year, via a remarkably childish and unprofessional pair of letters from Dan's attorney, Kathleen Cuffaro, was, according to Betty, the final straw.)
Dan Broderick's version of integrity included leaving his heavily pregnant wife alone to go on a ski trip with friends. When Betty went into labor, he refused to come home from his vacation to help her and to mind the children they already had. The baby died right after it was born. Danny Boy's only complaint was that the entire matter ruined his ski vacation; he would not pay to bury his baby son, and to this day, Betty does not know where his remains are.
Dan Broderick was so full of civility, he saw it fit to break things when he was angry, which was often. Two items: a lawnmower that he destroyed with a sledgehammer, and the family aquarium dropped from an upstairs window. Danny Boy also repeatedly abused the family dogs by kicking them; nor would he allow the dogs in his Marston Hills home, forcing them to live in a makeshift dog run regardless of the weather.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, he permitted others in the San Diego legal community to insult Linda Kolkena to her face for her lack of education (her formal education ended at high school). Remember, Linda Kolkena was Dan's paralegal as well as his girlfriend, and Linda represented Dan and his clients.
Dan Broderick was so full of integrity, the Broderick divorce file "went missing" in the months leading up to the divorce hearing. This apparently greatly troubled Betty. It apparently did not bother Danny Boy in the least, and the file miraculously resurfaced right before the divorce trial, almost to the day.
Dan Broderick had so much integrity, he did not seek custody of his troubled daughter Lee, whose life fell apart after Dan dumped Betty, the mother of his four children, for Linda Kolkena, a 21-year-old. Nor did Dan Broderick object when Lee was awarded to Betty by the divorce judge; you know, Betty, who was supposedly a lunatic.
(Lee Broderick was left out of Dan Broderick's will by Dan Broderick, notarized by Linda Kolkena. She did not receive monies from his estate.)
Dan Broderick had so much professionalism, he permitted his clients to avail themselves of the services of a high school graduate with next to no legal or professional training. Linda Kolkena's sole qualification for her position as Dan's paralegal was, at least at first, the one she took during lunchtime trysts with Dan in nearby cheap hotels.
Dan Broderick had at least three documented instances of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of the accidents he caused while drunk.
Dan Broderick sought the "services" of a hit man to kill Betty, according to Jack Earley, Betty's defense attorney. Earley was prepared to introduce at trial credible evidence that Dan Broderick wanted to have the mother of his children killed. The judge did not allow the evidence in.
Finally, Dan Broderick had so much civility, integrity, and professionalism, that he spread entirely untrue rumors in the San Diego community that Betty, his wife of 16 years, loving mother to his children, and early childhood teacher, was a child molester.
Dan Broderick sought the "services" of a hit man to kill Betty, according to Jack Earley, Betty's defense attorney. Earley was prepared to introduce at trial credible evidence that Dan Broderick wanted to have the mother of his children killed. The judge did not allow the evidence in.
Finally, Dan Broderick had so much civility, integrity, and professionalism, that he spread entirely untrue rumors in the San Diego community that Betty, his wife of 16 years, loving mother to his children, and early childhood teacher, was a child molester.
Dan Broderick and his evil shenanigans cost him a restful permanent vacation in a pine box.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to know that he never fixed the house's alarm system (3 years) after Betty smashed in his front door with her SUV.
It would've saved their lives that night.
Dan Broderick wasn't that smart after all.
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DeleteDanny boy and the homewrecker got what was coming to them.
DeleteAnon(the 6/25/2020 one) you're a retard. That is the only conclusion I can reach if you defend a scumbag of a man who alighted his own loving and attentive wife to shag an arrogant little ditzy whore. Maybe you should stop getting so heated from watching a damn *TV Dramatization*, and get all the facts first. Moron.
DeleteSounds like Danny Boy got what was coming to him. The Universe is amazing.
DeleteAnonymous25 June, 2020 That is not Betty, she doesn't have access to the internet. By the way there are people who feel sorry for her (there is a reason why the comment section on Dan and Linda's find a grave page was disabled), I have seen more sympathy for her than I have for her victims. Unless you knew them, your comment 'We did feel sorry for you till you killed 2 people' is strange considering that no one outside of her, Dan and Linda's community knew who they were until the murders.
DeleteDan and Linda got what they both so richly deserved.. Dan was a despicable excuse of human flesh and Linda was just a home wrecking SLUT..FACT!.. Betty should never have been tried or convicted since she was an abused woman.. Abuse comes in many forms and the worst is emotional/psychological which Betty suffered from at the hands of a man who thought he was ENTITLED...I am so happy Dan and that SLUT he married didn't procreate because then the World would be stuck with demon spawn created by demon sperm that slithered it's ugly way out of that swamp between the SLUT'S legs....#BETTYFORPRESIDENT
DeleteHear hear.....two horrible people who took pleasure in hurting another human being......and both got exactly what they asked for. Her family can tout her as this innocent little Dutch immigrant who was so "IN LOVE"....people with any sort of moral compass do not participate in shenanigans with a married father of four....unless they expect to end up six feet under like this whore did.
DeleteNow days Betty would have never seen the inside of a jail cell. Only because of the times she is behind bars. The horrible things that he did all because he didn't want to be married to her and wanted a younger woman. What a pig. And if her children cannot see this they are definitely Dan's spawn. And that he was clearly a specialist at animal cruelty. That right there tells you a lot about a person's character. (PIG)
ReplyDeleteHow about sociopath.Cruel and abusing dogs kicking them gaslighting Betty for 2 years denying affair saying you are crazy imaging things.Gaslighting is tool sociopaths use.A pig as well as sociopath.Hop he is burning in hell
DeleteHe gaslight Betty for 6 years.
DeleteWhatever Dan Broderick did, whatever sort of person he was, he did NOT deserve to be murdered. Neither did Linda Kolkena. I don't understand why no one took Betty seriously when she basically told the world she was going to kill Dan.
ReplyDeleteHe brought this on himself and certainly deserved what he got. Linda was a dumb college age girl and didn't know any better and simply went along with a very cruel man for the money and "power"
DeleteIt's not a matter of deserving. It's simply reaping what you sow. As for not taking Betty seriously, you must mean Dan who never fixed the alarm on his own home. Stupid x 2.
DeleteDan said, "Betty wouldn't kill the Golden Goose." Honestly, Dan didn't believe Betty was capable of murder, who would pay her alimony. Guess again Danny Boy.
DeleteDan and Linda both reaped what they sowed. They tormented that poor woman and pushed her over the edge. I don't feel the least bit sorry for either one of them, and it's nice to finally read something that doesn't portray them as saints and Betty as a cold-blooded murderer. They broke that poor woman. They got exactly what they deserved. It's called Karma!
ReplyDeleteI also see it that way. They tormented her, until she broke.
DeleteAgreed. He was a real tool.
DeleteAgreed. He was a real tool.
DeleteAs someone who spent two decades with a cruel and narcissistic man that I left to save my soul I know what she went through. My ex didn’t have an affair and didn’t want a divorce but he gaslit me constantly and told everyone I was crazy. He was punitive with monies owed to me. I met him when he has nothing and I bore his children and gave up my career options to be home while he worked. Unless someone has gone through this systematic destruction it almost seems inconceivable one human being could do this to another. I just wish she could have found another way to deal with her rage because they weren’t worth it. I don’t think they deserved to die but his tactics and cruelty boxed her in. I get it. Men like this are evil, she did everything ti support his success and he traded her in for a younger model. It left her empty because being his wife and mother to their children (a good mother by all accounts) is what defined her. Yes she acted badly but he provoked and baited her and tortured her. Everyone was a loser in this situation. Dirty John is worth watching it definitely explains so much.
ReplyDeletei sympathize with you for your troubles,,,i'm sorry he did that to you however isn't there a thing such as a marriage just ending and people going their respective ways anymore?i do feel for u as i can understand cruelty bc a friend of mine was battered by her husband and she eventually got the courage to leave...im just here reading these replies bc i watched the depiction of a woman scorned with meredith baxter,,,
DeleteUnknown 2021, I suggest you don't base your opinion on the versions of the truth you see on TV - especially the one you're referring to, which didn't even have the integrity to acknowledge some scenes had been fictionalized for the sake of enetertainment. (As opposed to the "Dirty John: Betty Broderick" version, which states it very clearly in each episode.) Look into the facts via books and newspaper articles, and then you'll have a real idea of what happened on which to form your opinion.
DeleteAs for whether or not a marriage can just end and then people go their separate ways, it probably would have been much easier for Betty to do that if Dan had been honest and fair with her. The truth is, Dan didn't want the marriage to end until he had the finances arranged the way he wanted them. Also, I think it's at least possible that, the more she argued with him and didn't cave to his demands, the more he wanted to "punish" her using the court system - where, it should be noted, he had much more knowledge, control, and people beholden to him because of his position in the legal community - than she could ever have.
Betty shouldn't have murdered Dan and Linda IMO simply because of what it did to the kids. It doesn't matter what anyone else may or may not have deserved; those children deserved much better than they ended up getting.
Betty's been in jail a long time, and she isn't eligible for parole again until 2032. Does anyone seriously think she is a danger to the public? She's 73 now. Just for comparison, Manson Family member Steve Grogan, convicted murderer in the state of CA, only served 15 years.Squeaky Fromme, another Family member who was implicated in 2 murders (though not convicted) and later tried & found guilty of attempting to kill Pres. Ford, only served 34 years. There are countless other examples of people who have done things at least as bad - if not worse - than BB, yet they aren't still rotting away in custody. Why is she?
I am now watching Dirty John: The Betty Broderick story and boy does it bring full circle the kind of insane, ego maniac alcoholic slum lawyer Dan Broderick really was. Now, I can understand that he may not have been in love with his wife any longer and was in love with another woman, but what l cannot fathom is this. Dan gaslighting Betty and telling her there was no affair and she was imagining things causing Betty to feel extremely unbalanced. He did this for 2 years. He only wanted custody of the children solely to hurt Betty after he cruelly walked out on her, knowing that the children were Betty's whole life. He had documents pertaining to the divorce and finances notarized by Linda Kolkena, his long standing mistress and the woman who caused Betty so much grief. He allowed Linda Kolkena's voice to be the greeting on the answering machine that was used for Betty to communicate with her children, a judge had to order Dan to "get the girlfriend off the machine". He knew Linda was sending Betty pictures of them together, weight loss and wrinkle cream pamphlets in the mail, incensing Betty further. He took his new wife on a cruise to the exact same location, the Caribbean, as he took Betty on their honeymoon after marrying Linda literally 10 days after what would have been Betty and his 20th anniversary. He had a beautiful Amish quilt purchased by Betty years ago on his bed that he shared with his child bride second wife. Another observation l made was he was home every night eating dinner with the kids and probably Linda, yet he rarely made it home for dinner while married to Betty and Betty would be resentful, rightly so. He was always too busy getting ahead in his slum San Diego legal community to be bothered with Betty and the children. When he left Betty, he had already made it and could become the thoughtful, attentive man he described in his marriage encounter letters in 1976 while still married to Betty. He became more of a family man only AFTER he acquired great wealth and gave everything Betty worked for to a barely legal, uneducated, promiscuous tramp that looked a lot like Betty did 15 years ago. Linda never had to work a day for it, either. Oh, he also alienated Betty from their mutual friends as most took his side after the separation and divorce. Her family also wanted little to do with the situation, thus leaving Betty totally alone and without support. Add the endless legal bludgeoning and jailing and fining dealt to Betty coupled with the fact that she still did not have her children, Dan signed his own death warrant as well as Linda's. After all, they had been telling anyone who would listen that Betty was lunatic. Dan underestimated Betty and thought that she would never "kill the golden goose" that was paying her bills. Well, putting an end to all the misery was more important to Betty than the money. Betty's final solution and sense of justice included them being dead, finally giving her peace. She may be in prison but she's ALIVE, not worm food. This whole ordeal left Betty permanently altered and changed her whole personality for the worse. Yes, she was crazy, but he made her that way. She was a fun, funny, compassionate person and an exemplary mother before this nightmare happened. No, she shouldn't have killed them, but l can how and why she did. I only wish she'd fake remorse to get out of prison. She has done more than enough time.
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Oh, and Laura you are right. Your words coupled with our words is probably the only justice Betty will see.
DeleteAnonymous: It's true they had a very dirty divorce, but if that's a reason to kill the father of your 4 children, I guess I should've killed my ex-husband, because he did much worse things to me. Harrassment? What would you call Betty's demented, obscene, filthy taped conversations with Danny Jr.? And the filth she spewed on their answering machine? She made an absolute laughing stock of herself, posting fliers on people's cars about Dan, even sending letters to Dan's parents. She made a spectacle of herself because she couldn't move on. Betty had an education; she was getting 16K/month support --- she could've made a wonderful new life for herself - she even had a boyfriend. Please, there is no excuse for murder and the horrible pain she inflicted on her 4 children by killing their father.
DeleteI know all about what Betty did and it's no excuse, but as I've said before,by the time Betty started leaving those messages and talking to her children that way, by the way Dan had recorded them for ammunition against Betty only, not because he really cared about their effect on the children. By this time, Betty was so deteriorated and unbalanced that she became blind to devastating effects of her actions on the children. The affair that her husband and father of her children, had with a barely legal, sugar daddy hunting gold digger who knowingly dated a married man absolutely destroyed Betty and the children. Linda Kolkena, with Dan's participation, put an axe through that family. Yes, other women have gone through the same and worse, but Betty worked her ass for years when they and he had nothing and more importantly Betty had her whole identity wrapped up in Dan and with his cruel departure for a dollar sign seeing tramp, her whole life was stripped from her. Her life went on, but with Linda as the younger, slimmer replacement. Other women may have been able to move on, but Betty couldn't. I feel she preferred prison over not having the only life she imagined or wanted. In prison she has an identity and stability. Bottom line is that if Dan never would've gotten involved with Linda Kolkena none of this probably wouldn't have happened. He cruelly discarded the mother of his children and even tried to have her killed as early as 1983. Three different people from entirely different walks of life, attested to this. But the judge wouldn't let that evidence in at the trial because since Betty didn't know about it it couldn't have had any bearing on her state of mind. There were plenty of other things that did, though. If Dan really did, and l believe he did, try to have Betty killed, then she was completely justified in killing him, though maybe not Linda. Yes, she killed the father of her children, but she was at a dark, desperate place. I can understand that.
DeleteI don't believe Dan wanted or tried to have Betty killed. He didn't have the hate inside of him that she did. I do agree with you that Betty preferred prison over life without Dan!
DeleteDoesn’t matter what you want to believe, Simone. There was evidence of that. I wouldn’t put that passed Dan or that sleazy brother of his.
DeleteThere is no excuse for murder and the way Betty behaved towards the children, but Dan also used the children against Betty although he didn't use obscenities. The answer why Betty stooped so low? Her devastatingly ruined mind frame. And 16 grand a month? A pittance of his monthly income of 100 grand plus. Betty deserved more than that for all she did for that ungrateful bastard. If he and his cheap side kick would've had more compassion for Betty and let her have her boys, they would still be alive.
ReplyDeleteThe psychopathic alcoholic slum lawyer Dan Broderick had plenty of hatred in him. Otherwise he couldn't have discarded Betty so awfully and put her through such unnecessary bullshit. He had told people he was either going to have her killed or drive her to kill herself. Like the juror Walter Polk stated in the first hung jury trial, "we just wonder what took her so long". Bella Stumbo's Until the twelfth of never is basically the Bible when it comes to this case and reveals Dan Broderick for who he really was and how he legally bludgeoned Betty. If Dan Broderick had done to Betty with his fists instead pulling every sleazebag "legal" move trying to cheat her out of her rightful share of marital assets, she would've been dead long ago. He was not a good person, husband or father. At least Betty was before all this happened.
ReplyDeleteDan Broderick's narcissistic hatred was just calculatingly hidden while Betty openly showed hers.
ReplyDeleteBetty's heart remains broken to this day and l find it hard to not sympathize with someone who was so blindly destructive. She did love Dan, on the witness stand she always got choked up when recalling their meeting and their life as a young couple. I find this case so heartbreaking that after reading Stumbo's book twice it caused me great distress and has stayed with me. I only wish Betty could've moved on and healed.
ReplyDeleteI have always had sympathy for Betty. Let her story be a cautionary tale for homewreckers and cheating husbands. Tread lightly. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Just because murder is illegal doesn't mean it won't happen.
ReplyDeletepoor betty. she was verbally and mentally and legally abused by a very powerful man. He was cruel and nasty and greedy and selfish and beyond manipulative. He drove her to it. I'm glad she killed him. He was not going to pay for his crimes on earth. Yes, of course, murder is wrong. But I've never been happier to see someone get their due.
ReplyDeleteDirty John is based on the book Until the twelfth of never by Bella Stumbo. It is refreshing to see Dan Broderick portrayed as he really was. I always wanted to see the book come to life on the screen and now we have it. That lifetime movie back in 1992 with Meredith Baxter was inaccurate in that it both portrayed Betty as just some greedy jealous ex wife who only cared about money and it white washed Dan and Linda. No mention of a long standing affair or the gaslighting that Dan put Betty through or the endless legal bludgeoning and fining. That movie had Larry Broderick, Dan's money hungry brother and Maggie Kolkena, Linda's only sister, as consultants, so I'm not surprised that these things didn't come out. Dirty John, in this case it should be Filthy John, because that's what Dan undoubtedly was, presents this case in a much more truthful light. With this new series becoming so popular and engrossing, Betty has a chance to fully have her story told and get some form of justice. Betty always wanted the world to know exactly who Dan was and what he did to her. That time is now and I hope Betty is doing well and how I wish she'd get out of prison.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Betty won't get out because of all those criminals known as the San Diego legal community using their influence to keep her behind bars. They sure can't practice law with any competency. A perfect example is Sharon Blanchet. She accompanied Linda Kolkena on one of the Breaking and Enterings at Betty's house to try to recover the wedding guest list. Ms. Blanchett should have been disbarred decades ago as well as criminally charged for B&E. Sickening.
DeleteLa Jolla resident here who is intimately familiar with the case. My name is mentioned in Twelfth of Never. Kim Broderick is complaining about the Dirty John series on her Facebook account. She says that nothing about the show is true. Maggie Kolkena is also over there on her FB page, and Kim says how much she loved Linda. I wonder if this was after Linda took Kim to get an abortion, or when Kim was making fun of the Kolkena family after the wedding, or what. I don't know why two of the Broderick four refuse to acknowledge the awful truth about their father. I knew all three of the people involved and let's just say than Dan and Linda had a lot of people snowed. Now that we know the truth about what happened to Betty, we feel horrible.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel horrible. Take the bad feelings that you have and contact Governor Newsom about having Betty freed. There is a real movement to have her released from prison.
DeleteThere is also another movement to have the Dan Broderick Bullshit Award from the SD Bar discontinued. Were you/are you in the legal community?
Maggie Kolkena has chimed in over on Kim's FB page, complaining that the story is being retold for $$$. Wasn't she a "consultant" on the first two movies, the ones with Meredith Baxter, along with Loudmouth Larry Broderick? Some people have convenient memories, and too many of them are connected to Dan and Linda.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that it must be awful for those who knew Dan and Linda to realize what truly terrible people they were, Danny Boy especially. No one will ever accuse any of the Broderick "kids" of being stupid; they know what their father did. It must be agony on top of agony to know what their father did to their mother. So many screwed-up lives, all for a piece of low-rent trash who was cheating on their father less than a month before the wedding. Any cursory search about the Dirty John series shows that people are really truly starting to see the truth about the case, and they are calling out Dan Broderick as the piece of garbage that he was. Like I said, those "kids" aren't stupid. That has to hurt.
DeleteI've stumbled on this brilliance. It's nice to see like minded people sharing thoughts about the POS and dirty whore that was Linda Kolkena. FREE BETTY!!!!!
DeleteI just wish she had woken them up before shooting them. Let them feel the fear. She should have shot her first, and let him watch.
ReplyDeleteIt took up to 30 minutes for Danny Boy to strangle in his own blood. I have many times wondered what you think about as you lay there, dying. I wonder if Dan realized, once and for all, that actions do indeed have consequences, and sometimes those consequences are horrible. I wonder if it was worth it to him. I wonder if he thought about what happened to Linda (remember, he dove off the bed to protect himself, while Linda turned to Dan for protection). I wonder if he thought of his kids.
DeleteI wondered about the kids that night. We’re none of them at the house to hear what was going on and help Dan?
DeleteMy husband left me with nothing and now lives somewhere with his affair parts for he changed his phone number while I was in chemo. Even if I had his number, I can’t imagine leaving the kind of messages Betty did that just gave them reason to call her crazy and bitter. They were despicable and I truly believe broken people find each other and that’s why they got together in the first place. I just wish she had more patience. Dan and Linda would have imploded on their own and Betty could be living a nice life of freedom.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine, back in 8 the 1980's?... When men were supreme and women had their "place"? Women were expected to support their husbands by bearing the children, taking on odd jobs, taking care of the the children... All while the husbands bettered their careers and did whatever they wanted to do. Fast forward to the time "he" becomes successful, beyond belief, doesn't come home very often (blaming it on work), while at the same time having hired an unqualified (younger & skinnier, NOT prettier) person to be his legal assistant (paralegal, with her own office and perks beyond belief). Just imagine you are Betty. I grew up in a similarly affluent enclave where every man was a doctor, lawyer, college professor or dentist. My mom happened to die from a brain tumor when I was 11, but the affairs and cheating did not stop in my predominantly Catholic community. The phonies would show up in church every Sunday, putting on fake faces, while pretending to honor God. I got out of there as soon as I could because it was so fake. Anyway, I am grown now, and doing well. The point is that Betty Broderick was savagely and brutally abused by her narcissistic husband and his paramour. Dan and Linda were disgusting and ruthless people. Betty has paid more than her debt to society. 30 years ago, her identity and values were torn to shreds by 2 egomamaniacs, Linda and Dan. She was annihilated as a person and needs to be freed from prison!! Yes, I have signed the petition #freebettybroderick
ReplyDeleteI agree, women today have no idea what 80’s wives were treated like.
DeleteI think Betty has served her time and she should be let free right away. Does anyone know if she can receive letters in prison? And how do I sign the petition to free her? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteToday, this case may never have happened. What Betty engaged in was basic stalking and criminal threatening. Today, the state would have stepped in and taken issue with her erratic and escalating dangerous behavior. Perhaps she would have gotten the help she so desperately needed or she would have been incarcerated. Back in the 80's, the courts often failed men by failing to note that women can be abusive and dangerous. Even Dan didn't see the danger. Personally, I'm glad Betty is still behind bars. Given her inability to respect boundaries one can only imagine the stress and grief she would cause her children and grandchildren today. My MIL was married to a very wealthy and prominent doctor. Over 40 years ago they divorced, he left her for a much younger woman. Even today, my MIL makes inappropriate commentary in front of the children about their grandfather. Betty crossed so many boundaries with her children, with Linda and with Dan that I'm sure (unless she were medicated and underwent psychological help)she would do the same today with her grandchildren. Thankfully, as long as Betty remains incarcerated, that cycle of hate and revenge stops.
ReplyDeleteY’all are being so nasty about Linda. Obviously I don’t know any of the parties involved personally, in fact two of them were murdered before I was born, but I’m willing to bet none of you guys know them personally either. To call Linda things like a gold digger and a tramp seems really out of line and baseless. It is, you know, possible for two people to fall in genuine love even when there is an age difference. I’m not arguing it either way, but I would never call someone names like that unless I had real evidence to support my statement (and no, their age difference, her level of education, nor his wealth are substantial enough evidence!).
ReplyDeleteYeah, there’s no argument about Linda and you seem to be missing the extremely key part of her story. She very openly dated a very married man behind his wife’s back for multiple years...and had no qualms about it. Think she would’ve done that with a poor man?
DeleteI think it's even an open question whether Linda really loved Dan or just was after his money and power. Remember she slept with an ex-boyfriend (Steve Kelley) shortly before her marriage to Dan Broderick. I think Betty should have waited it out Given Linda Kolkena's promiscuity (sleeping with Kelley while she was engaged to Dan Broderick, sitting on a passenger's lap as an airline stewardess) she would have eventually had cheated on Dan when they were married.... and Betty could have had the last laugh without going to prison.
DeleteAbout Maggie Kolkena, somebody wrote earlier that as a married woman, if she had taught her sister about right and wrong Linda might be alive now.
Wake up, young lady, Linda was so out her element. Cannot imagine she could have spelled Cornell, let alone knew where it is.
DeleteMurder is wrong period. You are absolutely right in that Betty should have taken her revenge by living well, but she snapped because of the direct actions of Dan and Linda. They have accountability in this tragedy as much as Betty, they didn’t pull the trigger but they certainly loaded the gun. The divorce judge is also an accessory to the murders, his outrageous rulings to protect his crony Dan led to Betty’s total meltdown. I sincerely hope Dan and Linda’s wedding was the last good time he ever has in his miserable life.
ReplyDeleteBootyBay? With a name like that, can anyone be surprised at how incredibly stupid you sound. You and Linda would’ve been great friends I imagine. You sound uneducated and are a self proclaimed “booty bay”. Go back to your trailer park with your Good Enough Diploma self!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, till this day I feel sorry for Betty, he traded her in for a younger model with no regard for her whatsoever
ReplyDeleteThe world is better off without Dan Broderick
First off 2 people were murdered. And mrs broderick had no right to murder them! And she was so cold blooded she ripped the phones out of wall for help! She also harassed and hounded them the whole time they were together. And after she murdered them she continued to talk horrible on and on!!! No i don't feel one bit sorry for her!
ReplyDeleteShe needed to take the phone from him, he never picked it up when she called anyway or she wouldn't have been able to leave all those messages right. I think Betty was mistreated an blind sided. Linda knew well enough Dan was married with 4 kids. She should have never went down this path with Dan after all Betty has done for him to get that far an leave her was so not fair. Betty wasn't heard by anyone until that night, now they hear her loud an clear. Not saying what she did was right, but Dan used his power to live a wonderful life with his young wife while hurting the kids and Betty. #FreeBetty
DeleteLet’s not forget, Linda only had a high school education. The only way to financial security was to marry someone with money. Dan needed unquestioning adoration, which is what he got from Linda. When your life decisions are based on greed and ego, you should be prepared for the consequences.
ReplyDeleteAs a contemporary of Betty’s I can certify that she was so typical of our era. Her story represents how exactly how “young ladies” prepared ourselves to be a fitting and useful spouse to an upwardly mobile man. Those were “The Rules”...moral and cultural. We were raised to be the helpmate to the MAN’s success, not successful ourselves.
ReplyDeleteDan Broderick would never have chosen the uneducated, unsophisticated Linda Kolkena for his first wife. Along with his Ivy League degrees, he needed a wife that would impress the Partners at the prestigious law firms where he intended to apply. He needed a wife was also well educated, articulate...who could entertain, present the “right image” and impress the decision makers.
He needed Betty.
Kolkena, the high school graduate fired for sexual misbehavior from an airline job...would have been an albatross, an embarrassment... around the neck of the very ambitious Dan Broderick. Young Dan wouldn’t have looked twice at her.
But once Dan became powerful and successful, he came to understand that The Rules no longer applied to powerful men. A young, attractive minimally educated clerk like Kolkena could be imposed by him on every social circle he now dominated. Her youth and promiscuity would actual enhance his standing among other men like him...adding sexual prowess to his other “successes.”
I was fortunate...by sheer luck...I chose well. But I knew many Betty’s over the years. Cast aside by powerful men, they were further stripped of all dignity and a rightful share of family resources by an Old Boy network of judges and lawyers, who played golf and drank with their husbands and sought to curry their favor.
My daughters, both highly successful professionals in a changed world...can not quite relate to how horrific Betty Brodericks situation actually was. And therein lies our victory as women ...albeit at Betty Brodericks expense.
You nailed it.
DeleteSometime it might be interesting to actually watch the murder trial. Its free at court tv. Betty's accusations may not be the absolute best source.
ReplyDeleteShe did need mental health. She refused it time and time again. She was paranoid, obsessed, and out of control.
What would you think if man had stalked, harrassed, threatened, abused and finally killed his wife in the same manner as Betty?
A man...Dan Broderick...did DO all these things. He just used his brilliant knowledge of the intricacies of the law...to manipulate, to stalk, to harass, to threaten, and to abuse. Betty, with her silly outbursts and profanity, was a pathetic amateur compared to the Master of Destruction...ole Dan the Lawyer Man.
DeleteTake the phone issue. In reading Twelfth of Never, we find out that the phone Betty was calling was NOT a house phone...it was the children’s phone...just theirs. So why was Kolkena on THAT answering machine? Why not one of the teenage daughters. Kolkena could be in the house phone if that was so important to her identity. No, this was a form of stalking Betty...twisting the knife that she’d been replaced...not just in her husbands bed...but in her children’s lives.
It’s sadistic.
Together THEY BOTH...Dan and Betty...created DAN the Lawyer Man. He would have had neither degree without her work ethic, her sacrifices. His introduction into San Diego society was in part due to his “correct” kind of wife for that milieu...a beautiful wife who knew how to dress, how to converse intelligently, who knew how to entertain. Betty had the polished skill set that completed the package. Betty enabled him to enter private practice, decorated the “correct” kind of office to enable his ascension to success.
Once THEY had succeeded, Dan decided their was no “they”...it was all about HIM. In jettisoning his wife, he decided HE got to say what she deserved and it wasn’t much. He played the law and the Epstein credits etc to get off as cheaply as possible. He harassed her into her misbehavior. He threatened her with legalities she could not understand. He abused her by denying that she mattered...that her partnership mattered...that her sacrifices mattered. If Dan could have taken credit for birthing the children, he would have erased Betty on that score too.
At forty, in that era, Betty would never reach the earning potential that their partnership had created. Dan should have given her a fair share, as she asked. He had decades of fabulous earning potential to lavish on himself and Kolkena.
Suppose you and someone you loved worked long hours creating a bountiful vegetable garden from dry hard soil and a few seeds. Your hands got rough and dirty together, you were hampered by storms and dry spells, but the two of you perservered.
Finally, the garden came to fruition...was lush and bountiful. One day you found a fence locking you out...and your partner had decided to share your rewards with someone new...someone who had never spent one day as part of the struggle...but now mocked and sneered at you and took pleasure in your exclusion.
That’s what Dan and Kolkena did to Betty.By the way, I watched both trials on Court TV back in the day. They destroyed her in every sense of the word. They were barbaric in their cruelty. As one of the jurors said in the first trial...the only question was “why it took her so long.”
I work in mental health and I guarantee he was the cause of her mental health. He looks as if it started with the divorce and what HE was doing to her. He was lying and cheating his way around to court system to get what he wanted. If he wouldn’t have done that she probably wouldn’t have went crazy BUT he was a lawyer and he HAD to win no matter how bad it hurt the kids. Kids need their moms, apparently she had no issues before the divorce
DeleteOh so murder is ok? But cheating isn't? What a psycho comment to make!weirdo!!!
DeleteCould someone tell me did the gold digger sign a pre nup in case Dan wanted a divorce when she became old boring fat and stupid.
ReplyDeleteDid dirty Dan and whorish Linda DESERVE to be murdered? No. Did they ASK for it? Does Raggedy Ann have cotton guys?
ReplyDeleteYou are so full of it. You know nothing about any of these people but what you’ve read on salacious sites and tabloids, and the words of the murderer herself. It’s sick for you to insult the dead, and especially wrong because you never knew them. Those kids spoke up, their mom was delusional and abusive to all of them. He got fed up with it and like any sane person found someone who wouldn’t scream at him and abuse his children. Someone who committed the horrible crime of being you and beautiful. Betty drove a car through his front door. She left vulgar sexual messages her kids could hear. She threatened his life. The facts don’t add up - his liver conclusively proved he was no alcoholic. Legal papers showed he was giving the boys back. Her own kids said she shot him because she was so obsessed with him and knew that meant she would have no reason to play the victim anymore. Nobody who knew Linda described her as anything but warm, kind, and funny. Except the woman who was so jealous and delusional she ruined 5 lives because she couldn’t muster the pride and dignity to move on like an adult. She’s a coward, and a murderer, and frankly evil. Why are you speaking so cruelly of dead strangers on the internet? What is wrong with you that you would look at all the facts and still think she’s right? She shot two people to death in the middle of the night, while they slept. She took away her children’s father because she couldn’t handle the fact that people change and life goes on. And that if you abuse people verbally and physically, like she DID for a FACT, nobody will want to be around you. You should be ashamed of yourself. She was and still is a petty, jealous, stupid, selfish murderer.
ReplyDeleteAnd Dan and Linda are still dead. I remember how sad it sounded to know that she told Steve Kelly after rolling out of bed with him that abusing Betty was fun and it cost them nothing since they were a law firm. It cost them everything and I think in those last few minutes, they knew it.
DeleteI totally agree! These people that are bashing murdered people should be ashamed of themselves and arrested also! They think its okay what Betty did? They are crazy just like her and need locked up also!
DeleteGood riddance to both of them. Linda was a whore who her family touts to be a sweet innocent girl in love. I hope her family understands that Linda caused her own demise. She got exactly what she deserved.
ReplyDeleteBetty should have gone got herself a law degree & stuck it to Danny boy in court. Then taken him to the cleaners made him bankrupt & watched the gold digger leave him.
ReplyDeleteJust found out count du money's house he brought has been sold for two million shame Betty won't see a penny of it or the kids. I hope the knicker dropper and the count enjoyed living there I saw a video showing the inside as well trashy as anything.
ReplyDeleteNo woman should be killed for being a "whore" and anyone saying that needs to learn about feminism. Betty should have just killed Dan and left Linda alone, she would suffer just the same.
ReplyDeleteDan was a class narcissist and Linda was a two bit ho bag. It is really that simple. It is never ok to murder two people but as I sit here thinking about it, the world is a better place without them. I feel sorry for the children, but in the end even with a mom in prison at least they were spared years of additional narcissist abuse, and having to watch their father repeat cycles. Linda would have popped out some puppies and gained weight, and ultimately also been discarded as well. So it is a mercy to those unborn children they both got what they deserved and earned.
ReplyDeleteSicko! Betty was a crazy, ugly old. Nagging hag! I dont blane Dan for finding someone more beautiful. And Linda was way more beautiful than even young peroxide blond bland Betty. Linda looked much more vibrant and happy, beautiful! That fat Betty had no right to murder anyone!
DeleteI feel sorry for Betty. He was a cheater. He ruined the family. He was dirty during the custody to ensure she got screwed. Not telling her about court changes and using his power to get what he wanted. No wonder Betty went crazy, he took the kids and everything from her and any woman in her right mind would have went crazy too. Yeah maybe the whore that he cheated on her with didn’t deserve to die but I’ve always said don’t mess with married men because an angry hurt woman is no one to mess with. He is scum on the Earth and a POS.
ReplyDeletePeople constantly mention the amount of spousal support Betty received from Dan. The same people never that Dan's medical schooling (he quit because he didn't like it,) then law school was entirely financed BY BETTY. NOT the Brodericks, who were VERY comfy, but by continually pregnant and sick, exhausted Betty. Dan should have been ashamed of himself!! Also, the same people NEVER mention that Betty was pregnant over ten times by the same selfish loser, Dan. She suffered from complicated pregnancies and deliveries and lost many of her babies. Dan saw no problem with Betty supporting him and often had the family living on foodstamps and subpar housing. Dan favored the obnoxious double speaking Kim, rejected poor Lee, and was neglectful of Danny and Rhett.
ReplyDeleteI will never defend Betty's aggression toward Dan and Linda, but those two treated Betty very cruelly. Linda sent Betty cruel jabs through the mail (a federal offense,) and laughed at Betty's weight in FRONT of Betty's children. WHY did Dan allow that? Dan obviously had no love for his wife of many years, but their children certainly loved their mother and it must have been horrible to hear Linda Kolkena laughing at Betty.
When Betty was the same age, Linda Kolkena couldn't have held a candle to her. Kolkena was a common gold digger who was determined to find a wealthy man and she wasn't above tearing apart a large family to do so. Linda was young, somewhat attractive and could have, should have found her own husband, not stolen another woman's and laughed about it all the way to her grave. Again, I wish Betty had lived a good life and simply bowed out. I think if she had, Dan and Linda would have soon enough imploded of their own wickedness...I will always feel sorry for poor Lee and the boys. Kim has been reprehensible. She used to take her mother's money and then cry to Dan and Linda about how 'awful' Betty was.
I completely understand Betty and was a victim of a narcissist in my first marriage. I was just wondering... what if Betty had befriended Linda? Would that have killed whatever was brewing between the two of them?
ReplyDeleteDid the children share their inheritance with Lee? The fact that Dan removed his daughter from the will and that it was witnessed by Linda tells me all I need to know about them. Kim, at the very least, was old enough to want to share with Lee.
ReplyDeleteMore like Count du Douche
ReplyDeleteDan and Linda got off too easy if you ask me. For 43 years I lived with a man similar but not nearly as bad as Dan and there was more than one time that I wished he was dead and as I stated he was not as bad as Dan was. I was in agony for many many years from the mental, psychological, emotional, and physical abuse that I went through. I will say it once again, even having gone through all of that I say that he was not as bad as Dan Broderick. I agree wholeheartedly with what one of the jurors said, I don't know what took her so long. The only reason that I didn't kill him was because I did not want to go to prison. Ironically, he died in a drowning accident at the beach while we were on vacation. So now here I am and everything is mine. His pension, his 401k, his social security, his Roth IRA, his children, his house, his workshop and all the contents, his vehicles, everything! In summary I think they should have given Betty the award for getting rid of the s*** head and the w****.
ReplyDeleteDan and Linda got off too easy if you ask me. For 43 years I lived with a man similar but not nearly as bad as Dan and there was more than one time that I wished he was dead and as I stated he was not as bad as Dan was. I was in agony for many many years from the mental, psychological, emotional, and physical abuse that I went through. I will say it once again, even having gone through all of that I say that he was not as bad as Dan Broderick. I agree wholeheartedly with what one of the jurors said, I don't know what took her so long. The only reason that I didn't kill him was because I did not want to go to prison. Ironically, he died in a drowning accident at the beach while we were on vacation. So now here I am and everything is mine. His pension, his 401k, his social security, his Roth IRA, his children, his house, his workshop and all the contents, his vehicles, everything! In summary I think they should have given Betty the award for getting rid of the s*** head and the w****.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of what you said. My view is that it is so sad for everyone involved that Betty was driven so mad, she was unable to be her own advocate. Had she been able to do that, and if she had better support from people around her.. plus psychiatrists.. she may actually have had some semblance of a life after the divorce.
DeleteDan Broderick was a narcissist, a cruel person.. He actually went on a ski trip while Betty was in a horrible labor in the hospital, where the baby died shortly after birth.
A lot of what took place had to do with the times.. a smart lawyer would have had the dogs taken away, for a start, and the children.
The dogs were kicked by Dan constantly and the kids showed up to school and other places full of lice, dirty with torn and dirty clothes. Linda also tormented Betty with intimate photos of her with Dan. She would also send her flyers for weight loss programs, plastic surgery and other things to cruelly torment her.
It could have ended so much better, and Betty likely would not have killed them or have been sent to prison.
Tragic, yes, but a better punishment for Dan and Linda would have been if they were ignored by friends of Betty and Dan, arrested of fined and had the children and the dogs taken away. Shamed by their actions. Sadly, Betty lost her entire support system along with losing her marriage. True, she made it so much worse by her actions, I just feel that if this were NOW so much of this would not have happened.
Hell, Betty might even have eventually gotten into a good relationship with a nice man, had she not been driven mad.
Would you please advise people here on how we can sign the petition to have Betty released already? As well as to have the evil narcissist award for those in legal services revoked?? Much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteWhat’s wrong with his eyes? He looks so phony.
ReplyDeleteGeez guys. Obsess much?
ReplyDeleteGeez guys. Obsess much?
ReplyDeleteLet’s not forget he conducted perverted, inappropriate behaviors towards a 17 years old au pair; laying in bed naked with the dutch slut in front of his children; let the slut walk the house in skimpy see-through night gown; she acted super mean to the boys and he did nothing. How could a father do that to their offspring? Sick bastard.
ReplyDelete