The Wife, The Mistress, and the Murders: Betty Broderick Case
Serial Napper | True Crime for the Chronically TiredShow Notes
Betty Broderick became one of America’s most infamous killers. She also became something much stranger: a woman thousands of people thought they understood.
In 1989, Betty walked into the San Diego home of her ex-husband, high-powered attorney Dan Broderick, and his new wife, Linda Kolkena, and shot them while they slept. The murders shocked the country. But what shocked people even more was how divided the reaction became afterward.
Because this was a murder story about a marriage that rotted slowly and publicly over years. About betrayal, obsession, humiliation, aging, power, and the terrifying feeling of being replaced in your own life.
Before the headlines, Betty was the loyal Catholic wife who worked and sacrificed while Dan built his fortune. Together they climbed from struggling young parents living on food stamps to wealthy La Jolla socialites with luxury cars, private schools, and country club memberships.
Then Dan left her for a younger woman. And Betty unraveled in ways that became impossible to ignore.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/us/betty-broderick-dead.html
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com
https://people.com/crime/betty-broderick-children-where-are-they-now/
https://people.com/crime/betty-broderick-case-timeline
https://apnews.com/article/4f5f9d7d1a4e4e7fa6a6df95f4d0cbe5
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-23-mn-4830-story.html
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