Dan Broderick

There’s more to this story ….

Betty Broderick’s first murder trial ended in a hung jury, who heard the legal and psychological hell Dan put Betty while trying to conceal his affair and come out the victor in the subsequent divorce. The jury foreman was quoted after as saying, “We just wonder why it took her so long.”

As the acrimonious five-year-long divorce process began, Betty and Daniel fought over their finances and custody of their children. The next several years were riddled with complex legal maneuverings by Dan and his professional colleagues. The San Diego legal community cooperated with Dan in his campaign to deprive Betty of the couple’s shared assets. Dan even sold a home they shared titled in without Betty’s knowledge or consent. In short, Dan knew the legal ropes and abused them to his advantage.

To add fuel to the inferno, Dan instituted a system of fines that impacted Betty’s monthly support checks. Every time Betty broke a restraining order or allegedly harassed him, Dan deducted money from her monthly support check. Dan began to withhold $100 for every obscene word she used, $250 for each time she set foot on his property, $500 for every entry into his house and $1,000 for every time she took one of the children without his permission. This was all done to deprive her financially and emotionally.

Linda Kolkana was terribly indiscreet about her affair with Dan and Dan’s longtime secretary voiced her concern to Dan about it. Dan promptly fired the secretary for speaking up. This same secretary had worked for Dan since the beginning of his practice, was only paid an hourly salary with no medical, dental, or retirement. He didn’t even pay for her parking. Conversely Linda was given a large office, full medical and dental (a good thing, because Linda had terrible teeth), a retirement plan and a spot in the covered garage where she could park the car Dan bought for her with his and Betty’s money.

While nearly every account states that Betty shot both Linda and Dan while they slept in the bed – this is not true. Betty entered the home and headed up the stairs to Dan and Linda’s master suite. Opening the door, Betty spotted Linda who told Dan, “Call the police!” Betty shot Linda from the foot of the bed – once through the head and one in the chest. Linda died instantly. Dan rolled out of bed, trying to reach the phone, but was shot once in the chest. His final words were “OK, you shot me. I’m dead.” Betty then ripped the phone out of the wall. With this, Betty went back home.

While housed at CIW California Institute for Women, Betty confided to another prisoner, “… I won’t ever be let go because Dan was an attorney. They all hate me.” Her next payroll hearing will not come around until she turns 84.