‘TIL MURDER DO US APART

THE STORY OF HUSBAND KILLER BETTY BRODERICK IS TOLD IN DIRTY JOHN SEASON 2

- April Glover

Betty and Daniel Broderick III had a seemingly storybook marriage with an expensive house and four children living in the posh coastal town of La Jolla in San Diego.

In the early 1980s, Daniel – a well-paid malpractice lawyer – and stay-at-home mum Betty were somewhat local celebrities in their social circles and would regularly attend lavish parties with the upper echelon of La Jolla.

But this façade of perfection was shattered in 1983 when Betty, then aged 42, suspected her husband was having an affair with his 21-year-old office assistant, Linda Kolkena.

Dan strenuously denied having an extramarital affair. However, in 1985, he filed for divorce from Betty and moved out of their home.

The couple’s marriage breakdown should have remained faded ink on a long-since retired divorce lawyer’s files – but it was soon dubbed ‘America’s Messiest Divorce’ after a five-year battle between estranged spouses.

Jilted ex-wife Betty began a campaign of harassment against her former husband, including spraying graffiti inside their home, ramming her car through Dan’s new property and leaving obscene, threatening messages on his answering machines.

Dan’s legal prowess meant he won full custody of their children and avoided paying her owed alimony. This angered Betty and more than once she told her kids she would kill their father.

It didn’t help that Dan went on to marry Linda, his young assistant, either.