Betty Broderick, convicted in infamous killing of husband and his new young wife, dies at 78

Elisabeth “Betty” Broderick, who in 1989 infamously murdered her ex-husband and his new bride as they slept in the bedroom of their California home, has died at 78 while serving a life sentence.

Broderick died on Friday at the California Institution for Women of natural causes, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed to People.

Then 44-year-old Betty Broderick smiles as the verdict is read in court as her attorney hangs his head. J T Macmillan/San Diego Union-Tribune via ZUMA / Shutterstock

She was moved from the state prison three weeks ago to seek a higher level of care but details of her health condition were unclear, the outlet reported, citing the CDCR.

Her death comes nearly 37 years after she shot and killed her ex-husband Dan, 44, and his new wife Linda Kolkena, 28, while they slept in bed in their Balboa Park home, according to the LA Times.

She and her hubby, a medical malpractice attorney, married in 1969 and shared four children before divorcing on Jan. 30, 1989 following his affair with Kolkena, who was his legal assistant. 

Dan Broderick and Kolkena married on April 22, 1989, less than three months after the divorce from Betty was finalized.

After the divorce and leading up to the double murder, Betty Broderick bombarded her ex with calls, smeared Boston cream pie on his clothes, and drove her truck through the front door of his home, CBS News reported.

On Nov. 5 1989, Betty Broderick, then 41, used her daughter’s key to the newlyweds home, snuck upstairs, and fired five shots into the sleeping couple with a .38-caliber revolver.

Betty seemed surprisingly chippier as she walked towards her holding cell after being found guilty of the double murder. Don Kohlbauer/San Diego Union-Tribune via ZUMA / Shutterstock

She then pulled the phone out of the wall and left it in the hallway, out of reach of the victims, according to the LA Times.

She surrendered to the police that day and later admitted to the killings — but claimed at both her first trial, which ended in a mistrial, and the second trial, in which she was convicted, that she was emotionally and psychologically abused by her ex.

Broderick was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison in 1991 and was denied parole in 2010 and 2017.

She is survived by her four children Kim, Lee, Daniel and Rhett.