I have to say that I am not surprised in the least by the news released last week that Betty Broderick was again denied parole. Back in 2010 she was found unsuitable for release and it was stated that she had not emotionally matured nor grown whatsoever and it appears that she continues to make zero strides toward accepting responsibility for what she's done and expressing any kind of remorse.
She may feel like Dan deserved to die (I've always believed that Linda was collateral damage) but she's had years to prepare for this hearing. Why wouldn't she at least say she realizes what she's done and how wrong it was? I'm not advocating lying but . . . I mean, I just don't understand it.
I think Betty wants to stay in prison. She's been incarcerated since 1989. The world has changed a great deal while she's been in. She won't have to adapt, learn how to live in the 2017 world. She knows what to expect there. More importantly, I think she may enjoy playing the wronged wife.
Interestingly, if you search around various boards and forums about this case, opinion is still as divided as it was in 1989. Some people believe that Betty has been punished enough and should be freed. They are offended on her behalf that she put some clown through both medical and law schools and then was dumped for a bimbo office receptionist. Some say that while they agree that she was wronged, she still needs to pay for her crimes and should remain where she is. Others believe that Betty is a vicious killer who deserves no sympathy.
Which Betty do you believe in? Was she just a selfish, manipulative woman who killed out of spite? Was she pushed to being mentally unbalanced by a cruel man who used both the legal system and his mistress to dial up Betty? Was Betty always mentally unstable? Does she remain any of these things?
Given that I know someone who knew both Dan and Betty, I believe that Dan was a real asshole. I think he was fine with Betty supporting him and putting him through school but when he decided that he no longer wanted to participate in their marriage, he did not want to reimburse Betty in kind. Greed. And just an asshole. I also think that Linda had a cruel streak. I believe that she tormented Betty; by dictating the message on Dan's answering machine, by sending Betty pamphlets for weight loss; by sending Betty pictures of herself with Dan, with notes that indicated how happy they were. Heck, at the time of their deaths Dan and Linda were sleeping under a quilt that had belonged to Dan and Betty during their marriage. Very childish actions on an adult playground.
I think Betty may have had a twisted perception of marriage and women's roles based on her upbringing and her generation. But, again based on what I was told by someone who knew both Dan and Betty, I believe she was a good mother, at least before Linda. After Linda, I think she was psychologically damaged.
None of this means that she was justified in killing anyone. I'm sad for the children, who now have children of their own that do not know their Broderick grandparents. I'm sad that Betty herself apparently cannot recognize what she's done - - not just to Dan and Linda and her children but to herself.
Back to the Parole Board. In their decision to deny Betty, they gave her the longest denial possible - - 15 years. However, she can request an earlier hearing if she meets certain criteria.
I knew all parties, (except Betty), even the children. Have yout read Kim Broderick's book? she tells the truth on how negative Dan and Betty's marriage was. Granted Betty suffered with an inattentive, ambitious husband for many years, but she was hard to live with. Maybe not out on the social circuti, but at home, Betty was horrendous for many many years. Linda did NOT STEAL Dan away from Betty. Dan and Betty were on their SECOND separation when Dan met Linda, they moved in same legal circles as Linda already had a job as legal secretary when he saw her at party. they met later, and then dated even later still. Betty's behavior had all the signs of mental illness years before Dan ever moved out. As far as Linda sending things to Betty, I knew her very well, visited them in San Diego, as I had met her At Delta Air Lines in 1981. Linda told me she was very scared of Betty after she started dating Dan,she wouldn't even go to La Jolla with me during the day in approx. 1988. Linda would have never bothered to send anything to Betty to taunt her... that is a lie, or perhaps someone sent these types of things to Betty, but not Linda. Remember, whatever you read on the web, (comments or otherwise) could be written by Betty ! she has access to internet periodically and is still obsessed with her past.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
DeleteNo, I have not read Kim's book. I do agree though that the marriage of Betty and Dan was a bad one and headed down the wrong path before Linda entered the picture. I don't think Linda stole Dan but I do think she was involved with him before he was separated from Betty.
By all accounts, from someone I know who knew both Dan and Betty, and from every book and article written on the case, regardless of whose "side" they came down on, Linda was a temporary receptionist when Dan first spotted her. She was not a legal secretary. It was reported she could not type so that would make it impossible for her to be a legal secretary, especially back in the early 1980s when everyone used a typewriter.
I don't know if Linda sent things to Betty or not. An author of one of the books on the case said that a coworker of Linda's stated that she was told by Linda herself that she was sending things to Betty to get to her. Maybe it's true, maybe not. Unless you're with someone 100% of the time, who can say?
I do believe that Linda was afraid of Betty. It's too bad that Dan wasn't. If he had an alarm system on his home, maybe he and Linda would not have been shot that morning.
The entire thing is tragic. Tragic for Dan and Linda. Tragic for the Broderick children. Tragic for the Broderick and Kolkena families. Heck, tragic for Betty's family. There were no winners.
I also want to add that while I do believe that Linda was afraid of Betty, it doesn't explain why she broke into her home. I understand that she wanted to retrieve her wedding guest list but . . .
DeleteAgain, the adults in this case did not always act responsibly.