Community Chat

[FancyPhillyshopper]

Never heard of her and I really don't care that she passed.

People who murder spouses and children out of vengeance, jealousy, and desire are sad figures and add little to the history of the world. 

My condolences to the children, who grew up in this horrible environment. 

[San Antonio Gal]

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@FancyPhillyshopper wrote:

Never heard of her and I really don't care that she passed.

People who murder spouses and children out of vengeance, jealousy, and desire are sad figures and add little to the history of the world. 

My condolences to the children, who grew up in this horrible environment. 

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I thought everyone had heard about Betty Broderick.

[foxywoods]

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@Sooner wrote:

It also sounds like her expectations were unrealistic when she married someone who didn't want children.  Maybe she was someone who wanted her way, got it and didn't know how to manage it and was unhappy with the result that she should have forseen.  

It's usually not a one-sided deal.  

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@Sooner  why are you saying her husband did not want kids?  they had the first 3 because he refused to allow the use of  birth control.  The 3rd child died after birth. That was the first group of kids, there were two younger boys born a few years down the road.

[foxywoods]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@qbetzforreal wrote:

She passed away on 5/8/2026.  I hope she is finally able to rest. RIP

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@qbetzforreal 

Well, I may be the only one here who has actually spoken with Betty. 

It was the most emotionally exhausting telephone conversation I've ever had.

Back in the 1980s, I was facilitating divorce support groups in the Los Angeles area.  Somehow, Betty got my home phone number and called me.  

At that point, she and Dan were separated, but not divorced.  Her stress came in large part from the fact that Dan was a prominent attorney, and other local attorneys didn't want to take her case.   

Betty felt used and betrayed.  Her anger was palpable.   

I felt sorry for her and suggested that she could benefit from some "counselling." 

From what I recall, she felt that Dan not only betrayed her, but he was deliberately doing things to rub salt in the wounds.  She said he would call Betty and taunt her, telling her she'd get nothing and to just go away and die.

Was it true?  I have no idea, but her rage was off the charts.   

What a sad situation.

RIP Betty. 

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 @Tinkrbl44   interesting. In the Netflix series Betty attends a legal facilitation group called HALT.  A woman in the group befreinded her and also a reporter in SD was writing a story about the divorce, it was high-profile and it seems to have been well-known in the media at the time, but the husband closed the courtroom during the proceedings due to the reporters.

[febe1]

I think it's a cautionary tale: don't be callous in ending a long-term relationship in the way in which he did.

I'm not saying he might have prevented that ending, but he certainly cared about himself and treated her like an old rag!

He did many things that were avoidable and very hurtful. And he didn't seem to realize it, or care. 

Many women who don't believe in murder for anything but self defense, believe he got what he deserved. 

[qualitygal]

I jumped to this last page, how old was she now please?

[qbetzforreal]

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@qualitygal wrote:

I jumped to this last page, how old was she now please?

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@qualitygal - 78 yrs old

[Etoile308]

I think if divorcing people felt justified in eliminating every ego driven piece of sh*t out there the world would be far less populated. There is no justification, no rationalization for that degree of revenge. And perhaps some introspection could have been useful. 

I suspect his personality was always the same. Signs were there. It's best to never ignore them and do your own planning ahead. She made a choice to hold on to her anger, rather than seeking the help she needed to realize that living your best life, finding your own bliss, is the best revenge.

[beach-mom]

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@cjm61 wrote:

@San Antonio Gal I think she could not get over the fact that her husband had an affair with a much younger, prettier lady. In her eyes, money could never replace him. She believed she got him to where he was, a successful attorney. ( @qbetzforreal , it was law school not medical school)

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@cjm61 - I saw the miniseries with Meredith, then started reading about it.

One thing I read somewhere was Linda constantly tormented her, calling her fat, ugly, old, etc. 

Of course I believe no one has the right to take another life in any circumstance, but I can't imagine the toll it would take on someone to have a husband's new wife constantly demeaning his ex-wife.

Did any of her children keep in touch with her? I know he originally got custody. 

 I wonder why the jury decided second degree instead of first (?) I have no legal experience, but this definitely seems like it was premeditated.  

[chickenbutt]

I remember this story pretty well and also saw the Meredith Baxter movie.   But, I did not remember this for being in the 80s!  Yikes!  Time flies when you're gettin' old.  

I, too, wonder what happened to the kids.  I wonder how they are doing with having lost both parents, due to the crime of one of the parents, when they were pretty young.