SAN DIEGO–District Attorney’s Office said today that parole has been denied for 15 years for Elizabeth “Betty” Broderick, 69, who was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in the 1989 killing of her former husband Dan Broderick and his wife, Linda Kolkena Broderick. The case spurred national media coverage, several documentaries, books and a made-for-television movie.
“I’m proud of our office’s work to keep this inmate behind bars where she belongs,” District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said. “We handle hundreds of parole hearings each year, doing our best to make sure dangerous criminals are not released and crime victims are given a voice. That’s exactly what happened last night.”
This was Broderick’s second hearing before the Board of Parole Hearings. She was convicted in 1991 and is currently serving a sentence of 32 years-to-life at the California Institution for Women in Corona, California.
Deputy District Attorney Richard Sachs appeared on behalf of the People of the State of California at yesterday’s hearing to argue that Broderick remains an unreasonable risk of danger to society. The hearing lasted 11 hours, a record in the state. The District Attorney’s Office also argued Broderick has not developed appropriate insight or remorse. Various members of the Broderick and Kolkena families also attended the hearing and provided victim impact statements regarding the effects of the crime upon their families and the unsuitability of the inmate for parole.
Broderick illegally entered the home of her ex-husband, Dan, and his new wife, Linda, early in November 1989. She went up the stairs to their bedroom as they slept and shot the couple with her five-shot revolver. After the shooting, Betty Broderick left the scene and was captured later that day. Broderick was 44 and his wife, Linda, was 28.
