Betty Broderick: Murder, Trial and Jail

Key Times articles about the case of La Jolla Socialite Betty Broderick, convicted of murdering her ex-husband and his new wife in 1989.

November 7, 1989

San Diego Killings Make Bitter Divorce Final

Two months ago, a frightened Linda Broderick confided to a friend that a bad situation was growing worse.

November 30, 1989

Broderick Tells of Rage at Slain Ex-Husband

Two days before Daniel T. Broderick III was killed, Betty Broderick received legal papers from her ex-husband that "were like hammers at my head," she said Tuesday in an interview with The Times.

March 28, 1990

Betty Broderick Confesses to S.D. Slayings

Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick on Tuesday confessed to killing her ex-husband and his new young wife last November, describing the slayings as a "desperate act of self-defense" against a man who wanted "to control me totally."

November 21, 1990

Hung Jury: Broderick Case Ends in Mistrial

With two jurors seeking a manslaughter conviction and 10 pressing for murder, the trial of La Jolla socialite Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick, accused of killing her ex-husband and his new wife, ended abruptly Tuesday with a hung jury and no verdict.

June 3, 1990

Till Murder Do Us Part

Everybody in La Jolla knew the Brodericks. Daniel T. Broderick III and his wife, Betty, seemed to have a classic society-page marriage. Dan was a celebrity in local legal circles. Armed with degrees from both Harvard Law School and Cornell School of Medicine, the prominent malpractice attorney was aggressive, persuasive and cunning--a $1-million-a-year lawyer at the top of his game. Betty spent her days shuttling her four children to and from music lessons and soccer games, planning the couple's busy social calendar and tending to the yard and housework.

December 11, 1991

Broderick Found Guilty of Murder in Second Degree

Twenty-five months and two trials after Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick shot her ex-husband and his new wife to death in their bed, the La Jolla divorcee was convicted Tuesday of two counts of second-degree murder.

February 8, 1992

Broderick Gets 32 Years to Life

La Jolla socialite Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick was sentenced Friday to the maximum term possible, 32 years to life in prison, by a judge who said the time had come to set aside the rancor that marked her divorce and murder trials and "start the healing."

February 11, 1992

Broderick Has No Regrets in Slayings

La Jolla socialite Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick, convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to the maximum prison term possible, said Monday she feels no remorse for killing her ex-husband and his second wife.

November 21, 1992

Judge Dismisses Broderick 'Distress' Suit

A lawsuit filed by Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick, stemming from an altercation with jail deputies that was videotaped and later shown on television, was dismissed Friday.

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