Betty Broderick gave Dan the best years of her life: she worked tirelessly while he became a doctor, then a lawyer, and finally an untouchable millionaire in California. When success came, Dan hired a 21-year-old secretary named Linda and began treating Betty like she was crazy whenever she suspected something.
When he finally admitted the infidelity, he did not settle for divorce: he used every legal tool at his disposal to crush her. He took custody of their four children, left her without money, and deliberately provoked her so she would explode in front of the judges. Betty broke down: she left rage-filled voice messages, crashed her truck into the gate of Dan’s house, and burned his clothes. He responded by having her arrested and deducting money from her support payments for every insult.
On November 5, 1989, seven months after Dan married Linda, Betty entered the mansion with a .38-caliber revolver and shot them while they slept. She remains in prison today, serving a minimum sentence of 32 years. Where does psychological violence end and the responsibility of the person who finally explodes begin?
