Sept. 1, 2025

Betty and Dan Broderick - Part 2 of 3

Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconYouTube podcast player icon
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconYouTube podcast player icon

Betty and Dan Broderick were a golden couple in San Diego, CA. He, a powerful attorney; she, a devoted, fun-loving wife and mother of four. But when Dan turned 40 he became a cliche. He bought a Corvette, fell for his much younger legal assistant, and left Betty after 16 years of marriage. Their bitter six-year divorce became the most contentious in San Diego County history, a battle over money, custody, and control. On November 5, 1989, it ended in shocking violence when Betty walked into the couple’s home and killed Dan and his new wife, Linda, as they slept, turning a local divorce drama into one of the most infamous true crime cases of the century.

Listen to part 3 today on Patreon: https://patreon.com/LoveMarryKill

Today's snack: Boston cream pie

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:02.640
Hi. I'm Tina, and I'm Rich. If there's one thing

2
00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:05.120
we've learned and over twenty years of marriage, it's.

3
00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:07.200
That some days you'll feel like killing your wife.

4
00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:09.880
And some days you'll feel like killing your husband.

5
00:00:10.199 --> 00:00:28.519
Welcome to love, Mary Kill Hi Rich, Hi Tina.

6
00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:29.079
How are you?

7
00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:30.480
I'm doing good? How are you?

8
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:35.039
I'm great? We recorded yesterday, so I really don't have anything, sati.

9
00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:39.679
It's Tuesday, Taco Tuesday. I didn't make tacos.

10
00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:39.880
No.

11
00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:41.280
Did you make tacos?

12
00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:41.479
No?

13
00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:44.039
I didn't make make something for.

14
00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.079
You, though I am excited about whatever it is you made,

15
00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:49.439
because you worked hard on it and you gave me

16
00:00:49.479 --> 00:00:51.920
a little taste of it. It did one component of

17
00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:53.640
it which I don't even know what it was, but

18
00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:55.039
it tasted really good.

19
00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:58.119
I'll tell you now. It was pastry cream. I've never

20
00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:00.759
made pastry cream before. What do they call it on

21
00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:04.760
The Great British Bakeoff? I have no idea crumb patisserie.

22
00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:08.519
Oh okay, I just butchered that word, didn't I How

23
00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:09.200
would you say it?

24
00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:10.239
I think you said it right.

25
00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:12.120
Okay, Well, I have good news for you. This is

26
00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:15.120
really exciting news, and I feel like as a society,

27
00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:15.719
this is going.

28
00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:16.560
To help all of us.

29
00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:20.280
Really, The Great British Bakeoff is returning in September.

30
00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:21.359
That is so good.

31
00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:22.879
I think it's shoe.

32
00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:24.200
We do need that as a society.

33
00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:27.760
I think collectively most people can agree that that's a

34
00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:29.920
really just heartwarming Sueet show.

35
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.680
It's all so positive. It's a competition, but everyone is

36
00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:37.920
nice to each other and everyone helps each other, and yeah,

37
00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:39.159
it's just a really nice show.

38
00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:42.920
Yeah it does make you. It's just instant dopamine, and

39
00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:44.200
it just came to me. I think they call it

40
00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:48.799
like crumb pat for short. Anyway, I'm excited to share

41
00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:51.400
our snack with you. But before we get to that,

42
00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:54.640
I also wanted to mention that there is a new

43
00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:56.799
movie coming in December that you were going to be

44
00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:01.560
really excited to see. Okay, Downton Abby, the final Chapter.

45
00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.400
It's just com for it. I was out in the

46
00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:06.159
kitchen and there was a commercial that I was.

47
00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.280
Like, oh boy, I didn't realize that they were making

48
00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:11.599
like a final one. And that show also just warms

49
00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:14.919
my weird little heart. I really love it. I don't

50
00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:18.599
really like period pieces, but it's just a really heartwarming

51
00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:22.680
show also and just really funny Maggie Smith has passed on,

52
00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:25.840
and she was really just the funniest character on that show.

53
00:02:25.879 --> 00:02:29.000
So I don't know if she'll be replaced or if

54
00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:30.759
maybe she filmed it before her death.

55
00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:33.520
But I have really good news for you, okay, because

56
00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:35.639
there's another movie coming out that you're going to be

57
00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:38.759
really excited about, and that is the sequel to Spinal

58
00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:39.759
Tap is coming out.

59
00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:45.360
Oh, that's exciting. It's a funny. You really loved Spinal Tap.

60
00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:46.319
I really loved it.

61
00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.360
Thought it was you know, pretty, it's funny.

62
00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:54.360
Yeah, such a ringing endorsement. It's funny.

63
00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:57.400
I have one more show that I'm again embarrassed to

64
00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:00.319
tell you guys that I'm watching. But the podcast sometimes

65
00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:02.319
it's like a confessional, you know, like you have to

66
00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:05.240
tell everyone what you're up to. I've been watching a

67
00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.800
show called You've probably never even heard of it. It's

68
00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:12.840
called The Summer I Turned Pretty. It's an Amazon and

69
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:16.039
it's really for people like forty years younger than No,

70
00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:18.240
not for you know, it's for a bunch of younger people.

71
00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:20.879
But is this a reality show or this is no?

72
00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:24.159
But I feel like the people who watch Love Island

73
00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:28.400
are probably also turning into tuning into the summer, I

74
00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:29.319
turned pretty.

75
00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:30.360
Okay, but guilty pleasure.

76
00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:34.960
Yeah, A lot of people messaged us after I've talked

77
00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:38.159
about Love Island. If you are watching the summer, I

78
00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:40.800
turned pretty I kind of need to talk to someone

79
00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:44.000
about it because we The nugget is there's this young

80
00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:48.199
woman named Belly and she has well Isabella, and she

81
00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:51.759
has been friends with these two men, these two boys brothers,

82
00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:54.599
for her whole life, and you know, essentially it's like

83
00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:57.120
a love triangle, like which brother is she going to choose?

84
00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:58.840
And I have opinions, but I don't want to do

85
00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:02.240
any spoilers anyway. Yeah, do you want to see your

86
00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:02.840
snack that.

87
00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:04.159
I've been Yeah?

88
00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:10.080
Please, okay, here, hold on, I made a Boston cream

89
00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:10.960
pie today.

90
00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:11.680
Wow.

91
00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:13.280
Have you ever had Boston cream pie?

92
00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:17.319
No, not like a real I think I've had. I

93
00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:19.959
don't know. I've had something called Boston cream pie, but

94
00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:21.319
it doesn't look like that.

95
00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:23.399
So I wasn't sure if I would have time to

96
00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:25.800
make this today. So I did buy you know, like

97
00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:28.160
it's in a like a little box like a Hostess

98
00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.560
fruit pie like you. But I was going to try

99
00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:34.160
to make one if I had time, and I decided

100
00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:36.839
to just do it today. So it's not a pie,

101
00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:40.480
it's a cake, and then there's the crem petisserie in

102
00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:43.079
the middle, and then there's like chocolate ganash on the top.

103
00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:44.000
It looks really good.

104
00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:45.399
Do you want to give it a try?

105
00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:45.759
Yes?

106
00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:53.720
What did you think of the Boston cream Pie?

107
00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:55.079
Was really really good?

108
00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:56.319
What would you rate it?

109
00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:57.399
Ten out of ten?

110
00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:00.360
I can't tell you why I made Boston cream Pie,

111
00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:01.399
but we're going to get.

112
00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:03.439
To our case.

113
00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:06.279
It is definitely related to our case today. I also

114
00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.399
thought it was really good, and I don't want to brag,

115
00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:10.600
but I'm pretty proud of this one.

116
00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:11.120
You should be.

117
00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:14.920
I never know how much I should talk about recipes

118
00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.160
when I make them, but I'm going to give anyone

119
00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:20.319
out there who is a baker a tip. We didn't

120
00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:23.120
have any cream, and I didn't really feel like going

121
00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:26.040
to the store, so we had skim milk. So I

122
00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:28.600
just put some butter into the skim milk and that

123
00:05:28.680 --> 00:05:31.279
kind of makes it into cream. I was nervous to

124
00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:34.319
do that because I've never made pastry cream before, but

125
00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:35.600
I think it turned out really good.

126
00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:36.839
Yeah, I think so too.

127
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:40.279
Well, let's get back to Betty. If you haven't listened

128
00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.959
to part one. Go back and do that. You are

129
00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:45.439
going to give us a brief synopsis. But before we

130
00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.120
have you do that, I'm going to give a content warning.

131
00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:53.199
This episode contains harsh language. Today is extra harsh language

132
00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:56.199
and discussion of suicide, so please listen with care.

133
00:05:57.399 --> 00:06:00.879
Betty and Dan Broderick were married in nineteen sixty. From

134
00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:04.079
the beginning, they both harbored doubts about their marriage, but

135
00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:07.519
coming from strong Catholic families, they were committed for better

136
00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:10.959
or worse. They had struggled through some lean years as

137
00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:14.439
Dan finished first medical school and then law school, while

138
00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:18.120
their family expanded to four children, two girls and two boys,

139
00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:23.079
kim Lee, Dan Junior, and Rhett. Betty had always dreamed

140
00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:26.120
of having a big family and threw herself into motherhood

141
00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:29.639
and lamented that Dan was often busy working and had

142
00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:33.519
little time to spend with the family. After relocating to

143
00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:36.519
the La Joya area of San Diego, Dan started his

144
00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:41.079
own law practice. The Brodericks were thriving financially and enjoying

145
00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:44.319
the spoils of their riches. When we left off, Betty

146
00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:47.199
was nearly certain that Dan had tired of their marriage

147
00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.000
and began an affair with his young assistant, Linda Kulkena.

148
00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:53.680
In part one, we talked about the beginning of the

149
00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:58.120
Broderick's marriage. In episode two, we'll talk about the unraveling

150
00:06:58.199 --> 00:06:59.879
of their marriage.

151
00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:01.720
In part one, I didn't do a very good job

152
00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:05.800
talking about La Joya. Lahoya is an enclave of San Diego.

153
00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:09.160
It's where the wealthy people live. It's the part that

154
00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:12.680
has the ocean views. Very exclusive.

155
00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:13.079
Yes.

156
00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.560
At twenty one, Linda Bernadette Kulkna began working as a

157
00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:21.439
receptionist in the same building as Dan Broderick's law office.

158
00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:24.480
Linda was born in June nineteen sixty one, the youngest

159
00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:28.639
of four children of Dutch immigrants, Everdena and A J. Colkna.

160
00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.360
She was raised in the Salt Lake City area in

161
00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:34.720
a close knit but financially modest family. To help pay

162
00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:38.199
tuition for the Catholic school the children attended, AJ took

163
00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.720
on part time janitorial work there. When the expense became

164
00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:45.720
too much, the Kolkina children moved to public school. When

165
00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:49.319
Linda was eleven, tragedies struck. Her mother died of breast

166
00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:53.160
cancer at just thirty six years old. Only six months later,

167
00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:56.959
her father married a Dutch widow. After graduating high school,

168
00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:59.800
Linda held a string of odd jobs before becoming a

169
00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:04.279
Delta Airlines flight attendant at age twenty. The job lasted

170
00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:08.439
just eight months. She was dismissed for conduct unbecoming of

171
00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:11.800
a Delta employee while an off duty flight headed to

172
00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:15.480
a ski holiday, during which witnesses claimed she sat on

173
00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:18.920
a man's lap, kissed him, and later disappeared with him

174
00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:20.360
into the lavatory.

175
00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:22.319
I'm pretty sure that's a no no if you're a

176
00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:23.079
flight attendant.

177
00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.120
The flight attendant on duty asked Linda her name, and

178
00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:30.160
she supplied a false name, used course language, and then

179
00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:34.320
continued to carry on with the male passenger. When Dan

180
00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:37.440
hired Linda as his legal assistant, she was twenty one

181
00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.240
and he was thirty eight. Linda had only brief experience

182
00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:45.159
in a law office and little relevant training. Betty was

183
00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:48.320
shocked to learn her husband's new hire didn't even know

184
00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.639
how to type. When she confronted Dan, he dismissed her concerns,

185
00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:57.120
saying typing wasn't part of the job description. Friends of

186
00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:00.080
the couple couldn't help noticing that Linda bore a striking

187
00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:04.200
resemblance to a younger version of Betty. Their voices even

188
00:09:04.279 --> 00:09:08.360
sounded the same. So I've looked at a hundred pictures

189
00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:11.559
of Betty and Linda and Dan, and they definitely have

190
00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.480
a very striking resemblance to each other. Yeah, not in

191
00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:17.799
the older at Betty's older years, but yeah, in her

192
00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.440
younger years, definitely, And they were both like tall, you know,

193
00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:21.720
striking blonde.

194
00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:23.519
Wid Yeah, so Dan definitely had a type.

195
00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:28.080
Yeah. Betty issued an ultimatum. Dan had one month until

196
00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:31.840
October first to replace the bimbo, as she called Linda,

197
00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.759
or she would leave him. The date came and went,

198
00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:37.919
and Linda was still in Dan's employee. He made it

199
00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:42.000
clear that he would hire whomever he wanted. Betty's opinion

200
00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:44.799
be damned, and if anyone's going to leave his house,

201
00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:49.279
it would be her. Betty had issued ultimatums before, but

202
00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:52.600
Dan ignored them all she held little leverage in the marriage.

203
00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.840
Dan continued to gaslight Betty. He insisted there was nothing

204
00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:00.440
going on between him and Linda. I think sometimes people

205
00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.519
get confused about the definition of gaslighting, but this is

206
00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:07.399
one of the clearest examples of gaslighting I've ever seen. Yeah, right,

207
00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:11.919
because he's obviously having an affair and he's telling his wife, no,

208
00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:14.080
there's no affair going on, right, nothing to see here.

209
00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:17.399
When Betty found out later that Dan had bought Linda

210
00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:21.279
a car, a Kado and paid her orthodontic bill, she said,

211
00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:24.600
I should have divorced him then, before all the rest happened,

212
00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:27.879
before I let him convince everybody I was crazy that

213
00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:30.679
he was justified in what he was doing, because at

214
00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:34.279
that point I still had my reputation and my sanity

215
00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:38.639
and my children. Linda's friends and family came to her defense.

216
00:10:38.919 --> 00:10:41.639
She was no bimbo. She had only been with a

217
00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.600
handful of men in her life, and she deeply loved Dan.

218
00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:47.840
She knew the affair was wrong. The guilt nodded her.

219
00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.879
When he began, she was still dating her boyfriend Steve Kelly. Suspicious,

220
00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.320
Kelly confronted Dan directly, asking him if he was involved

221
00:10:56.320 --> 00:11:00.360
with Linda. Dan denied it. Kelly later said he never

222
00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:05.080
liked Dan, he found him cold, aloof and dismissive. Linda

223
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.919
urged Dan to end his marriage long before he finally did,

224
00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:10.799
at one point even giving him an ultimatum.

225
00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.080
Dan's gut, like a lot of ultimatums coming out.

226
00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:17.320
Definitely Dane had been unhappy with Betty for years, and

227
00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.679
by all accounts, he probably would have divorced her eventually,

228
00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:24.919
with or without Linda in the picture. Still, their relationship

229
00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.159
wasn't without friction. Linda often grew frustrated with Dan, especially

230
00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:31.679
when she felt that he was too lenient with Betty

231
00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:35.360
and theirs wasn't a torrid love affair. Linda complained to

232
00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:37.720
friends that Dan rarely wanted to have sex with her.

233
00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:42.639
Linda's friends begged her to leave Dan. One friend said, quote,

234
00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:45.519
Linda was so stressed out she lost weight. She used

235
00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.399
to carry maylocks in her purse at twenty six, twenty

236
00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.240
seven years old, her nails were bitten to the quick.

237
00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:54.600
She said, Betty was driving them crazy, and she couldn't

238
00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:58.000
do anything to please those kids. The emotional battery in

239
00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.759
this case was never against Betty, it was against them.

240
00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:06.000
On November seventh, nineteen eighty three, Betty's thirty seventh birthday,

241
00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:09.879
she made a gourmet dinner and purchased a Baskin Robin's cake,

242
00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:13.200
the kid's favorite. When Dan didn't come home or call,

243
00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.840
Betty was bereft. Later that night, in a moment of despair,

244
00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:19.960
she tried to take her own life by swallowing pills

245
00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:24.159
and slitting her wrists. I never wanted to dismiss anyone's

246
00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:28.519
attempt of suicide, but in this case, Kim, Betty's daughter,

247
00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:32.120
said in her book that it was a faint hearted attempt.

248
00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:35.399
When Betty awoke the next morning, Dan bandaged her wrist

249
00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:38.039
and told her that she was crazy. There was nothing

250
00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:41.159
going on at the office. Betty went about her day

251
00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:45.159
as she always did, pretending everything was okay. She decided

252
00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.679
to see a psychologist, but quit after only a few sessions.

253
00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:52.519
Her girlfriends gave her better advice than the therapist. She

254
00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:57.159
was adamant that Dan needed help, not her. Weeks later,

255
00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:59.799
on Dan's birthday, Betty got dressed up and stopped by

256
00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:03.440
a office, which she rarely did. She had roses and

257
00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:07.440
a bottle of Don Parignon in her hand. Finding balloons,

258
00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:09.840
the remnants of a birthday cake, and both Dan and

259
00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:13.879
Linda gone for the day, Betty was overcome with sadness. Enraged,

260
00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:16.960
she poked her head into Linda's office and saw a

261
00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:21.080
picture of her and Dan together. She was also shocked

262
00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:24.200
at the posh furnishings of Linda's office. It was lavishly

263
00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:28.200
decorated and considering her role as Dan's assistant, it was

264
00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.279
a little over the top. Well, and she had a

265
00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.919
picture of you know, it was Linda and Dan, just

266
00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.039
to make it clear. Yeah, that's pretty bold, Yeah for sure.

267
00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:39.320
And I said that Betty poked her head into the office.

268
00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:43.639
In all likelihood, Betty probably rummaged through everything in the

269
00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:48.039
office yet looking for proof and details. Later, Betty said

270
00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:50.879
it was the worst pain I've ever felt. I didn't

271
00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:55.000
want to believe it, but I believed it. Once home,

272
00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:58.679
she tore every piece of Dan's prized wardrobe from the closet,

273
00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:02.600
curled it into the back, soaked it with gasoline, and

274
00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:06.879
said it ablaze. If you remember from part one, Dan's

275
00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:11.480
image and his clothing was all very fancy. He'd loved

276
00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:14.559
to dress, and even before they had money, he bought

277
00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:18.159
designer labels and had custom suits and dressed the very best.

278
00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:20.879
So this was, you know, a really good way of

279
00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.000
showing him how she felt. When the fire had burned

280
00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.279
down to embers, Betty poured paint over the charred remains.

281
00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:30.240
Her only regret was that the children had witnessed it.

282
00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:33.840
They cried and begged her to stop. To add to

283
00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:36.720
Betty's humiliation, a fire truck pulled up to the house

284
00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:40.159
after a neighbor had called seeing the rising dark smoke.

285
00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:43.440
In the years that followed, this particular act would be

286
00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:46.159
remembered as one of Betty's tamer displays of vengeance.

287
00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:46.559
Oh boy.

288
00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:49.960
Dan was still denying the affair to Betty and would

289
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:53.720
for two more agonizing years, but he and Linda were

290
00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:56.799
openly a couple among Dan's circle of friends and colleagues.

291
00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.399
Why do you think he denied it for so long

292
00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:02.879
when it seen like it was so obvious, and you know,

293
00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.799
it seems like he was pretty committed to his new relationship.

294
00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:08.919
That's a really good question. And I don't have an

295
00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:12.159
answer for you other than I think that he didn't

296
00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:16.000
want to get divorced then or maybe remember like they

297
00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:19.480
were accumulating a lot of wealth and he might have

298
00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.360
been like setting things up for a divorce.

299
00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:24.679
Okay, so maybe just trying to take his time, lay

300
00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:25.440
the groundwork.

301
00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:28.440
And yeah, but maybe early on he didn't think he

302
00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:31.080
wanted a divorce, Yeah, but later on he did.

303
00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:33.440
It would be really tough being married to a lawyer

304
00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:36.159
and having a bad marriage or having it go south,

305
00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:39.159
because absolutely, just in such a bad position, like you

306
00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:41.879
just know the lawyer is going to be able to,

307
00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:44.759
you know, do whatever they want and take you for

308
00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:46.080
a ride if they want well.

309
00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:48.159
And that is one of the key factors in this case.

310
00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:51.279
And if your husband is Dan Broderick, who was known

311
00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:54.639
as just an excellent lawyer, it made it even harder.

312
00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:59.399
Yeah, Dan Broderick was indeed a legal mastermind. No one

313
00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.159
can dispute that he had been planning the exit from

314
00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:05.799
his marriage for years, and unfortunately, his plan was to

315
00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:10.240
leave Betty with as few resources as possible. California, even

316
00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:14.000
in nineteen eighty five, was a community property state, but

317
00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:16.360
there would be no equal division of assets in the

318
00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:20.480
Broaderick marriage. Dan would make sure of that. When their

319
00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:23.120
family home had a cracked foundation, they were forced to

320
00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:26.320
move out for several months. During the repair, they rented

321
00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:28.879
a house on the beach, but later Dan moved back

322
00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:31.679
into their house on Coral reef Avenue. As if to

323
00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:35.720
stake his claim, he sold Betty's Jaguar and leased her

324
00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:40.159
another car. This left Betty with no equity. Despite his

325
00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:43.120
affair with Linda, Betty remained hopeful that Dan would come

326
00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:46.720
to his senses and feel compelled to keep their family intact.

327
00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:50.080
Betty was sure that Dan would tire of his mistress.

328
00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:53.879
She was pretty, but boring, and nowhere near as smart

329
00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:57.320
as Betty. Dan needed a partner who could challenge him,

330
00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:00.080
go toe to toe with him. Linda didn't have a

331
00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:01.919
college degree and couldn't even type.

332
00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:04.759
I read a lot of different articles with quotes from

333
00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:07.359
Betty at a lot of types. She said she couldn't

334
00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:10.319
even type, so I wanted to save it a few

335
00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:11.720
times in my script, gotcha.

336
00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:15.119
Betty did everything she could to keep her family together

337
00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:20.440
and her husband. Interested facials, expensive hair salon treatments, and

338
00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:24.680
even visiting the plastic surgeon for several procedures. She read

339
00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:28.240
books on midlife crises found even more creative ways to

340
00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:31.920
spend time with her kids. Every waking moment of Betty's

341
00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:35.160
day was filled with thoughts of self improvement and saving

342
00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:40.000
her marriage. But Dan continued to gaslight her, insinuate she

343
00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:43.319
was crazy and insists he wasn't having an affair as

344
00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:47.359
he continued to withdraw from Betty and their family. In

345
00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:49.640
a last ditch effort, Betty went to see a doctor

346
00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:54.279
about reversing her tubul ligation to have another child. Dan

347
00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:58.240
seemed excited at the idea of expanding their family. Betty

348
00:17:58.279 --> 00:18:01.519
wishfully thought that maybe Dan wasn't really having an affair.

349
00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:04.920
Dan later said that he continued to lie to Betty

350
00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:08.680
because she was mentally unstable and he was afraid of her.

351
00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:11.599
Here's Betty talking to Oprah.

352
00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:13.440
Did you ask him if he was having an affair?

353
00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:17.200
Yes, And he totally denied it and said I was

354
00:18:17.240 --> 00:18:20.400
imagining things, and I was crazy, and that Linda was

355
00:18:20.440 --> 00:18:23.440
a sweet, innocent young girl and there was absolutely nothing

356
00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:26.799
going on, never was. And oh and by the way,

357
00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:30.519
your fat, old, boring, ugly and stupid just started coming

358
00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:33.160
on the scene. Then he was unhappy with everything in

359
00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:33.640
his life.

360
00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:35.960
He told you that you were fat and old and

361
00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:37.759
boring and stupid. He said this word.

362
00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:39.960
And he didn't like our home, and he didn't like

363
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:42.400
our children. And it was to me, it was an

364
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:47.359
absolute classic midlife crisis. And I devoured every book on

365
00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:48.400
the subject.

366
00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:50.039
To the point of even he got the red corvette.

367
00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:50.559
Is that true?

368
00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:54.279
Got the red corvette, the risky business sunglasses, the scarf

369
00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:56.599
around his neck, the leather jacket. I told him he

370
00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:57.799
was the American joke.

371
00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:02.559
Thanks to a special correspond on an Oprah Winfrey for

372
00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:03.359
that interview.

373
00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:05.880
Forgot that Oprah was on our payroll. Thank you.

374
00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:09.440
We've gotten better about using clips, and I hope that

375
00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:11.960
this doesn't get tagged because it's like a thirty year

376
00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.160
old interview, so it'll probably be okay. Yeah, I know

377
00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:18.440
we haven't talked about exactly what's going to happen yet,

378
00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:20.599
but I think everyone can see the writing on the wall.

379
00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:23.359
Even in this brief clip, you can tell that Betty

380
00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:27.559
is not willing to take any accountability for what happened

381
00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:28.599
in their marriage.

382
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:30.599
Yeah, she definitely seems like and.

383
00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:33.000
She's angry, very angry.

384
00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:38.720
Yes. How long after whatever happened happened did this interview

385
00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:39.240
take place?

386
00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.200
Was it a year? More than just one year?

387
00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:42.599
Okay?

388
00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:45.480
But if you asked Betty the same questions today, she

389
00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:48.079
would respond in the exact same way, I believe. Yeah.

390
00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.680
Kim Broderick, in her book Betty Broderick The Mother the Murderer,

391
00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:56.559
wrote that during this time her mother was quote difficult

392
00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.480
and course and even though in years past she could

393
00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:02.400
be loads of fun, that mom was gone and had

394
00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:05.759
been gone for some time. Overcome with her own life

395
00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:09.720
and circumstances, she lashed out at every opportunity, and we,

396
00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:13.039
being the only ones around, ended up being the unintended

397
00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:17.200
recipients of her fury. In November nineteen eighty four, Betty

398
00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:20.799
planned an elaborate five day fortieth birthday party for Dan.

399
00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:24.559
She flew in family members and booked them all hotels.

400
00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:28.559
Upon arrival in San Diego, everyone was handed a printed

401
00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:32.440
and demanding schedule. Each moment of the next five days

402
00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:37.240
meticulously planned, they went to SeaWorld Tijuana and a usc

403
00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:41.359
Notre Dame game. The weekend culminated in a lively party

404
00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.200
with all of Dan's friends and family, where laughter and

405
00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:47.759
celebration filled the night. Betty had a true flare for

406
00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:50.880
the birthdays and holidays. She knew exactly how to make

407
00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:54.680
every gathering sparkle. We'll be back after a break.

408
00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:04.640
A few months later, on February twenty eighth, Dan came

409
00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:08.079
home and abruptly told Betty he was leaving her, not

410
00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:12.119
necessarily permanently, but he needed time apart to think things through.

411
00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:14.720
He moved back to their Coral Reef home that was

412
00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:17.680
under construction, which may have been a defensive move on

413
00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:21.240
his part from preventing Betty from getting the house, but

414
00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:24.160
on Saint Patrick's Day. After a day of drinking, Dan

415
00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.559
showed up at Betty's. He must have been feeling sentimental

416
00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:31.079
as an Irish Catholic, it was his favorite holiday. He

417
00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.640
and Betty had sex, and for a brief moment she

418
00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:36.240
again thought that she might win him back for good,

419
00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:40.960
but that hope evaporated quickly when the rental home became

420
00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:44.200
infested with rats. Betty called Dan for help, only to

421
00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:47.319
be told to deal with it herself. Now she was

422
00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:51.039
seething with red hot anger. How dared Dan walk away,

423
00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:54.319
leaving her with four children in an army of rats

424
00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:58.480
chewing through her designer gowns without ever once checking in

425
00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:03.200
on them. This described in Betty's book was pretty harrowing.

426
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.799
Like there were rats like running around, and like the

427
00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:08.400
kids were scared, And.

428
00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:09.359
That sounds awful.

429
00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:13.640
It does sound awful. Betty's close friend Candy Westbrook later said,

430
00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:17.200
you literally couldn't ask Betty about the weather without her

431
00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.720
finding a way to bring the conversation back to Dan

432
00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:23.200
and Linda. It was all she would talk about. She

433
00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:26.680
just didn't want it to be. Betty was planning a

434
00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:29.319
trip to New York for her father's seventy fifth birthday.

435
00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:32.240
Before leaving, she dropped the children off at Dan's house

436
00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:35.519
without telling him. When he came home to find them

437
00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:38.880
sitting alone in the dark, he was shocked and furious.

438
00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:43.200
But Kim, the oldest Broadery sibling, remembers the incident differently.

439
00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:46.960
It was easter. I asked her to drive my friend

440
00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:50.240
home and she lost it. She said, pack your bags.

441
00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:53.599
When Betty dropped Kim off at dance, no one was home,

442
00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.519
and she waited hours on the doorstep for Dan to return.

443
00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:59.920
A few days later, Danny arrived the same way, follow

444
00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:02.240
by RHTT and Lee a month and a half later.

445
00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.000
So one by one she sent the kids to Dan's

446
00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:09.359
house and she was just she couldn't deal with them. Yeah,

447
00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:12.839
kimra called. The boys were hysterical, holding on to her,

448
00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:16.720
crying and screaming, crying hard. Don't leave us here. It

449
00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:19.799
was awful, she said, I'm leaving. Your dad's not going

450
00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:23.000
to get away with this. Other than the murders she'd

451
00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:25.960
later commit, this decision would haunt Betty for the next

452
00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:29.880
three years and beyond. Later, in a session with the therapist,

453
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.799
Betty fumed, you know what that fucker did, He just

454
00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:36.559
kept them. Betty convinced herself that once Dan had the

455
00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:39.359
children full time, he would finally realize how much he

456
00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:43.400
needed her, that after experiencing firsthand the work she put in,

457
00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:46.480
he would beg her to return. But Dan was not

458
00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:49.119
the kind of man to admit such things. With the

459
00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:51.079
money to hire an army of people to care for

460
00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:55.200
the children, he didn't need, Betty. The real tragedy was

461
00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.720
that caught in the middle of all this bitterness, the

462
00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:01.799
children were left feeling as though neither parents truly wanted them.

463
00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:05.079
Betty was able to see and talk to Kim Lee, Danny,

464
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:07.920
and Redd, but she never regained full custody of them.

465
00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:10.559
And it's really sad. I can see how they would

466
00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:13.480
feel that way, Like, yeah, mom drops us off because

467
00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:16.119
she doesn't want us, and then Dad just hires a

468
00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:18.079
bunch of help and he doesn't really want to spend

469
00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:18.759
time with us either.

470
00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:21.960
Yeah, it was very hard on the children. Betty accused

471
00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:24.400
Linda of sending her a photo of she and Dan

472
00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:29.000
together before he filed for divorce. The typed posted attached

473
00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.519
to the photo said, it must kill you to see

474
00:24:31.559 --> 00:24:35.880
these two happy people together. Eat your heart out, bitch, While.

475
00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:38.599
In caps seems unnecessary soon.

476
00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:42.039
After, ads for weight loss products and wrinkle cream followed.

477
00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:46.559
Linda's friends adamantly denied that she would torment Betty in

478
00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:50.240
this way. It simply wasn't her style. I don't think

479
00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:52.400
Linda sent these things to Betty either.

480
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:53.880
Do you think Betty made this up?

481
00:24:54.119 --> 00:24:56.880
I think that she did it to herself. She had proof,

482
00:24:57.319 --> 00:25:01.279
But remember Linda can't type, and it was typed on

483
00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:03.799
a post it note and adhered to the picture.

484
00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:06.720
Even someone who can't type could type, you know, a

485
00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:08.319
few words out of post it hope, but.

486
00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:13.400
Oh sure, Always defending Linda no no. After losing full

487
00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:16.160
custody of the children, Betty began a slow descent into

488
00:25:16.359 --> 00:25:19.759
erratic and self destructive behavior. In the months of Betty's

489
00:25:19.799 --> 00:25:23.720
absence from Coral Reef Avenue, Dan had redecorated their family home,

490
00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:27.920
repainting and adding new furniture and flooring. When Betty walked

491
00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:31.640
in and saw the changes, she was furious. She called

492
00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:36.000
her response the beginning of her fits. She went to

493
00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:40.160
the store, purchased black spray paint, and did her own redecorating.

494
00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:44.119
Friend's voice concerns for her mental health, but Betty insisted

495
00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:47.680
she wasn't crazy. She was angry, and she had every

496
00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:51.200
right to be. So she took this black spray paint

497
00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:54.319
and she like Spraye. She graffited all over the wall.

498
00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:56.480
Of the house. Yeah Yeah.

499
00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.000
When the lease of the rat infested rental house was up,

500
00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:03.720
Betty put one hundred and forty thousand dollars down on

501
00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.160
a large, six hundred and fifty thousand dollars home in

502
00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:10.640
the Hoya with ocean views. Dan gave her the money.

503
00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:13.759
They'd been looking for a house with no success for years.

504
00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:17.480
The house needed major renovations, but Betty was hoping that

505
00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:19.359
she and Dan could do it together and have a

506
00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:22.519
fresh start. When Dan gave her the money, she took

507
00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:26.039
this as a green light. During this time, he limited

508
00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:29.359
Betty's access to their children as much as possible, but

509
00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:32.480
one afternoon, while visiting them at his house, Betty spotted

510
00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:35.559
a cake on the counter or a Boston cream pie,

511
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:39.319
Dan's favorite. She had baked that cake for him more

512
00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:42.640
times than she could count. What a shitty little pie,

513
00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:45.559
she thought out loud. When it hit her that Linda

514
00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:49.599
had made it, something in her snapped. She stormed upstairs

515
00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:53.319
and began hurling pieces of the cake through Dan's bedroom bathroom,

516
00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:57.440
and closet, smearing custard and chocolate over his beloved clothes

517
00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:01.799
he had neatly arranged in rainbow order. In response, Dan

518
00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:05.920
filed a restraining order against Betty. In her book, Betty

519
00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:09.240
admitted only that she smeared some cake on the bedspread.

520
00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:12.519
How much damage can you do with one crabby little cake?

521
00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:15.400
Even if you are really really angry, and I was,

522
00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:18.960
Betty had a way of diminishing any of her trespasses

523
00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:20.519
as minor transgressions.

524
00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:22.400
I have to say I'm a little bit relieved, because

525
00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:24.119
where I thought you were going with that was that

526
00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:26.640
she was going to put something in the cake. Oh,

527
00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:28.279
and then I was going to be worried that you

528
00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:30.480
would put something in the cake that you had made

529
00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:31.119
for me.

530
00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:34.640
But that's the only thing I put in that cake.

531
00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:38.799
Rich was love. Two days later, she returned to the

532
00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:42.720
house despite the restraining order and opened the refrigerator. She

533
00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:45.480
found a bottle of champagne, grabbed it by the neck,

534
00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:49.279
and heaved it through one of the windows, shattering the window. Instantly,

535
00:27:50.359 --> 00:27:52.720
Dan knew that the best weapon in his arsenal, the

536
00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:56.079
one that he knew best, was the legal system. This

537
00:27:56.200 --> 00:28:00.279
infuriated Betty every small request resulted in a letter to

538
00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:04.200
her in legal ease, and he insisted she put every

539
00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:08.279
request to him in writing as well. Whenever Betty stepped

540
00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:10.960
out of line, even in small ways, Dan marched into

541
00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:14.119
court and filed what's called in order to show cause,

542
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:19.119
or an OSC. Each OSC required Betty to stand before

543
00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:22.799
a judge and explain herself to attempt to defend her

544
00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:27.279
behavior again and again. Over time, her file grew thicker,

545
00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:30.839
a public record of her unhidd behavior and the death

546
00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:34.880
of a marriage. Dan also devised a system of finding Betty,

547
00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:38.680
but we'll get to that in a minute later. During

548
00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:42.000
their divorce trial, Dan recited these incidents in a cold,

549
00:28:42.119 --> 00:28:45.480
meticulous inventory. You pounded a nail in the wall with

550
00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:49.039
a hammer. You smashed the answering machine. You shattered the

551
00:28:49.079 --> 00:28:52.960
sliding glass doors. You spray painted the wallpaper even over

552
00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:57.079
the fireplace. You broke the television, You cracked the plexiglass

553
00:28:57.119 --> 00:29:00.400
cover of the stereo. You hurled a toast through the

554
00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:04.839
front window of the house. Some were pre petty, almost trivial,

555
00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:08.759
but others were serious and costly. But this inventory painted

556
00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:11.640
a picture of a woman unraveling and of a man

557
00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:16.880
determined to document an exact revenge for every misstep. The

558
00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:21.119
OSCs curtailed Betty's destructive era to an extent, but she

559
00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:22.920
still had a lot to say and a lot of

560
00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:26.559
hurt to work out. The media was captivated by the Broadericks,

561
00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:29.680
and their bitter, high profile divorce came to be likened

562
00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:33.920
to the War of the Roses. Historically, the War of

563
00:29:33.960 --> 00:29:36.960
the Roses was a series of English civil wars fought

564
00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:40.640
between fourteen fifty five and fourteen eighty seven for control

565
00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:44.319
of the throne. The conflict was between two rival branches

566
00:29:44.359 --> 00:29:48.200
of the Royal House of Plantagenet, the House of Lancaster

567
00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:50.759
symbolized by the Red Rose, and the House of York,

568
00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:55.160
symbolized by the White Rose. It ended when Lancasterian Henry

569
00:29:55.160 --> 00:29:58.519
Tudor defeated Yorkist King Richard the Third at the Battle

570
00:29:58.519 --> 00:30:02.119
of Bosworth, and he it became Henry the Seventh, founding

571
00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:06.039
the Tudor dynasty. The Battle of Taunton in fourteen sixty

572
00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:09.079
one is one of the bloodiest ever fought on English soil,

573
00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:12.599
with an estimated twenty eight thousand casualties.

574
00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:14.759
Here I thought that the War of the Roses was

575
00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:17.440
just a movie with Michael Douglas.

576
00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:19.200
And oh, Danny DeVito was in that movie.

577
00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:22.200
Now Michael Douglas and Kathleen.

578
00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:26.880
Speaking of roses, Dan sent Betty a bouquet for her

579
00:30:26.920 --> 00:30:29.680
thirty eighth birthday. Whether it was meant as a gesture

580
00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:32.519
of goodwill or a snarky reminder of their own private

581
00:30:32.519 --> 00:30:35.880
war of the roses is anybody's guess. The card read,

582
00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:39.160
Dear Bets, I know the circumstances will make it impossible

583
00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:41.319
for you to have a happy birthday this year, but

584
00:30:41.400 --> 00:30:43.440
I wanted you to know that the kids and I

585
00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:47.359
are thinking and hoping that you start to feel better soon. Dan.

586
00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:50.599
Wow, that's like it feels like twisting the night. You

587
00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:52.359
think so, But yeah, it feels that way.

588
00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:54.839
I like to think that it's a sincere gesture, but

589
00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:55.880
you think it was snarky.

590
00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:59.160
Maybe it was sincere, but it certainly could have been

591
00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:01.799
taken by Betty as being kind of snarky.

592
00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:04.799
I guess thee I hope you're feeling better soon. No,

593
00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:06.279
that was that was kind of snarky.

594
00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:10.759
The OSCs piled up each month for years. Many of

595
00:31:10.759 --> 00:31:13.599
them were for phone messages she'd leave for Dan or

596
00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:16.680
the children. But we'll get to that soon. It would

597
00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:19.240
be impossible for us to list all of the offenses,

598
00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:22.079
but there were a lot, a lot, a lot. In

599
00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:25.480
May nineteen eighty seven, an exhausted judge sentence Betty to

600
00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:28.839
twenty five days in jail for five charges of contempt

601
00:31:28.920 --> 00:31:32.279
of court. She spent six days in jail before she

602
00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:35.839
apologized to the court. If she had directly apologized to

603
00:31:35.880 --> 00:31:39.599
the judge, she'd likely have been spared jail time. Here's

604
00:31:39.640 --> 00:31:43.359
the best apology she could muster, Judge Joseph, as per

605
00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:46.359
your request, I promised to change my ways. I will

606
00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:48.640
never again call my children as long as they are

607
00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:53.279
living with their amoral, alcoholic, abusive father. This whole thing

608
00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:56.400
has been excruciatingly painful for the children and for me.

609
00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:59.359
They come to me as they should, with all their

610
00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:02.880
heartbreaking troubles. I thought it was my duty, and I

611
00:32:02.920 --> 00:32:04.839
know it is my right as their mother to be

612
00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:07.759
there for them always. But I will let the self

613
00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:11.200
important Harvard lawyer president of the Bar beat us all

614
00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:15.279
he obviously loves beating women and children. I will do

615
00:32:15.319 --> 00:32:19.160
anything to escape this escalating madness, the letter went on.

616
00:32:19.880 --> 00:32:22.160
So this was supposed to be an apology to the

617
00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:24.039
judge for contempt of court charges.

618
00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:27.680
Yeah, not the best attempt at an apology I've ever heard.

619
00:32:27.799 --> 00:32:27.960
Well.

620
00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:31.559
Also, Betty accuses Dan of beating women and children, and

621
00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:33.519
that is not true.

622
00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:36.880
Yeah, it wasn't much of an apology, but the judge

623
00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:40.279
set her free. Upon her release, she wrote a lengthy

624
00:32:40.359 --> 00:32:44.720
letter rescinding her apology and calling the judge biased. There

625
00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:48.119
were several more OSCs waiting for her when she returned home.

626
00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:52.599
When friends sympathized with her experience in jail, Betty said,

627
00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:55.680
it wasn't so bad. I made some new friends.

628
00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:58.359
A lot of times in this case. Like you said

629
00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:02.519
it earlier, how Betty had been treated fairly when Dan

630
00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:05.640
was president of the San Diego Bar Association and he

631
00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:08.440
knew all the judges, and he was really good at

632
00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:10.839
what he did. But then you look at this case

633
00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:14.000
and it does sound like the judge was somewhat tolerant

634
00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:16.079
of her bad behavior sometimes.

635
00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:20.440
Yeah, she definitely didn't do herself any favors. No, By

636
00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:23.519
the fall of nineteen eighty seven, the judge, so exhausted

637
00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:27.519
by the Brodericks, refused to hear any more OSCs. One

638
00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:30.240
of the most surprising parts of Betty's story is that

639
00:33:30.279 --> 00:33:33.000
she started dating in the summer of nineteen eighty five.

640
00:33:33.640 --> 00:33:37.039
His name was Brad Wright, a handsome, rugged fellow six

641
00:33:37.119 --> 00:33:40.000
years Betty's junior who owned a fencing company.

642
00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:42.640
He was pretty hunky, was he. Yeah.

643
00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:47.440
They had an adventurous relationship, traveling and sailing together. Betty

644
00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:51.160
was coy about their relationship. She seemed embarrassed by his

645
00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:54.440
blue collar job, although he was successful and had a

646
00:33:54.480 --> 00:33:57.759
degree from usc He was a very nice man, but

647
00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:00.920
Betty was used to the constant sparring with Dan, and

648
00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:04.720
she missed that. She denied any intimacy with him, citing

649
00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:07.599
her conservative values and the fact that it would have

650
00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:11.480
been unseemly because she was still technically married. She even

651
00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:15.320
told some people that Brad was her gay companion. Quote.

652
00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:18.639
I felt so stupid and failed and old. Here I

653
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:21.800
was getting fat in my ugly matron's dress with this

654
00:34:21.920 --> 00:34:24.920
young hunk, this sweet guy. But he was a nobody,

655
00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:26.960
and I didn't want to be the other half of

656
00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:30.119
a midlife crisis joke. I felt like a fool, and

657
00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:33.480
everybody acted as if we didn't even exist. I went

658
00:34:33.519 --> 00:34:36.280
overnight from front row tables to the back of the room.

659
00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:40.039
I think this is kind of an important quote here,

660
00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:43.199
because you can tell that part of the reason that

661
00:34:43.239 --> 00:34:45.599
she didn't want to be divorced is she like the

662
00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:47.639
status of being with Dan Broderick.

663
00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:48.119
Yeah.

664
00:34:48.159 --> 00:34:52.440
He was very smart, very successful, and they had a

665
00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:53.360
lot of status too.

666
00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:55.199
Yeah. Well, in the fact that she refers to this

667
00:34:55.239 --> 00:34:58.199
guy as a nobody, I mean that goes to that

668
00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:00.639
same thing that she really didn't want to be with

669
00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:02.400
somebody she considered like lower.

670
00:35:02.599 --> 00:35:05.280
Yes, it seemed like he was a very sweet guy

671
00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:07.960
who really did support her a lot.

672
00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:12.119
She saw other men too occasionally, but Brad was smitten

673
00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:14.679
with Betty and was there for her, even for the

674
00:35:14.679 --> 00:35:17.800
hard parts that were yet to come. Dan filed for

675
00:35:17.880 --> 00:35:21.920
divorce soon after. In September nineteen eighty five, he sat

676
00:35:21.960 --> 00:35:23.960
Betty down and told her what he should have told

677
00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:27.119
her three years earlier. He admitted that he had been

678
00:35:27.159 --> 00:35:30.599
having an affair with Linda since nineteen eighty three. He

679
00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:32.639
was in love with her and wanted to marry her.

680
00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:36.320
He had no plans to reunite their family. It was

681
00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:40.239
also cruel to Betty, she said, quote that was my job,

682
00:35:40.280 --> 00:35:43.519
and I was fired without cause I hadn't done anything wrong.

683
00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:48.199
It wasn't fair, Betty sobbed NonStop for days before she

684
00:35:48.280 --> 00:35:51.599
tried to piece herself back together. Her first step was

685
00:35:51.639 --> 00:35:55.400
to hire an attorney. Betty remembered back to the promise

686
00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:58.360
Dan had made in nineteen seventy six when they attended

687
00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:01.599
a marriage retreat. He wrote her a touching letter that

688
00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:04.760
she had hung her hopes on for years. Quote, I

689
00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:07.639
have always thought about next summer, next year, after I

690
00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:10.239
make partner, after I am earning enough money to be

691
00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:14.239
able to afford trips, boats, etc. Even now, I believe

692
00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:16.840
that our lives together will be much happier when money

693
00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:19.800
ceases being a problem. It will enable us to do

694
00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:22.360
a lot of things, like travel to Europe that will

695
00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:26.400
be shared experiences we will, I hope, enjoy and never forget.

696
00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:28.559
I want to be able to take you and the

697
00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:31.199
kids to South Bend every fall for a game without

698
00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:34.239
thinking twice about it. To buy a piano if Kim

699
00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:38.039
wants one, to buy you a ring, a motorbike, a microwave,

700
00:36:38.079 --> 00:36:41.320
a camera, whatever you want, when you want it. I

701
00:36:41.360 --> 00:36:44.519
honestly believe that having this ability will make me happy

702
00:36:44.599 --> 00:36:47.119
and secure, and will make me a more loving and

703
00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:48.320
more lovable person.

704
00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:50.880
Things don't make you happy, Dan.

705
00:36:50.960 --> 00:36:53.760
No it really seems like they are like or he is,

706
00:36:53.800 --> 00:36:56.360
at least in this note putting a lot of stock

707
00:36:56.440 --> 00:37:01.119
in material possessions being the key to happiness. He was

708
00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:03.400
now breaking the promise he had made to her and

709
00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:07.000
the children, and it shattered her. Unable to express her

710
00:37:07.039 --> 00:37:11.239
pain directly, Betty's hurt instead erupted as rage and acts

711
00:37:11.239 --> 00:37:14.719
of violence. Dan had shipped all four children off to

712
00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:17.800
summer camps, and Betty had freedom, and she did her

713
00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:21.280
best to enjoy that. In between missing the kids. She

714
00:37:21.360 --> 00:37:24.079
still had access to Dan's credit cards and used them

715
00:37:24.159 --> 00:37:28.320
with reckless abandon spending as much as possible. It was

716
00:37:28.360 --> 00:37:31.360
the only thing that made her feel better. Her house

717
00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:34.559
was filled with shopping bags from high end retailers that

718
00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:38.679
were never opened. They sat in corners for years. At

719
00:37:38.679 --> 00:37:41.519
the end of the summer, Dan told her enough and

720
00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:44.199
put her on a budget of nine thousand, thirty six

721
00:37:44.239 --> 00:37:48.079
dollars a month twenty seven thousand dollars today, or three

722
00:37:48.159 --> 00:37:50.280
hundred and twenty four thousand dollars for a year.

723
00:37:50.440 --> 00:37:52.840
I would take that budget, yeah, it would take on.

724
00:37:52.760 --> 00:37:56.880
It same, although she seldom received the full amount. Dan

725
00:37:56.960 --> 00:38:00.639
had devised a system of finding Betty without core approval,

726
00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:04.440
deducting money to punish her for what he deemed bad behavior,

727
00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:08.159
one hundred dollars for every curse word, two hundred and

728
00:38:08.159 --> 00:38:11.559
fifty dollars each time she stepped on to his property uninvited,

729
00:38:12.159 --> 00:38:15.119
five hundred dollars if she entered his house, and one

730
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:18.400
thousand dollars whenever she took the children without his consent.

731
00:38:19.519 --> 00:38:22.440
One month. The deductions were so hefty that Betty ended

732
00:38:22.519 --> 00:38:26.119
up owing Dan thirteen hundred dollars. I don't know for sure.

733
00:38:26.119 --> 00:38:27.800
What I'm just guessing was a lot of this because

734
00:38:27.800 --> 00:38:31.239
of her language. Like she she liked to swear a lot, didn't.

735
00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:33.920
She she really did.

736
00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:37.519
Betty was fined one thousand dollars for using offensive language

737
00:38:37.559 --> 00:38:41.920
ten times, fifteen hundred dollars for trespassing outside Dan's house

738
00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:46.199
six times, and twenty five hundred dollars for trespassing inside

739
00:38:46.199 --> 00:38:49.440
his house five times. When Betty showed up at his

740
00:38:49.480 --> 00:38:52.719
house demanding an explanation as to why she owed him money,

741
00:38:53.039 --> 00:38:56.239
he told her to leave. When she refused, he had

742
00:38:56.239 --> 00:39:00.639
her arrested for violating the restraining order. Betty asked the

743
00:39:00.679 --> 00:39:04.599
court to reconsider her alimony, requesting thirty thousand dollars a month,

744
00:39:04.960 --> 00:39:08.000
about a third of what she believed Dan earned each month.

745
00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:11.960
He countered with seventy three hundred dollars, down from nine

746
00:39:11.960 --> 00:39:15.559
thousand dollars, but a judge sided with Betty sort of

747
00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:19.199
and increased her alimony to twelve thousand, five hundred dollars

748
00:39:19.199 --> 00:39:22.960
a month. This pushed Betty into a higher tax bracket,

749
00:39:23.239 --> 00:39:25.760
so the taxes on the new payment meant she actually

750
00:39:25.800 --> 00:39:30.320
received less than the previous nine thousand dollars. Upon the

751
00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:34.239
court's request, Betty submitted an itemized list of her nineteen

752
00:39:34.280 --> 00:39:37.719
eighty six expenses, which totaled over two hundred and twenty

753
00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:39.000
thousand dollars can.

754
00:39:38.840 --> 00:39:41.800
You remember multiply that times three, right.

755
00:39:42.239 --> 00:39:44.719
And asked for her alimony payment to be set to

756
00:39:44.760 --> 00:39:47.719
at least twenty three thousand, six hundred dollars a month.

757
00:39:48.280 --> 00:39:51.800
The judge decided on sixteen thousand, one hundred dollars.

758
00:39:52.719 --> 00:39:55.800
Imagine the judge like, that's so much money. Obviously, her

759
00:39:55.800 --> 00:39:59.840
alimonia payments are more than the judges making, and probably

760
00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:02.480
more most lawyers in the room. So I just must

761
00:40:02.480 --> 00:40:05.440
have seen somewhat absurd, Yeah, to the judge and a

762
00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:06.320
lot of other people.

763
00:40:06.559 --> 00:40:10.079
Right when Betty tried to hire a divorce attorney in

764
00:40:10.119 --> 00:40:12.840
San Diego. She couldn't find anyone who was willing to

765
00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:15.719
do battle with Dan Broderick, so she went to Los

766
00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:18.840
Angeles and hired Daniel Jaffey, who was also a very

767
00:40:18.880 --> 00:40:23.159
good attorney. So confident after their first meeting, she treated

768
00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:28.039
herself to a new fifteen thousand dollars maroon Jaguar. Although

769
00:40:28.119 --> 00:40:31.920
Jaffy soon tired of Betty's shenanigans. Here's an excerpt from

770
00:40:31.920 --> 00:40:34.719
a letter he sent to her. If you can live

771
00:40:34.800 --> 00:40:37.840
within the guidelines, I will continue to represent you, but

772
00:40:37.920 --> 00:40:39.840
I want to spend my time on finding out what

773
00:40:39.920 --> 00:40:43.119
happened to the broaderick moneies and getting you some of them,

774
00:40:43.400 --> 00:40:45.960
rather than spending my time keeping you out of jail.

775
00:40:46.800 --> 00:40:51.519
He closed by suggesting she seeks psychiatric treatment. Their relationship

776
00:40:51.599 --> 00:40:54.960
was short lived. Betty went through five attorneys in the

777
00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:57.400
coming years, eventually representing herself.

778
00:40:58.280 --> 00:41:01.840
Can you believe that eventually she's going to be defending herself?

779
00:41:02.159 --> 00:41:03.880
I can. She seems like the kind of person who

780
00:41:03.920 --> 00:41:05.920
would want to defend herself, So yes, I can do a.

781
00:41:06.079 --> 00:41:09.239
Very bad idea. But this Joffe guy actually sounded like

782
00:41:09.280 --> 00:41:12.400
a pretty nice guy. Years later, when he heard that

783
00:41:12.599 --> 00:41:16.400
she was defending herself, he contacted the judge and told

784
00:41:16.440 --> 00:41:19.519
them that this was unfair and outrageous, that Betty was

785
00:41:19.559 --> 00:41:23.360
in a very difficult situation. She was finding against Stan

786
00:41:23.519 --> 00:41:25.599
in a San Diego courtroom. So he was one of

787
00:41:25.639 --> 00:41:28.280
the people. It was just like, this woman is not

788
00:41:28.320 --> 00:41:30.840
going to get justice because you know, of all the

789
00:41:31.559 --> 00:41:33.079
extenuating circumstances.

790
00:41:33.159 --> 00:41:34.960
Yeah, that was very nice of him, and he had

791
00:41:35.239 --> 00:41:38.960
he didn't have to do that. Always cash strapped, Betty

792
00:41:39.039 --> 00:41:41.800
once resorted to giving an attorney the ten thousand dollars

793
00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:45.679
necklace from around her neck as a retainer. Betty finally

794
00:41:45.719 --> 00:41:48.880
agreed to see a psychiatrist after the prodding of everyone

795
00:41:49.000 --> 00:41:52.639
remaining in her life. The doctor called her the angriest

796
00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:55.960
client she had ever met. She called Dan to caution

797
00:41:56.079 --> 00:41:58.800
him to be careful with Betty because she believed she

798
00:41:58.880 --> 00:41:59.880
could be homicidal.

799
00:42:00.800 --> 00:42:04.039
This might sound like a violation of doctor patient confidentiality,

800
00:42:04.199 --> 00:42:07.039
but it's called a terrasof warning. It's when a therapist

801
00:42:07.039 --> 00:42:10.920
determines a client possesses a serious threat of danger to

802
00:42:11.159 --> 00:42:15.840
an identifyble individual, they must take reasonable steps to warn

803
00:42:15.880 --> 00:42:19.000
the potential victim, law enforcement or both.

804
00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:24.000
The doctor contacted Dan after her second meeting with Betty too,

805
00:42:24.119 --> 00:42:27.480
so the doctor contacted Dan again like a second time

806
00:42:27.519 --> 00:42:28.559
after the second meeting.

807
00:42:28.760 --> 00:42:30.440
I think it had to be done each time.

808
00:42:30.599 --> 00:42:34.840
Oh okay wow. But their relationship was short lived that

809
00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:38.360
he didn't return after the third session. Quote, I'm not

810
00:42:38.440 --> 00:42:41.360
coming back because you're too good. You make me forget

811
00:42:41.360 --> 00:42:44.679
how much I hate him. We'll be back after a break.

812
00:42:51.639 --> 00:42:54.000
If there was one thing that truly drove Betty over

813
00:42:54.039 --> 00:42:56.159
the edge, it was the custody of her and Dan's

814
00:42:56.159 --> 00:42:59.920
four children. She had practically been a single parent, present

815
00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:04.679
for every milestone an important moment in their lives. She'd volunteered,

816
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:08.320
organized school events and poured herself into their upbringing, only

817
00:43:08.360 --> 00:43:10.760
to have Dan arrange for her to be banned from

818
00:43:10.800 --> 00:43:14.199
their schools. From the day that she'd dropped the children

819
00:43:14.199 --> 00:43:19.159
off at Coral Reef Avenue. Dan had restricted her visitation. Yet,

820
00:43:19.199 --> 00:43:22.960
even with the children, Betty sometimes felt conflicted, once telling

821
00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:25.599
the psychiatrist why I'm not going to be the single

822
00:43:25.639 --> 00:43:28.800
parent of four kids. He'll die first. The less I

823
00:43:28.840 --> 00:43:33.719
see of them, the better. No kids, no bother you'll see. Oh,

824
00:43:33.920 --> 00:43:35.239
that's really harsh, isn't it.

825
00:43:35.719 --> 00:43:38.639
I guess I'm not sure exactly what she's saying here.

826
00:43:38.800 --> 00:43:41.119
I think she's saying that she really doesn't want to

827
00:43:41.159 --> 00:43:44.079
be a single parent of four kids. Okay, Like if

828
00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:46.199
she and Dan can't do it together, she doesn't want to.

829
00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:48.400
Okay, Yeah, that pretty harsh.

830
00:43:48.840 --> 00:43:48.960
Well.

831
00:43:49.039 --> 00:43:52.119
Dan liked to communicate with Betty via carefully worded letters.

832
00:43:52.159 --> 00:43:55.440
For the official record, Betty preferred to pick up the phone.

833
00:43:56.000 --> 00:43:59.719
She took to leaving blistering messages on Dan's answering machine,

834
00:44:00.199 --> 00:44:04.679
sometimes just nasty, other times so wildly obscene. They bored

835
00:44:04.760 --> 00:44:08.360
it on creative. Those calls didn't just fuel their feud,

836
00:44:08.599 --> 00:44:12.039
they landed her in serious trouble. In nineteen eighty seven,

837
00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:14.639
Betty spent six days in jail on a contempt of

838
00:44:14.679 --> 00:44:17.400
court charge, punished for what came out of her mouth.

839
00:44:18.079 --> 00:44:22.599
Here's an example of just one day's messages. Warning, these

840
00:44:22.639 --> 00:44:27.440
messages are very explicit. Okay, I don't mind swearing, but

841
00:44:27.639 --> 00:44:31.320
there is one word in here that I am uncomfortable saying,

842
00:44:31.360 --> 00:44:33.440
but I'm going to say it. It's to see you

843
00:44:33.519 --> 00:44:34.239
next Tuesday.

844
00:44:34.280 --> 00:44:34.639
Works.

845
00:44:34.840 --> 00:44:37.800
So I know Australia are friends in Australia don't mind

846
00:44:37.840 --> 00:44:40.639
and are friends in Great Britain, but here it's it's

847
00:44:40.639 --> 00:44:42.960
a pretty bad one kind of taboo. But I'm gonna

848
00:44:43.039 --> 00:44:44.360
let it rip because Betty did.

849
00:44:44.559 --> 00:44:44.880
Okay.

850
00:44:45.320 --> 00:44:49.320
I'm here for authenticity, gotcha. This is a message to

851
00:44:49.719 --> 00:44:52.199
fuckhead and the kunt. You have one hell of a

852
00:44:52.239 --> 00:44:54.639
nerve dumping the kids here on the sidewalk and zooming

853
00:44:54.719 --> 00:44:58.199
away without making any attempt to communicate me about my

854
00:44:58.320 --> 00:45:01.239
plans for the weekend. Me sick, both of you. I

855
00:45:01.280 --> 00:45:02.880
have a good mind to dump the kids back on

856
00:45:02.920 --> 00:45:05.760
you and drive away. Call me we have a lot

857
00:45:05.800 --> 00:45:08.360
to talk about, asshole, and come pick up your ford

858
00:45:08.440 --> 00:45:12.360
children that you're working so hard to have custody of. Congratulations,

859
00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:16.599
you can have them. A few minutes later, fuckhead, come

860
00:45:16.599 --> 00:45:18.480
get the kids. I want to get rid of them,

861
00:45:18.679 --> 00:45:21.880
but I don't like driving to your shitty neighborhood. Hurry

862
00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:25.719
up and come get the asshole. An hour later, fuckhead

863
00:45:25.760 --> 00:45:28.559
and the cunt come get the kids and her last

864
00:45:28.559 --> 00:45:31.679
call of the day. I actually love this machine because

865
00:45:31.679 --> 00:45:34.360
then I can really just say anything I want. Tell

866
00:45:34.400 --> 00:45:36.519
the kids that you don't think it's wrong that you're

867
00:45:36.559 --> 00:45:39.000
skewing the cunt in the hall, that has her legs

868
00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:42.280
wide open for anybody who comes by. And you paid

869
00:45:42.320 --> 00:45:45.039
for it. God, you got a sense of humor. I

870
00:45:45.199 --> 00:45:48.920
love it. You're all fucked. So Betty's favorite word or

871
00:45:49.000 --> 00:45:51.639
name for Linda was see you next Tuesday.

872
00:45:51.800 --> 00:45:53.840
I gathered that. Yeah, thank you got that. Yeah.

873
00:45:54.159 --> 00:45:56.639
There was also a teenline at Dan's house with another

874
00:45:56.719 --> 00:46:00.400
answering machine. Dan frequently turned off the ringer, letting the

875
00:46:00.440 --> 00:46:03.800
calls go straight to the answering machine, where Linda's voice

876
00:46:04.039 --> 00:46:08.280
Herkiley gave the greeting. In response, Betty left dozens of

877
00:46:08.320 --> 00:46:13.239
propane messages, often highlighting her favorite word, see you next Tuesday.

878
00:46:13.800 --> 00:46:17.079
Quote hunt, what is your voice doing on this machine?

879
00:46:17.280 --> 00:46:20.400
If it's the Broaderg's residence? That assumes you're a broaderick

880
00:46:20.440 --> 00:46:23.360
and you're nothing but a cunt. Anyway, where are my

881
00:46:23.440 --> 00:46:26.719
darling children? Here's a clip of one of the calls.

882
00:46:29.440 --> 00:46:29.760
What's this?

883
00:46:29.880 --> 00:46:30.079
Wing?

884
00:46:30.199 --> 00:46:32.559
Can't come to the phone. You're not supposed to come

885
00:46:32.559 --> 00:46:35.360
to the phone at the house. You're supposed not the

886
00:46:35.400 --> 00:46:37.400
house to the phone.

887
00:46:38.199 --> 00:46:41.719
So those bleeps were swords and other things.

888
00:46:41.760 --> 00:46:45.239
Yeah, exactly. So Betty was so infuriated by Linda's voice

889
00:46:45.280 --> 00:46:48.360
on the machine. A judge told Dan get the girlfriend

890
00:46:48.440 --> 00:46:52.280
off the machine. In general, I don't think that Linda

891
00:46:52.480 --> 00:46:56.840
purposely tormented Betty, but on this occasion, why would she

892
00:46:56.920 --> 00:47:00.239
have left the message on the kid's answering machine like

893
00:47:00.360 --> 00:47:03.480
it was taunting Betty? They shouldn't be surprising that Dan

894
00:47:03.639 --> 00:47:06.679
saved the tapes and had them transcribed and use them

895
00:47:06.719 --> 00:47:10.280
against Betty in court. And she did threaten to kill

896
00:47:10.320 --> 00:47:14.880
him more than once on these tapes. Here's another message, bucket,

897
00:47:15.079 --> 00:47:17.280
who do you think you're kidding? Look in the mirror

898
00:47:17.320 --> 00:47:20.519
and tell me who do you think you're kidding? Jesus Christ,

899
00:47:20.599 --> 00:47:23.360
you're like a slug with the fancy tie on, too

900
00:47:23.400 --> 00:47:25.559
load a kick and too wet to step on. Just

901
00:47:25.599 --> 00:47:28.360
that ring a bell? Love to the cunt.

902
00:47:28.800 --> 00:47:29.000
Well.

903
00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:31.760
I think some of these messages are very funny. This

904
00:47:31.920 --> 00:47:35.760
was the answering machine that the kid's answering machine, and

905
00:47:35.800 --> 00:47:39.360
they were subjected to hearing these messages on a daily basis.

906
00:47:39.519 --> 00:47:42.480
Fun Dan brought the messages to a judge and Betty's

907
00:47:42.519 --> 00:47:47.280
visitation privileges were temporarily paused, but even that didn't stop her.

908
00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:51.119
Betty said, I was entitled to explode, and the truth

909
00:47:51.159 --> 00:47:54.599
is I loved leaving those messages. All I ever had

910
00:47:54.719 --> 00:47:57.320
was my tongue, and I did it for the shock value.

911
00:47:57.679 --> 00:48:00.000
And every time I used that language on his machine,

912
00:48:00.239 --> 00:48:02.559
I felt a little bit better. For a while, I

913
00:48:02.599 --> 00:48:04.119
couldn't stop from doing it.

914
00:48:04.679 --> 00:48:07.239
Just picturing what Betty would be like if she lived

915
00:48:07.280 --> 00:48:08.639
in an era of social media.

916
00:48:09.480 --> 00:48:13.239
Yeah, she would be tough to deal with. So this

917
00:48:13.400 --> 00:48:17.000
next part is heart wrenching. Dan even went so far

918
00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:19.679
as to record Betty's phone calls with the children. One

919
00:48:19.719 --> 00:48:22.719
of these tapes, later known in court as the Danny Tape,

920
00:48:23.119 --> 00:48:27.480
captured a heartbreaking thirty minute conversation between Betty and her

921
00:48:27.559 --> 00:48:31.400
ten year old son. Here's a short clip some Danny.

922
00:48:31.840 --> 00:48:33.239
He's absolutely.

923
00:48:34.239 --> 00:48:37.920
He's seated and lied and man, there's nothing.

924
00:48:38.039 --> 00:48:40.880
Don't you think being mad for two years is enough

925
00:48:41.000 --> 00:48:45.360
of them?

926
00:48:45.639 --> 00:48:50.039
We were so happy, so happy.

927
00:48:50.679 --> 00:48:52.559
I know the Lord you love her happy.

928
00:48:52.599 --> 00:48:55.000
Here, if you just stop saying God.

929
00:48:54.880 --> 00:48:59.960
Words, well you had a crime by what I mean

930
00:49:01.119 --> 00:49:03.119
right now? You very stop.

931
00:49:05.559 --> 00:49:06.119
Oh that is.

932
00:49:06.119 --> 00:49:06.920
Heartbreaking to hear.

933
00:49:07.639 --> 00:49:08.480
It breaks my heart.

934
00:49:08.519 --> 00:49:12.159
Literally, Yeah, it's it's really sad. And I have to say,

935
00:49:12.199 --> 00:49:15.960
like Danny's kind of wise beyond his yours, saying like,

936
00:49:16.239 --> 00:49:17.239
isn't two years enough?

937
00:49:17.280 --> 00:49:17.440
To do.

938
00:49:18.159 --> 00:49:21.199
Absolutely, it's probably time to, you know, try to think

939
00:49:21.199 --> 00:49:22.039
about moving on.

940
00:49:23.119 --> 00:49:26.719
And Bella Stumbo's book. Until the twelfth of never, the

941
00:49:26.880 --> 00:49:30.360
entire transcript of the call is revealed. The feud between

942
00:49:30.559 --> 00:49:33.719
Danny's parents clearly took a heavy toll on him. It

943
00:49:33.800 --> 00:49:36.559
must have devastated all the children, robbing them of the

944
00:49:36.639 --> 00:49:41.360
safety instability every child deserves. Danny comes across as wise

945
00:49:41.360 --> 00:49:44.119
beyond his years, forced to grow up far too quickly.

946
00:49:44.719 --> 00:49:47.000
Betty spoke to him as if he were an adult,

947
00:49:47.599 --> 00:49:48.519
like a confidant.

948
00:49:48.800 --> 00:49:49.239
Yeah.

949
00:49:49.280 --> 00:49:52.480
Well, he repeatedly begged her to stop using foul language

950
00:49:52.559 --> 00:49:55.159
so he could come live with her. That's really what

951
00:49:55.320 --> 00:49:57.519
both of the boys wanted. They wanted to live with her,

952
00:49:57.880 --> 00:50:00.920
but she couldn't, you know, put her behavior, yeah, and

953
00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:03.480
the language beside, you know, long enough to put their

954
00:50:03.480 --> 00:50:08.199
best interest first. Betty did this with all of the children.

955
00:50:08.320 --> 00:50:11.400
She shared far too many adult details with them and

956
00:50:11.480 --> 00:50:15.199
pitted them against Dan and Linda. The tape ended with

957
00:50:15.280 --> 00:50:18.280
Danny saying, so you want to be mad for another

958
00:50:18.320 --> 00:50:21.440
two years, and after that four years, and then maybe

959
00:50:21.480 --> 00:50:25.239
another six years. Like you said, Danny is so bright

960
00:50:25.360 --> 00:50:28.920
and perceptive. Betty has often claimed that she lived for

961
00:50:28.960 --> 00:50:32.599
her children and was the best mother, but Kim recalls

962
00:50:32.599 --> 00:50:36.039
it differently. She remembers a childhood mark by neglect, with

963
00:50:36.199 --> 00:50:40.199
parents too observed in their own battles to provide supervision, discipline,

964
00:50:40.320 --> 00:50:44.760
or emotional support to her. Betty may have been physically present,

965
00:50:45.159 --> 00:50:48.039
but she had checked out mentally and emotionally when her

966
00:50:48.119 --> 00:50:52.360
children needed her the most. In her book, Kim talked

967
00:50:52.360 --> 00:50:55.400
about the younger years of her childhood, and she said

968
00:50:55.440 --> 00:50:58.960
they were very good, and Betty was great then, which

969
00:50:59.000 --> 00:51:01.320
was the soccer coach, And you know they took great

970
00:51:01.320 --> 00:51:05.360
family vacations. But you know, once the affair happened, something

971
00:51:05.519 --> 00:51:06.199
just changed.

972
00:51:06.280 --> 00:51:09.480
Yeah, it seems like she was fixated on that. In

973
00:51:09.559 --> 00:51:12.599
nineteen eighty seven, as Christmas approached, Betty was going to

974
00:51:12.639 --> 00:51:15.639
take the kids skiing. She asked Dan for an extra

975
00:51:15.719 --> 00:51:18.960
five thousand dollars for the trip. He countered with two

976
00:51:18.960 --> 00:51:22.400
thousand dollars. Betty refused to go unless he gave her

977
00:51:22.440 --> 00:51:25.800
five thousand. When Dan denied the money to Betty, she

978
00:51:25.920 --> 00:51:29.199
decided to go to Pasadena instead to spend the holidays

979
00:51:29.239 --> 00:51:33.159
with Brad Wright's family. Dan and Linda took the kids skiing.

980
00:51:34.079 --> 00:51:36.559
Annoyed at the thought of paying someone to tend after

981
00:51:36.599 --> 00:51:39.920
the family's two small shitsus that she'd been stuck with.

982
00:51:40.320 --> 00:51:43.920
She tied red bows around Topsy and muffins necks and

983
00:51:44.079 --> 00:51:47.519
entered Dan's house illegally once again, and left the dogs

984
00:51:47.559 --> 00:51:49.400
there for the week unattended.

985
00:51:49.519 --> 00:51:51.760
Oh boy, right, I mean, I don't know if there

986
00:51:51.800 --> 00:51:53.559
was a doggy door, but still.

987
00:51:53.559 --> 00:51:56.960
Yeah, it's not going to be good. That Christmas, Betty

988
00:51:57.039 --> 00:51:59.760
mailed out cards to friends and family, but instead of

989
00:51:59.760 --> 00:52:03.800
a cheerful holiday update, she included a long, bitter letter

990
00:52:04.199 --> 00:52:07.599
cataloging her grievances against Dan over the past three years

991
00:52:08.000 --> 00:52:11.480
and the unraveling of her marriage. The woman who had

992
00:52:11.559 --> 00:52:15.559
once been so polished and image conscious was gone. Betty

993
00:52:15.639 --> 00:52:18.719
no longer cared about appearances or about what people thought

994
00:52:18.760 --> 00:52:22.199
of her. What mattered now was bringing Dan down with her.

995
00:52:22.880 --> 00:52:26.400
She wanted to expose into the world as a narcissistic adulterer,

996
00:52:26.719 --> 00:52:30.679
an alcoholic, and an abuser. Betty left for a week

997
00:52:30.760 --> 00:52:34.000
to Tahiti after the New Year. She couldn't afford the trip,

998
00:52:34.039 --> 00:52:37.360
but needed a change of scenery. When she returned home,

999
00:52:37.440 --> 00:52:41.039
she found her home trashed. Someone had discharged a fire

1000
00:52:41.079 --> 00:52:44.559
extinguisher in the living room, ruining her floors and furniture.

1001
00:52:45.440 --> 00:52:49.119
Lee sixteen, the second oldest Broderick child, the child that

1002
00:52:49.119 --> 00:52:51.840
Betty said was most like her, was going through a

1003
00:52:51.840 --> 00:52:55.320
hard time. Her coping mechanism was to party with a

1004
00:52:55.360 --> 00:52:59.400
new group of unsavory friends. She ran away and remained

1005
00:52:59.400 --> 00:53:03.000
missing for six months, checking in with her mother only occasionally.

1006
00:53:03.920 --> 00:53:06.480
She was living on the beach, refusing to come home

1007
00:53:06.760 --> 00:53:11.199
and making choices that terrified Betty. Meanwhile, Dan disowned her

1008
00:53:11.239 --> 00:53:14.480
and formally wrote her out of his will. At the time,

1009
00:53:14.639 --> 00:53:17.239
Lee thought he was bluffing, but a few short years

1010
00:53:17.280 --> 00:53:19.679
later she would learn that Dan was a man of

1011
00:53:19.719 --> 00:53:23.760
his word. When Lee finally resurfaced, Betty took her to

1012
00:53:23.800 --> 00:53:27.159
a rehab facility, but she checked herself out after just

1013
00:53:27.199 --> 00:53:31.639
three days. Her rebellion continued. Lee racked up so many

1014
00:53:31.679 --> 00:53:36.360
speeding tickets that her license was eventually suspended, not surprising

1015
00:53:36.480 --> 00:53:39.039
at all that someone of her age would act out

1016
00:53:39.039 --> 00:53:40.400
this way after what she'd been through.

1017
00:53:40.559 --> 00:53:43.159
Yeah, Unfortunately, kids were collateral damage.

1018
00:53:43.840 --> 00:53:47.360
Dan proposed to Linda on bended knee on June twenty sixth,

1019
00:53:47.480 --> 00:53:51.239
nineteen eighty eight, her twenty seventh birthday, with an impressive

1020
00:53:51.320 --> 00:53:52.639
diamond and emerald ring.

1021
00:53:53.360 --> 00:53:56.280
This may have also been a dig at Betty. I

1022
00:53:56.320 --> 00:53:59.400
think the last Christmas that the Broaderks were together as

1023
00:53:59.400 --> 00:54:02.559
a family, Betty had made many hints to Dan that

1024
00:54:02.639 --> 00:54:06.679
she wanted like this emerald ring, big emerald ring. And

1025
00:54:06.719 --> 00:54:09.559
when she didn't get the emerald ring, Kim and her

1026
00:54:09.599 --> 00:54:13.480
book said that she'd never seen Betty angrier, and she

1027
00:54:14.000 --> 00:54:17.360
made a huge fit and ruined Christmas over it. So

1028
00:54:17.480 --> 00:54:21.320
when I saw that Dan bought Linda, you know, yeah,

1029
00:54:21.400 --> 00:54:23.480
an emerald ring, I was like, well, that's sort of

1030
00:54:23.519 --> 00:54:25.480
things like that. Yeah.

1031
00:54:25.719 --> 00:54:29.480
The story made the San Diego Union newspaper quote the

1032
00:54:29.599 --> 00:54:32.159
earnest looking fellow down on one knee on the floor

1033
00:54:32.199 --> 00:54:35.840
at Dobson's the other night was attorney Dan Broderick asking

1034
00:54:35.880 --> 00:54:39.840
his paralegal Linda Coulkeena to marry him. Much too public

1035
00:54:39.880 --> 00:54:43.000
a proposal to turn down. They will marry in April.

1036
00:54:43.920 --> 00:54:47.239
The onlookers at the restaurant smiled and cheered after the proposal.

1037
00:54:48.000 --> 00:54:50.840
Linda and Dan told friends they wanted at least five

1038
00:54:51.000 --> 00:54:54.800
children together. When Dan and Linda married at their mansion

1039
00:54:54.880 --> 00:54:57.760
in the spring of nineteen eighty nine, he hired two

1040
00:54:57.800 --> 00:55:01.960
security guards to watch over the festiv Linda wanted him

1041
00:55:01.960 --> 00:55:04.760
to wear a bulletproof vest, but Dan didn't think Betty

1042
00:55:04.800 --> 00:55:08.960
would kill him because he was the golden goose. Linda

1043
00:55:09.000 --> 00:55:12.000
begged him to install a security system or at least

1044
00:55:12.000 --> 00:55:15.119
get a guard dog, but Dan balked he knew that

1045
00:55:15.199 --> 00:55:18.039
no matter what precautions he took, Betty would find a

1046
00:55:18.079 --> 00:55:22.239
way to circumvent them. Here's Dan toasting his new bride.

1047
00:55:22.840 --> 00:55:24.679
As is a monster.

1048
00:55:25.039 --> 00:55:25.880
Her best quality.

1049
00:55:25.920 --> 00:55:29.280
She has the most wonderful, pleasant, sweet disposition of any

1050
00:55:29.320 --> 00:55:30.039
woman I've ever known.

1051
00:55:30.079 --> 00:55:32.719
I really knew that I put the cart before the

1052
00:55:32.760 --> 00:55:36.039
horse there a little bit, But by this point Dan

1053
00:55:36.239 --> 00:55:40.000
and Betty were divorced, so he was not.

1054
00:55:40.559 --> 00:55:44.920
He wasn't a big amiss then, okay, gotcha. Betty tried

1055
00:55:44.960 --> 00:55:48.440
to move on after she began dating Brad the younger man.

1056
00:55:48.599 --> 00:55:51.599
She went to a plastic surgeon for several more procedures,

1057
00:55:52.039 --> 00:55:56.480
a forehead lift, eyelid surgery, and a tummy tuck. Later,

1058
00:55:56.559 --> 00:55:58.880
she admitted it only made her feel better for about

1059
00:55:58.920 --> 00:56:03.880
an hour. Nothing seemed to bring lasting happiness anymore. Betty

1060
00:56:03.920 --> 00:56:06.719
sank into a deep depression from nineteen eighty five to

1061
00:56:06.800 --> 00:56:09.519
nineteen eighty nine and nothing could pull her out of it.

1062
00:56:09.920 --> 00:56:12.360
According to Betty, the sale of their family home on

1063
00:56:12.559 --> 00:56:16.360
Coral Reef Avenue was the ultimate betrayal. Dan had told

1064
00:56:16.360 --> 00:56:18.760
her that he planned to sell it, but only after

1065
00:56:18.840 --> 00:56:23.119
he'd already purchased a grand, five bed, six bath Georgian

1066
00:56:23.199 --> 00:56:27.199
style mansion near a Bilboa Park for four hundred thousand dollars.

1067
00:56:27.639 --> 00:56:30.119
It was priced so low because the house was oddly

1068
00:56:30.159 --> 00:56:33.760
placed in a modest neighborhood. The first two offers on

1069
00:56:33.840 --> 00:56:37.280
the Coral Reef house fell through when Betty rejected them

1070
00:56:37.440 --> 00:56:41.119
without much thought or explanation, but when the third offer

1071
00:56:41.159 --> 00:56:44.880
came in, Dan didn't breathe a word of it to her. Instead,

1072
00:56:45.599 --> 00:56:49.239
she says that he used his legal knowhow to push

1073
00:56:49.280 --> 00:56:52.880
the sale through without her consent. Betty was in the

1074
00:56:52.880 --> 00:56:55.480
middle of making a delightful roast be for her visiting

1075
00:56:55.559 --> 00:56:59.000
parents and sons when her newest attorney called her to

1076
00:56:59.039 --> 00:57:02.199
tell her that her formal family home had been under contract.

1077
00:57:02.880 --> 00:57:06.519
She snapped. She cheerfully told her parents that she had

1078
00:57:06.519 --> 00:57:08.519
an errand to take care of and that she'd be

1079
00:57:08.599 --> 00:57:12.360
right back. Fueled by rage, she climbed into her Chevy

1080
00:57:12.360 --> 00:57:16.079
suburban and drove straight to Dan's new home. He refused

1081
00:57:16.159 --> 00:57:18.360
to talk to her, and he slammed the door in

1082
00:57:18.400 --> 00:57:21.760
her face. She drove to the Coral Wreef house, found

1083
00:57:21.800 --> 00:57:24.760
a can of gasolene in the garage and began pouring

1084
00:57:24.760 --> 00:57:27.639
it through the house, but quickly came to her senses

1085
00:57:27.760 --> 00:57:31.639
and returned to Dan's house. She didn't park on the street. Instead,

1086
00:57:31.679 --> 00:57:35.199
she floored the accelerator drove through the gate, with her

1087
00:57:35.239 --> 00:57:39.239
tires ripping across the manicured lawn. She pressed the brake

1088
00:57:39.360 --> 00:57:42.960
after she crashed into the front door. Two of her

1089
00:57:43.039 --> 00:57:47.679
children were inside the house when Dan came rushing out. Furious,

1090
00:57:47.800 --> 00:57:51.360
he yanked open the suburban's door, pulled her out, and

1091
00:57:51.480 --> 00:57:55.239
punched her in the chest. Stunned, Betty fell to the ground,

1092
00:57:55.320 --> 00:57:57.719
shocked that Dan had hit her. It was the first

1093
00:57:57.719 --> 00:58:00.519
and only time that he'd ever hit her. There were

1094
00:58:00.559 --> 00:58:04.039
also rumors that there was a knife in her suburban.

1095
00:58:04.920 --> 00:58:07.119
My don't think she threatened him with it, but later

1096
00:58:07.199 --> 00:58:09.280
she said, oh, I'd just been out shopping that day

1097
00:58:09.320 --> 00:58:13.000
and bought a knife. Okay, here's a clip of Betty

1098
00:58:13.039 --> 00:58:16.199
talking about the incident to Oprah. You did drive try

1099
00:58:16.199 --> 00:58:18.079
to drive the car through the door, did.

1100
00:58:17.880 --> 00:58:21.360
You not I did purposely, And you know, I did

1101
00:58:21.480 --> 00:58:23.400
bang my car into his door. I didn't try to

1102
00:58:23.480 --> 00:58:26.000
drive it through anything. I banged my car into his door.

1103
00:58:26.519 --> 00:58:29.920
The day that he sold the family home, the only

1104
00:58:29.960 --> 00:58:32.480
home we've ever owned that had my name on it

1105
00:58:32.519 --> 00:58:34.599
and his name on it. He sold it in court

1106
00:58:34.679 --> 00:58:38.599
without notifying me in any way, shape or form. And

1107
00:58:38.639 --> 00:58:40.199
I went to his house and said, how did you

1108
00:58:40.280 --> 00:58:42.400
do that? You can't do that, and he told me

1109
00:58:42.400 --> 00:58:44.559
I had ten seconds to get off his property.

1110
00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:46.800
So then you got in the car, and I.

1111
00:58:46.800 --> 00:58:49.760
Looked at that house as the only asset it was, indeed,

1112
00:58:49.760 --> 00:58:51.840
the only asset that had my name on it.

1113
00:58:51.880 --> 00:58:53.119
Nothing else did. Ever.

1114
00:58:54.039 --> 00:58:56.280
Once again, it seems like she is not willing to

1115
00:58:56.320 --> 00:58:58.920
take any accountability for her own action. Not that Dan

1116
00:58:59.119 --> 00:59:01.440
is perfect, didn't. No, absolutely.

1117
00:59:02.480 --> 00:59:03.679
Definitely antagonized her.

1118
00:59:03.920 --> 00:59:07.559
Yeah, but she just seems like she can't take own

1119
00:59:07.639 --> 00:59:07.920
up too.

1120
00:59:08.599 --> 00:59:10.440
That's a normal response, right.

1121
00:59:10.679 --> 00:59:12.320
Yeah, Well of course I did that because of this

1122
00:59:12.400 --> 00:59:12.880
and this and this.

1123
00:59:13.159 --> 00:59:17.039
Yeah, like I stopped at the door, right yeah, but

1124
00:59:17.360 --> 00:59:19.880
you know, the door was damaged, for what it's worth.

1125
00:59:20.880 --> 00:59:24.599
The confrontation ended before anyone was hurt, but Betty's fury

1126
00:59:24.719 --> 00:59:27.639
was palpable. When the police arrived, they put Betty into

1127
00:59:27.679 --> 00:59:31.159
a straight jacket. Within hours, she was admitted to a

1128
00:59:31.199 --> 00:59:34.719
mental hospital, where she spent the next three days, another

1129
00:59:34.840 --> 00:59:38.440
explosive chapter in a divorce that was already spiraling out

1130
00:59:38.480 --> 00:59:42.000
of control. But she insisted to the psychiatrist that it

1131
00:59:42.039 --> 00:59:46.440
was Dan who was crazy, not her. Betty's parents caught

1132
00:59:46.440 --> 00:59:49.000
the next flight available home after they found out that

1133
00:59:49.039 --> 00:59:53.960
she'd been institutionalized. Embarrassed and horrified by her actions, they

1134
00:59:54.039 --> 00:59:57.639
never visited her at her home again. Betty told the

1135
00:59:57.760 --> 01:00:01.360
La Times quote, their darling got the big D word

1136
01:00:01.519 --> 01:00:04.440
and they couldn't handle it. All my life, I tried

1137
01:00:04.519 --> 01:00:06.639
so hard to be a good daughter, a good wife,

1138
01:00:06.760 --> 01:00:10.079
a good neighbor. My husband on zips's fly and screws

1139
01:00:10.119 --> 01:00:12.840
the bimbo, and I lose all that. My mother is

1140
01:00:12.880 --> 01:00:15.280
a peach. If you called home at midnight and you

1141
01:00:15.320 --> 01:00:17.920
had a flat tire, she'd lie in bed and have

1142
01:00:18.039 --> 01:00:20.760
people bring her tea and crumpets while she worried about you,

1143
01:00:21.440 --> 01:00:24.079
and you'd still be out on the freeway. What she

1144
01:00:24.119 --> 01:00:27.280
doesn't understand is she only had one choice, his funeral

1145
01:00:27.360 --> 01:00:29.800
or mine. I hate to tell you, she would have

1146
01:00:29.880 --> 01:00:33.800
preferred mine. My daughter killed herself is more acceptable than

1147
01:00:34.360 --> 01:00:38.079
my daughter stood up for herself. During her stay at

1148
01:00:38.079 --> 01:00:44.119
the mental hospital, Betty received a diagnosis borderline personality, histrionic

1149
01:00:44.239 --> 01:00:49.199
and narcissistic. Dan paid Betty one hundred twenty seven thousand,

1150
01:00:49.280 --> 01:00:51.679
seven hundred eighty four dollars from the sale of the

1151
01:00:51.760 --> 01:00:55.519
Coral Reef House and ponied up an additional forty thousand

1152
01:00:55.519 --> 01:00:59.519
dollars towards remodeling her new home. He must have been

1153
01:00:59.559 --> 01:01:03.719
feeling guilty over his recent actions. Upon Betty's release from

1154
01:01:03.719 --> 01:01:06.079
the hospital, he offered to pay for a week long

1155
01:01:06.159 --> 01:01:10.400
ski trip for her and the kids. She begrudgingly accepted.

1156
01:01:11.559 --> 01:01:15.719
Betty's reputation around town was in tatters. People whispered behind

1157
01:01:15.760 --> 01:01:18.760
her back, calling her crazy Betty. She did her best

1158
01:01:18.800 --> 01:01:21.039
to hold her head up high, using her quick wit

1159
01:01:21.400 --> 01:01:23.599
to brush off the gossip and lead with the smile.

1160
01:01:23.719 --> 01:01:27.559
No matter how awkward the encounter. She felt no shame

1161
01:01:27.599 --> 01:01:30.920
for her behavior and her mind. All the blame belonged

1162
01:01:31.039 --> 01:01:35.000
to Dan and Linda, never to herself. Betty still tried

1163
01:01:35.039 --> 01:01:39.519
to keep up appearances, meeting friends, volunteering, even working briefly

1164
01:01:39.559 --> 01:01:43.599
at an art gallery, but her circle was shrinking. She

1165
01:01:43.719 --> 01:01:46.800
wanted to move forward, yet wasn't sure what she was

1166
01:01:46.880 --> 01:01:50.400
qualified to do anymore. And for those who stuck around,

1167
01:01:50.599 --> 01:01:54.760
conversations with Betty inevitably circled back to the same theme

1168
01:01:55.519 --> 01:01:59.559
how Dan had wronged her. Many grew weary of her bitterness,

1169
01:01:59.840 --> 01:02:02.880
and one by one they drifted away and chose Dan's

1170
01:02:02.960 --> 01:02:07.000
side over hers. But Betty still had a close circle

1171
01:02:07.039 --> 01:02:10.199
of friends, and they were deeply worried. To them, she

1172
01:02:10.280 --> 01:02:13.800
no longer seemed capable of rational thought. They urged her

1173
01:02:13.840 --> 01:02:16.519
to get help, but she refused to hear it. Once

1174
01:02:16.559 --> 01:02:19.840
admired for her excellent parenting, Betty was so consumed by

1175
01:02:19.840 --> 01:02:22.719
her war with Dan and Linda that her kids took

1176
01:02:22.719 --> 01:02:26.199
a back seat. Her appearance suffered. She gained weight and

1177
01:02:26.480 --> 01:02:30.119
was unable to wear her designer clothes. Bills went unpaid,

1178
01:02:30.599 --> 01:02:34.079
and the house she'd bought remained half renovated and largely

1179
01:02:34.159 --> 01:02:38.360
unfurnished and infested with rats. Betty didn't have energy for

1180
01:02:38.400 --> 01:02:40.880
any of it. She wasn't fun to be around anymore.

1181
01:02:41.039 --> 01:02:44.559
Friends described her as bitter, mean, vindictive, and angry, and

1182
01:02:44.599 --> 01:02:48.000
whenever someone suggested she needed help, Betty only dug her

1183
01:02:48.039 --> 01:02:51.719
heels in deeper and her mind her rage was justified.

1184
01:02:52.159 --> 01:02:55.360
She was the one who'd been wronged. She began to

1185
01:02:55.360 --> 01:02:58.079
write a book she titled What's a Nice Girl to Do?

1186
01:02:58.199 --> 01:03:03.440
A story of white collaredmestic violence in America. That book

1187
01:03:03.480 --> 01:03:06.039
was never published, but she did go on to write

1188
01:03:06.280 --> 01:03:10.960
another book that I read, called Telling on Myself. So

1189
01:03:11.079 --> 01:03:14.840
Betty joined a group called Halt Help Abolish Legal Tyranny.

1190
01:03:15.320 --> 01:03:19.159
They are a subversive group who charged that lawyers intentionally

1191
01:03:19.199 --> 01:03:21.840
make the legal system more complicated than it needs to be,

1192
01:03:22.239 --> 01:03:25.800
which limits access to the average American. They believe that

1193
01:03:25.880 --> 01:03:30.360
all Americans should be able to handle their legal affairs simply, affordably,

1194
01:03:30.480 --> 01:03:31.320
and equitably.

1195
01:03:31.920 --> 01:03:34.000
Sounds like a pretty good idea really, I mean, anyone

1196
01:03:34.000 --> 01:03:36.199
who's ever read a contract can say that, yeah, this

1197
01:03:36.280 --> 01:03:38.519
is way more complicated than it needs to be.

1198
01:03:38.519 --> 01:03:41.880
Betty found new supporters within this group who guided her

1199
01:03:42.039 --> 01:03:45.639
decision making. Dan tried to settle the divorce out of

1200
01:03:45.679 --> 01:03:49.920
court back in nineteen eighty five. He offered joint custody,

1201
01:03:50.280 --> 01:03:53.760
likely to avoid paying child support, along with nine thousand

1202
01:03:53.760 --> 01:03:56.000
dollars a month in alimony and a share of the

1203
01:03:56.079 --> 01:04:00.800
legal settlements he'd earned during their marriage, but his formula

1204
01:04:01.039 --> 01:04:04.880
was complicated. For example, from a six hundred thousand dollars

1205
01:04:04.880 --> 01:04:09.480
settlement win, Betty's share, after expenses and deducting the support

1206
01:04:09.800 --> 01:04:13.119
she had already received, would shrink to about sixty five

1207
01:04:13.199 --> 01:04:17.000
thousand dollars. Betty admitted, I didn't know what the hell

1208
01:04:17.039 --> 01:04:19.199
it meant, but I did know it sounded like I

1209
01:04:19.280 --> 01:04:23.119
was getting royally screwed. Still, this was the best deal

1210
01:04:23.159 --> 01:04:25.599
that Dan would ever put on the table, and Betty

1211
01:04:25.639 --> 01:04:28.920
turned it down. She would continue to turn down every

1212
01:04:28.960 --> 01:04:32.800
offer he made for years, and they declined in value.

1213
01:04:32.880 --> 01:04:35.559
She was sure he was being dishonest about his earnings

1214
01:04:35.639 --> 01:04:39.000
and holdings. I think there is evidence that he did

1215
01:04:39.039 --> 01:04:42.719
have money hiding in different places, not surprising. Does that

1216
01:04:42.760 --> 01:04:45.320
sound like a bad deal to you? Like, out of

1217
01:04:45.320 --> 01:04:48.000
a six hundred thousand dollars settlement, she would get about

1218
01:04:48.039 --> 01:04:48.920
ten percent of that.

1219
01:04:49.480 --> 01:04:51.480
Yeah, I mean seems like it would be pretty good.

1220
01:04:52.519 --> 01:04:55.760
Frustrated by the lack of settlement, Dan moved for a

1221
01:04:55.880 --> 01:04:59.480
bifurcated divorce. We've had at least one other case that

1222
01:04:59.519 --> 01:05:03.360
did this. Remember, no, I don't so. A bifurcated divorce

1223
01:05:03.599 --> 01:05:06.599
means that you split the legal process into two parts,

1224
01:05:06.920 --> 01:05:11.079
dissolving the marriage first and dividing the assets later. So

1225
01:05:11.159 --> 01:05:13.800
that's what Dan had done. So that's when he married.

1226
01:05:13.880 --> 01:05:16.960
Linda had been divorced for I think at least a year.

1227
01:05:17.719 --> 01:05:20.960
Betty struggled to find an attorney she trusted and refused

1228
01:05:20.960 --> 01:05:25.599
to appear in court without representation. On July sixteenth, nineteen

1229
01:05:25.679 --> 01:05:28.800
eighty six, Dan stood before a judge alone and was

1230
01:05:28.840 --> 01:05:32.719
granted both the divorce and full custody of the children.

1231
01:05:32.920 --> 01:05:36.320
And that's when Betty's rage escalated. Her messages on the

1232
01:05:36.360 --> 01:05:40.239
answering machine grew more vicious by the day. In response,

1233
01:05:40.400 --> 01:05:44.000
Dan came up with a new punishment for every offensive

1234
01:05:44.039 --> 01:05:46.440
word she left on the machine. He find her we

1235
01:05:46.480 --> 01:05:50.000
already talked about this part. By late nineteen eighty seven,

1236
01:05:50.119 --> 01:05:53.760
negotiations had stalled again until Betty came back with her

1237
01:05:53.800 --> 01:05:58.119
own proposal. She requested one million dollars in cash, plus

1238
01:05:58.199 --> 01:06:01.400
twenty five thousand dollars a month for the next ten years,

1239
01:06:01.679 --> 01:06:04.719
whether she remarried or not. She wanted the title to

1240
01:06:04.800 --> 01:06:08.079
her house and car, a one million dollar life insurance

1241
01:06:08.119 --> 01:06:12.840
policy with herself as the beneficiary. Through the life insurance

1242
01:06:12.880 --> 01:06:16.199
policy for Dan, much of the furniture they owned together,

1243
01:06:16.360 --> 01:06:20.239
and for Dan to cover her legal fees altogether, this

1244
01:06:20.679 --> 01:06:23.719
would have added up to about four million dollars. Was

1245
01:06:23.760 --> 01:06:26.760
surprised many people was that she didn't ask for custody

1246
01:06:26.800 --> 01:06:30.920
of the children. She only wanted visitation. She admitted she

1247
01:06:31.000 --> 01:06:33.719
had no interest in being a single parent and felt

1248
01:06:33.960 --> 01:06:37.599
too emotionally unstable to take on four children full time.

1249
01:06:38.400 --> 01:06:42.280
Dan flatly refused her offer. By the end of nineteen

1250
01:06:42.320 --> 01:06:47.079
eighty seven, Betty's financial situation was dire. She had over

1251
01:06:47.159 --> 01:06:51.480
two hundred thousand dollars in credit card debt. Betty said,

1252
01:06:51.519 --> 01:06:54.000
the only time I felt halfway normal was when I

1253
01:06:54.079 --> 01:06:57.480
was either eating or signing charges. Those things I could

1254
01:06:57.559 --> 01:07:00.280
do alone, and they made me feel like everything would

1255
01:07:00.360 --> 01:07:04.599
still be okay. On December twenty seventh, nineteen eighty eight,

1256
01:07:04.679 --> 01:07:09.320
their eight day divorce trial began. Betty represented herself. At

1257
01:07:09.360 --> 01:07:11.880
times she held her own but at other times she

1258
01:07:11.920 --> 01:07:15.159
couldn't keep up. The final divorce judgment between Betty and

1259
01:07:15.239 --> 01:07:19.440
Dan Broderick was both complicated and devastating. After years of

1260
01:07:19.480 --> 01:07:22.800
bitter court battles, the millions of dollars in community property

1261
01:07:23.320 --> 01:07:26.119
the couple had built between nineteen sixty nine and nineteen

1262
01:07:26.159 --> 01:07:29.840
eighty nine were reduced to just over twenty eight thousand

1263
01:07:29.840 --> 01:07:34.039
dollars for Betty. This figure came after Dan undervalued their

1264
01:07:34.039 --> 01:07:38.199
community property and his law firm and applied more than

1265
01:07:38.239 --> 01:07:42.360
one million dollars in Epstein credits, which reimbursed him for

1266
01:07:42.480 --> 01:07:45.360
community debts he claimed to have paid with his own

1267
01:07:45.440 --> 01:07:49.599
money after their separation, effectively wiping out much of Betty's

1268
01:07:49.639 --> 01:07:53.239
share of their marital estate. On top of that, she

1269
01:07:53.400 --> 01:07:57.400
was ordered to cover five thousand dollars in legal fees

1270
01:07:57.519 --> 01:08:01.239
and even half of Dan's Harvard loans presented in court

1271
01:08:01.320 --> 01:08:06.880
as their educational expenses. On paper, Betty would still receive

1272
01:08:07.039 --> 01:08:10.719
monthly spousal support of sixteen thousand dollars, but to Betty

1273
01:08:10.800 --> 01:08:14.159
it felt hollow compared to the fortune Dad had amassed

1274
01:08:14.239 --> 01:08:16.720
during their marriage and the life of luxury that she

1275
01:08:16.760 --> 01:08:20.079
had once known. The settlement left her responsible for a

1276
01:08:20.119 --> 01:08:23.600
heavy share of the community debts while granting her almost

1277
01:08:23.640 --> 01:08:27.000
nothing from the assets that she'd helped create. To her,

1278
01:08:27.159 --> 01:08:31.800
the judgment underscored how the courts and Dan's legal maneuvering

1279
01:08:32.000 --> 01:08:36.479
had minimized her sacrifices, leaving her with little financial independence

1280
01:08:36.960 --> 01:08:38.880
and a sharp sense of betrayal.

1281
01:08:39.359 --> 01:08:41.560
That sound like a pretty brutal settlement.

1282
01:08:41.680 --> 01:08:43.960
Absolutely, I mean she should have walked away with at

1283
01:08:44.000 --> 01:08:46.920
least a million dollars in cash. I feel like I

1284
01:08:47.000 --> 01:08:49.039
just want to talk about Epstein credits for a second

1285
01:08:49.039 --> 01:08:52.119
because it's really confusing. But Epstein credits are a California

1286
01:08:52.159 --> 01:08:55.920
divorce rule that comes from a nineteen seventy nine case

1287
01:08:56.000 --> 01:09:01.159
called in Remarriage of Epstein. In terms, they allow one

1288
01:09:01.239 --> 01:09:04.279
spouse to be reimbursed for certain payments they make after

1289
01:09:04.319 --> 01:09:08.640
the couple separates, but before the divorce is finalized. If,

1290
01:09:08.720 --> 01:09:13.199
for example, one spouse uses their post separation income to

1291
01:09:13.279 --> 01:09:17.159
pay community debts like the mortgage, property taxes, or car payments,

1292
01:09:17.479 --> 01:09:20.079
they can ask the court to credit them back for

1293
01:09:20.199 --> 01:09:24.279
those amounts when the assets are divided. The reasoning is

1294
01:09:24.319 --> 01:09:27.680
that those payments benefit both spouses, so the paying spouse

1295
01:09:28.000 --> 01:09:31.760
shouldn't be stuck covering the other person's share. But there

1296
01:09:31.800 --> 01:09:35.960
are exceptions. If the payments were intended as spousal support,

1297
01:09:36.479 --> 01:09:38.960
or if the paying spouse was the only one using

1298
01:09:39.039 --> 01:09:42.880
the property, the court might deny the credit. In Betty

1299
01:09:42.920 --> 01:09:46.600
Broderick's case, Dan used Epstein credits to shrink her settlement

1300
01:09:46.960 --> 01:09:51.520
claiming reimbursement for expenses he said he covered after their separation.

1301
01:09:52.359 --> 01:09:54.359
It was one of the several ways that he chipped

1302
01:09:54.359 --> 01:09:57.359
away at the final amount that she would receive. And

1303
01:09:57.439 --> 01:10:00.359
he really did screw Betty over royally with this settlement.

1304
01:10:00.479 --> 01:10:01.520
Yeah, it sure sounds like it.

1305
01:10:02.399 --> 01:10:05.199
So since nineteen eighty three, all, you know, all of

1306
01:10:05.199 --> 01:10:08.720
those years, every single time that he paid for something, right,

1307
01:10:08.760 --> 01:10:11.279
you know, he took that he gave her money for

1308
01:10:11.399 --> 01:10:14.920
her house preparers. Yeah, and you know he shipped that away,

1309
01:10:14.960 --> 01:10:17.880
and every vacation that you know that he gave her

1310
01:10:17.920 --> 01:10:20.800
money for he took, you know that out of the settlement, right,

1311
01:10:20.880 --> 01:10:23.920
But all just made the final settlement smaller.

1312
01:10:24.079 --> 01:10:24.399
Yeah.

1313
01:10:25.199 --> 01:10:26.680
Well that's what we're going to end for today.

1314
01:10:27.319 --> 01:10:31.279
Still no crime, well, a few crimes on Betty's parties.

1315
01:10:30.760 --> 01:10:33.840
Crimes on both of their parts, really true. I have

1316
01:10:33.920 --> 01:10:37.000
some questions for you. Was it possible for Betty to

1317
01:10:37.039 --> 01:10:40.000
receive a fair settlement in the San Diego court system

1318
01:10:40.000 --> 01:10:42.560
where Dan was a skilled and accomplished attorney.

1319
01:10:43.920 --> 01:10:46.159
I mean, that's hard to say. It would have been

1320
01:10:46.239 --> 01:10:48.840
very difficult for her, I would think. But at the

1321
01:10:48.880 --> 01:10:52.560
same time, she just the way she approached the whole

1322
01:10:52.560 --> 01:10:55.680
thing really didn't do herself any favors. She could have

1323
01:10:55.680 --> 01:10:58.760
gotten a much better settlement if she had. I think,

1324
01:10:59.159 --> 01:11:01.640
you know, tried hard to do what.

1325
01:11:01.640 --> 01:11:05.119
Should have had an attorney with her during a divorce trial,

1326
01:11:05.239 --> 01:11:09.359
for sure. I think up to that point she was

1327
01:11:10.600 --> 01:11:15.479
treated pretty fairly. What effect do you think the answering

1328
01:11:15.479 --> 01:11:17.039
machine messages had on the children?

1329
01:11:18.439 --> 01:11:21.000
Not a good one. I'm you know, it's just terrible

1330
01:11:21.039 --> 01:11:24.880
to put your kids through that. Like just having your

1331
01:11:24.960 --> 01:11:28.600
kids even hearing you, you know, fight bitterly and say

1332
01:11:28.680 --> 01:11:30.840
nasty things to each other. That's not a good thing.

1333
01:11:30.880 --> 01:11:33.560
But when you call and leave a message on their

1334
01:11:33.600 --> 01:11:35.079
machine that you know they're going to hear.

1335
01:11:35.800 --> 01:11:37.600
I want to say it was an episode of Oprah.

1336
01:11:37.640 --> 01:11:39.680
I could be wrong. I used to watch Oprah all

1337
01:11:39.720 --> 01:11:42.439
the time when I was like a kid. She said once,

1338
01:11:42.520 --> 01:11:45.119
when you fight in front of your children, it changes

1339
01:11:45.239 --> 01:11:49.159
who they are. And I've always remembered that we're not perfect.

1340
01:11:49.199 --> 01:11:51.479
But we don't really fight in front of our kids.

1341
01:11:51.520 --> 01:11:53.319
I don't think we ever. We have a couple of

1342
01:11:53.359 --> 01:11:58.079
times one time, we don't fight often. I believe we

1343
01:11:58.199 --> 01:12:00.119
fought in front of maybe our son when he was

1344
01:12:00.119 --> 01:12:02.239
really little, and he might have said, are you guys

1345
01:12:02.239 --> 01:12:06.600
getting divorced? Oh, no, it's just to fight. It's okay

1346
01:12:06.640 --> 01:12:09.479
to fight. But when you never fight and you do

1347
01:12:09.600 --> 01:12:11.399
fight and your kids here and you know, that can

1348
01:12:11.479 --> 01:12:15.600
be bad. Yeah, but the kids in this case were

1349
01:12:15.600 --> 01:12:19.079
definitely used to their parents, really bad for them. Was

1350
01:12:19.119 --> 01:12:23.560
Betty's anchor justified or did it cross the line into obsession?

1351
01:12:24.319 --> 01:12:27.000
Yes, and yes I think it was just I mean,

1352
01:12:27.039 --> 01:12:30.479
she was certainly justified in her anger, but at a

1353
01:12:30.520 --> 01:12:31.960
certain point you got to move on.

1354
01:12:32.079 --> 01:12:35.600
When you're destroying who you are, the fabric of your being,

1355
01:12:35.880 --> 01:12:36.960
you definitely need help.

1356
01:12:37.039 --> 01:12:40.520
Yeah, it just seemed like she was obsesseding, couldn't couldn't

1357
01:12:40.800 --> 01:12:42.960
let it go, and couldn't focus on anything else.

1358
01:12:43.600 --> 01:12:47.199
What could Dan have done differently, Well.

1359
01:12:47.079 --> 01:12:50.840
He could have not gaslighted her for years absolutely and

1360
01:12:50.920 --> 01:12:53.079
acts like he wasn't having an affair. He could have

1361
01:12:53.079 --> 01:12:56.560
definitely been more upfront about it and you know, just

1362
01:12:56.640 --> 01:13:00.199
made a clean break earlier when he realized that he

1363
01:13:00.279 --> 01:13:01.520
wanted to be with someone else.

1364
01:13:01.640 --> 01:13:03.359
Do you get the sense that part of the reason

1365
01:13:03.399 --> 01:13:07.119
he was gaslighting her because he was moving money around

1366
01:13:07.279 --> 01:13:09.840
and you know, doing seedy things like that.

1367
01:13:10.039 --> 01:13:13.560
Maybe like maybe he was trying to prepare for, you know,

1368
01:13:13.960 --> 01:13:17.399
the divorce at some point, but it's hard to say.

1369
01:13:17.479 --> 01:13:19.800
Do you think that Betty should have gotten fifty percent

1370
01:13:19.880 --> 01:13:20.960
of all of his assets?

1371
01:13:21.880 --> 01:13:24.359
I mean kind of yeah. I think in a situation

1372
01:13:24.560 --> 01:13:27.079
like that, that seems sort of fair.

1373
01:13:27.359 --> 01:13:32.840
And it seems like Dan almost had unlimited potential, like financially,

1374
01:13:32.880 --> 01:13:35.279
and he could have remade that money. I think that's

1375
01:13:35.279 --> 01:13:38.000
what a lot of people point to this in this case,

1376
01:13:38.159 --> 01:13:40.279
is like, you know, he could have given her that

1377
01:13:40.359 --> 01:13:43.840
money easily. Yeah, still would have had plenty of money, yeah,

1378
01:13:43.880 --> 01:13:46.119
I think, and left her with some dignity.

1379
01:13:46.000 --> 01:13:49.039
Right, I think he Yeah, he probably should have been

1380
01:13:49.079 --> 01:13:52.159
a little more generous. And just if I was him,

1381
01:13:52.199 --> 01:13:53.720
I'd be like, I just want to get this done

1382
01:13:53.800 --> 01:13:56.319
with that. I want to move on, and the easiest

1383
01:13:56.359 --> 01:13:58.520
way to do that is going to be by giving

1384
01:13:58.600 --> 01:14:00.119
more money.

1385
01:14:00.159 --> 01:14:09.920
And so yeah, before we go, I have some questions

1386
01:14:09.960 --> 01:14:10.399
for you.

1387
01:14:10.880 --> 01:14:13.840
Do you remember James Lipton? Of course I did inside

1388
01:14:13.840 --> 01:14:17.000
the actor's studio. Yes, we'll rest in peace, James Lipton.

1389
01:14:17.039 --> 01:14:18.239
I believe that he has passed on.

1390
01:14:18.439 --> 01:14:18.960
I believe.

1391
01:14:19.000 --> 01:14:20.720
So do you remember the questions?

1392
01:14:20.760 --> 01:14:22.760
I don't remember them, but I do remember he asked

1393
01:14:22.800 --> 01:14:23.840
the same questions.

1394
01:14:23.479 --> 01:14:26.279
About supposed to be rapid fire, and I will answer

1395
01:14:26.319 --> 01:14:29.039
them too slightly unfair because.

1396
01:14:29.000 --> 01:14:31.479
Right you've had a little more time.

1397
01:14:31.560 --> 01:14:33.359
Yeah, what is your favorite word?

1398
01:14:35.039 --> 01:14:37.399
Well, first word that came to my mind was the

1399
01:14:37.439 --> 01:14:40.880
sea word. But that's really not my favorite word. See

1400
01:14:40.880 --> 01:14:43.000
you next Tuesday. I never used that word, so it's

1401
01:14:43.000 --> 01:14:48.039
not but my favorite word love.

1402
01:14:50.159 --> 01:14:54.239
But you sold that one honey cookie cookie, sea word

1403
01:14:54.279 --> 01:14:58.920
cookie or snack. That's probably I don't I really don't know.

1404
01:14:59.079 --> 01:15:02.319
That's kind of a weird question question. Yeah, okay, what

1405
01:15:02.439 --> 01:15:03.680
is your least favorite word?

1406
01:15:04.239 --> 01:15:05.720
Okay, well, first of all, I want to go back

1407
01:15:05.760 --> 01:15:07.920
to my favorite word because this is what happens. My

1408
01:15:08.000 --> 01:15:12.199
brain is too slow. My favorite word is discombobulated.

1409
01:15:11.920 --> 01:15:12.800
That's a nice word.

1410
01:15:12.880 --> 01:15:14.800
My least favorite word, I'm going to go with puke.

1411
01:15:16.000 --> 01:15:19.760
Really, it's just the first thing. My least favorite word

1412
01:15:19.800 --> 01:15:23.520
is diarrhea, so that's a bad word too. What turns

1413
01:15:23.560 --> 01:15:27.640
you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally.

1414
01:15:28.520 --> 01:15:32.520
I think when someone is really like passionate about something

1415
01:15:32.520 --> 01:15:35.199
and really good at something. I'm just I'm I'm blown

1416
01:15:35.239 --> 01:15:38.960
away by people that are just like really really into

1417
01:15:38.960 --> 01:15:41.079
something and really passionate about.

1418
01:15:40.800 --> 01:15:45.079
It, like me, yes, just bad because I'm not passionate

1419
01:15:45.119 --> 01:15:49.079
about pretty much anything. Being in nature is what I

1420
01:15:49.119 --> 01:15:52.239
would say. Or taking a shower, do you feel like

1421
01:15:52.239 --> 01:15:53.600
when you take a shower and like all your good

1422
01:15:53.640 --> 01:15:57.039
ideas come in the shower, like literally, really so much

1423
01:15:57.079 --> 01:15:57.680
happened to you?

1424
01:15:57.720 --> 01:16:00.399
No, but nature? For sure? That that is very true

1425
01:16:00.399 --> 01:16:02.600
for me too. What is a turn off for you

1426
01:16:03.640 --> 01:16:06.960
people who are like selfish? I just think I just

1427
01:16:07.079 --> 01:16:09.319
don't like people who are selfish.

1428
01:16:09.399 --> 01:16:13.520
My answer is racism, close mindedness, and lack of empathy.

1429
01:16:14.439 --> 01:16:16.520
What sound or noise do you love?

1430
01:16:17.600 --> 01:16:21.399
Time for lunch, time for breakfast, time for dinner. That's fun,

1431
01:16:21.479 --> 01:16:22.520
It's a wonderful life.

1432
01:16:22.960 --> 01:16:26.159
Oh my favorite sound is your voice?

1433
01:16:26.800 --> 01:16:27.880
Oh, thank you?

1434
01:16:27.960 --> 01:16:31.760
And also the ocean. What sound or noise do you hate?

1435
01:16:32.279 --> 01:16:33.479
I'm going to go back to puking.

1436
01:16:34.359 --> 01:16:36.319
Oh that's a good one. That is that is true?

1437
01:16:36.479 --> 01:16:38.119
That's such a horrible I feel kind of.

1438
01:16:38.039 --> 01:16:40.520
Bad, and I hope our neighbors aren't listening. But mainly

1439
01:16:41.399 --> 01:16:44.319
and you know this because I'll text you like the

1440
01:16:44.439 --> 01:16:48.640
hack our neighbors outside in their pool when we're like, yeah,

1441
01:16:48.720 --> 01:16:51.119
I have every right to be out there, but that

1442
01:16:51.199 --> 01:16:54.359
can enrage you. It does me I do. I feel

1443
01:16:54.439 --> 01:16:58.720
bad again, Like it's just our window. It's been so hot, yeah,

1444
01:16:58.760 --> 01:17:00.760
and our windows have been close. Was like most of

1445
01:17:00.760 --> 01:17:02.840
the summer the air conditioning's on, but like it's been

1446
01:17:02.840 --> 01:17:04.840
a little cooler, so I've been opening the windows. And

1447
01:17:04.840 --> 01:17:09.560
then when I have to hear the joyful sounds of children.

1448
01:17:09.479 --> 01:17:11.920
It's just that it's all. It's always, it's all the time.

1449
01:17:12.039 --> 01:17:15.159
Yeah it is. Yeah. What's your favorite curse word?

1450
01:17:16.399 --> 01:17:18.039
I like the F word.

1451
01:17:18.479 --> 01:17:21.000
The F word. Come on, rich, you can do it.

1452
01:17:21.279 --> 01:17:24.560
I actually really like motherfucker. Yeah, it just kind of

1453
01:17:24.640 --> 01:17:25.560
rolls off the tongue.

1454
01:17:25.800 --> 01:17:28.439
So I know people think we don't swear, but we do,

1455
01:17:28.800 --> 01:17:32.359
and I really really it's very cathartic for me to

1456
01:17:32.359 --> 01:17:36.319
say fuck. It really is. Apologies to our listeners who

1457
01:17:36.319 --> 01:17:39.279
don't like to hear swear words on our podcast. What

1458
01:17:39.439 --> 01:17:44.079
profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

1459
01:17:44.279 --> 01:17:46.520
You know, this podcast has made me want to be

1460
01:17:46.640 --> 01:17:47.199
a lawyer?

1461
01:17:47.760 --> 01:17:49.159
I really interesting.

1462
01:17:49.479 --> 01:17:51.399
Yeah, I think it would be It would just be

1463
01:17:51.399 --> 01:17:53.960
an interesting profession. Like I think, what kind of lawyer?

1464
01:17:54.000 --> 01:17:55.680
There a lot of different avenues.

1465
01:17:56.279 --> 01:17:59.199
The part the thing is very interesting. The thing that

1466
01:17:59.199 --> 01:18:01.760
would be interesting would be to be a criminal lawyer,

1467
01:18:01.920 --> 01:18:03.840
either prosecuting or defense.

1468
01:18:04.000 --> 01:18:06.840
I think that's a I think that's a lot harder

1469
01:18:06.920 --> 01:18:07.520
than you think.

1470
01:18:07.600 --> 01:18:10.159
Oh yeah, I'm not saying it would be easy. I

1471
01:18:10.159 --> 01:18:11.640
think it would be very hard, and it would be

1472
01:18:11.640 --> 01:18:13.920
hard morally. Like if you're a defense lawyer having to

1473
01:18:13.960 --> 01:18:16.279
defend someone that you know in your heart is guilt.

1474
01:18:16.359 --> 01:18:19.439
Everyone you know should yeah, exactly is entitled to it.

1475
01:18:19.479 --> 01:18:21.920
You know, a good attorney for sure. All right, last question?

1476
01:18:21.960 --> 01:18:23.279
Wait, what is what is your answer?

1477
01:18:23.680 --> 01:18:25.800
Doctor? I think that I wish that I would have,

1478
01:18:25.920 --> 01:18:27.920
you know, been a little more aggressive in my education,

1479
01:18:28.159 --> 01:18:30.920
but I probably wouldn't have had the attention span for

1480
01:18:31.359 --> 01:18:36.720
you know, doctor, I think, yeah, if heaven exists, well,

1481
01:18:36.760 --> 01:18:38.800
would you like to hear God say when you arrive

1482
01:18:38.880 --> 01:18:40.359
at the Pearly Gates?

1483
01:18:40.960 --> 01:18:43.279
I would like to hear God tell me. And I

1484
01:18:43.319 --> 01:18:46.800
had a friend of mine had this theory that heaven

1485
01:18:47.000 --> 01:18:50.039
is like a It's like a giant database that you

1486
01:18:50.079 --> 01:18:53.279
can see anything that ever happened, Like if you went

1487
01:18:53.359 --> 01:18:55.159
up there and you were like, I want to see

1488
01:18:55.199 --> 01:18:58.079
what happened with JFK, Like was there was there a

1489
01:18:58.119 --> 01:19:01.399
second assassin? And then God would be like, yeah, sure, here's.

1490
01:19:01.199 --> 01:19:03.840
Our audio visual guy up in heaven.

1491
01:19:04.319 --> 01:19:06.560
No, it'd be like a Google like you have Google,

1492
01:19:06.600 --> 01:19:10.159
but you could look up anything from any time, anywhere

1493
01:19:10.199 --> 01:19:11.920
and see exactly what happened.

1494
01:19:12.119 --> 01:19:14.000
I think about things like that sometimes, and I'm like,

1495
01:19:14.000 --> 01:19:16.520
I need to try harder, because someday, if I have

1496
01:19:16.560 --> 01:19:18.720
to see the tape of this, I'm gonna be horrified.

1497
01:19:18.960 --> 01:19:19.680
Yes, that's true.

1498
01:19:19.680 --> 01:19:22.159
I would like to hear God say love your podcast.

1499
01:19:24.439 --> 01:19:27.119
Sure, God's a big fan of our podcast.

1500
01:19:28.119 --> 01:19:30.520
We'll put a fork in us because we are done.

1501
01:19:30.800 --> 01:19:33.920
We are done. We have to come back to part three.

1502
01:19:34.000 --> 01:19:36.920
Right, but we are empty nesters now, so we can

1503
01:19:36.920 --> 01:19:42.439
have cake for dinner. Oh yeah, more Boston, more BOSTONI.

1504
01:19:41.920 --> 01:19:44.319
Sounds good to me. Well, if you'd like to hear

1505
01:19:44.399 --> 01:19:46.920
part three of this case right now, please join us

1506
01:19:46.960 --> 01:19:50.359
on Patreon dot com slash Love Mary Kill for five

1507
01:19:50.399 --> 01:19:53.279
dollars a month. You get early ad free access plus

1508
01:19:53.319 --> 01:19:54.840
a monthly bonus episode.

1509
01:19:55.319 --> 01:19:57.920
Thank you all so much for listening. We love you

1510
01:19:58.039 --> 01:20:01.680
and we appreciate your support more than we can ever express.

1511
01:20:02.399 --> 01:20:06.000
Please rate, review, follow and subscribe, find us on social media,

1512
01:20:06.439 --> 01:20:11.239
or send us an email at lovemrykilat gmail dot com.

1513
01:20:11.359 --> 01:20:14.000
Until next time, don't kill your wife and don't kill

1514
01:20:14.000 --> 01:20:14.560
your husband.