Betty Broderick’s Children Now Inside Their Lives Over 3 Decades After Their Mother Killed Their Father and His New Wife

Although the courts delivered their verdict in 1991, Betty Broderick’s four children remain divided over their mother’s punishment for killing their father.

The California socialite and her then-husband, attorney Dan Broderick, became parents in 1970 with the birth of their daughter Kimberly, according to the Los Angeles Times. They later welcomed Lee, Dan Jr., and Rhett. Outwardly, the family lived a stable life in San Diego, but as Betty later wrote in her 2015 memoir Telling On Myself, the marriage was troubled behind closed doors.

By the early 1980s, Dan began an affair with his secretary, Linda Kolkena — a relationship he denied amid Betty’s suspicions. He eventually left the marriage and filed for divorce in 1985, then married Kolkena in 1989. Months after their wedding, Betty shot and killed both Dan and Kolkena in their bed.

Following a mistrial, Betty was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and received two consecutive 15-years-to-life sentences, plus two years for illegal firearm use. Shortly after the conviction, Rhett appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, recounting the moment he learned the news.

“I just remember thinking, ‘Wow.’ I wasn’t really surprised,” he said. He explained that he and his brother had warned their father that their mother was unstable without her children and might act dangerously.

Here’s where Betty Broderick’s children are today, more than 30 years after the tragedy.

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Kim Recalled the Constant Fighting at Home

During a 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kim spoke about her parents’ volatile relationship. “Mom was always kind of weird. Mom would get mad at Dad all the time,” she said.

Kim shared memories of her mother throwing objects, locking her father out of the house, and confessing divorce fears to her children. She also alleged that Betty occasionally hit her and her sister Lee.

Kim said she longed for the divorce to happen: “I’d say to Dad, ‘Just take me the day you leave.’ ”

Dan officially left the family home in 1985, according to CBS8.

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Dan Became the Primary Parent and Gained Sole Custody

After Dan moved out, Betty began dropping their children off at his home one at a time. Kim later described on The Oprah Winfrey Show that Betty’s intention was to “screw up Dad,” believing the situation would collapse and the children would need her again.

In July 1986, Dan finalized the divorce proceedings and was granted sole custody of all four children, per the Los Angeles Times. Betty was denied visitation rights.

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Betty Called Lee Immediately After the Murders

Betty and Dan’s divorce legally ended in January 1989, and he married Kolkena in April of that year. On Nov. 4, 1989, Betty received legal letters warning her to stop leaving hostile messages on Dan’s answering machine — messages she said stemmed from distress at being unable to reach her children.

In her 2015 memoir, she described her emotional collapse: “I completely fell apart. I didn’t know what to do… I could not live one more day like this.”

Although she had initially planned to end her own life, she instead drove to Dan and Kolkena’s home in the early hours of Nov. 5. Using a key obtained from her daughter, she entered their bedroom and opened fire, killing Kolkena instantly and fatally wounding Dan.

Afterward, Betty called Lee before turning herself in, according to E! News.

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Several of the Children Testified at the Trials

During Betty’s two criminal trials — the first ending in a mistrial — her children took the stand.

Lee testified in the first trial that her father sometimes spoke harshly about Betty and occasionally broke objects when angry. She denied ever witnessing physical abuse from him, though Betty alleged otherwise.

Daniel had written Lee out of his will before his death, leaving his entire estate to the other three children.

Housekeepers also testified, saying the younger children were cheerful with Betty but “frightened and silent” around their father.

In the second trial, Kim testified that Betty had planned to die by suicide after the shootings but ran out of bullets. She recalled that her mother “wasn’t crying” when describing the incident during phone calls.

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The Children Remain Divided Over Their Mother’s Sentence

Betty’s four children have long disagreed about whether she should remain in prison.

Rhett publicly argued she should be released, telling The Oprah Winfrey Show that his mother was not a threat to society and that keeping her imprisoned offered no benefit.

During Betty’s 2010 parole hearing, Lee supported her release, saying she should be able to “live her later life outside prison walls.” Dan Jr., however, believed releasing her would be dangerous, according to CBS News.

Betty has been incarcerated at the California Institute for Women since 1992 and has been denied parole multiple times. Her next eligible hearing is scheduled for 2032.

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Where Are Betty Broderick’s Children Now?

Betty wrote in her 2015 memoir that her children were “my priority” and that she wanted them to have a happy childhood.

Several of her children have moved on to build private lives. Rhett became a father to two daughters and has been teaching at Wood River High School in Hailey, Idaho, since 2016, according to the school’s website.

In 2020, Vulture reported that Kim and Lee were living in central Idaho, though it is unclear whether they still reside there.

Kim published a memoir in 2014 titled Betty Broderick, My Mom: The Kim Broderick Story, which tells the story of how she and her siblings navigated the aftermath of their family’s tragedy.