Betty Broderick

Elisabeth Anne Broderick (née Bisceglia; born November 7, 1947) is an American woman who murdered her ex-husband, Daniel T. Broderick III, on November 5, 1989, as well as his new wife, Linda. Betty Broderick committed the murder, as an act of revenge, after Daniel cheated, left her and divorced her. At a second trial that began on December 11, 1991, she was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and later sentenced to 32-years-to-life in prison. The case received extensive media attention. Several books were written on the Broderick case and a TV movie was televised in two parts. In 2020, an 8-episode miniseries was produced and aired about Broderick.

Early life

Betty Broderick was born Elizabeth Anne Bisceglia, on November 7, 1947, and grew up in Bronxville, New York. She was the third of six children born to Marita (née Curtin; 1919–2007) and Frank Bisceglia (1915–1998), who owned a successful plastering business with relatives. Her mother was Irish American and her father was Italian American.

The Bisceglias were strict parents and much was expected of all the Bisceglia children. As Broderick later recalled, she was being trained to be a housewife since the day she was born, or, as she recalled: "Go to Catholic schools, be careful with dating until you find a Catholic man, support him while he works, be blessed in your later years with beautiful grandchildren". She also recalled that her school friends were raised under similar circumstances, giving her little chance to rebel.

Broderick attended Maria Regina High School, in Hartsdale, New York, and graduated from Eastchester High School, in Eastchester, New York, in 1965. She graduated from the College of Mount Saint Vincent, in the Bronx, where she earned a degree in early childhood education through an accelerated program. Her credits also earned her a minor in English.