The Truth About Linda Kolkena And Dan Broderick's Relationship
Linda Kolkena and Dan Broderick were married less than a year before their untimely demise. The two were shot dead by Dan's ex-wife, Betty Broderick, and their story has been the subject of shows, including the second season of "Dirty John," one of Netflix's true crime features, which depicts the events that led to Kolkena and Broderick's murder.
Dan and Betty married in their early 20s, and together they had four children. Their relationship soured through the years, and Dan admitted to having an affair with Linda Kolkena, as reported by Newsweek. Divorce soon followed and Dan got sole custody of their four children, which wrecked Betty. In 1989, the former Mrs. Broderick went into the home of her former husband and his new wife and shot them in their sleep.
Betty and Dan's relationship was already rocky when Dan met Linda Kolkena in 1983. Linda was 21 and worked as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines before she got a job as a receptionist at the building where Dan Broderick's law firm was located. Their relationship only blossomed from there.
Linda and Dan's relationship develops
Eventually, Dan hired Linda to be a paralegal at his law firm. According to Oprah Daily, Linda had no experience in law and didn't even know how to type. Even then, Dan had no problem with hiring the young lady and giving her a salary of $30,000 per year. At that time, Dan and Betty's marriage was not going well, and her husband's new hire caused Betty to suspect an affair was going on. In the book "Hell Hath No Fury," Betty's statement in court regarding Linda read, "She wasn't a lawyer. She wasn't even a secretary; she couldn't type. He needed a lot of help, and I couldn't see that she was the person to help him." Betty then gave Dan an ultimatum to fire Linda or leave the home.
Dan filed for divorce from Betty in 1985. He was ready to move on with his life and pursue a relationship with Linda after his toxic marriage to Betty. In an interview with Fox News, Dan's friend Spencer Busby described Linda and Dan as a couple. He said that Dan was captivated by Linda's beauty, but the attraction wasn't merely physical. Spencer described Linda as being funny and having "a wicked sense of humor," which was in contrast to Dan's quiet personality. Despite being opposites, though, the two were a good match.
Linda and Dan marry
Dan and Linda took the next step in their relationship and married in 1989. According to Linda's sister, it was Linda's dream to have a family and be a wife and mother. For Dan, it was a new beginning. Friends of the couple said that Linda was the second chance that Dan was waiting for. According to Heavy, the two were head over heels with each other. "Together, they were such a delight with their broad smiles, twinkling eyes, rich laughter, and sweet terms of endearment," a friend said.
Dan and Linda's wedding was held in the backyard of their home in Marston Hills, a neighborhood in San Diego. The ceremony took place just a few months after Dan and Betty's divorce was finalized. Linda was scared that Betty would retaliate during the wedding and asked Dan to wear a bulletproof vest during the ceremony, as reported by Oxygen. Dan did not want to wear one but hired extra security at the home as a precaution. The wedding pushed through without a hitch, and they went to the Caribbean for their honeymoon.
Just six months after their wedding, however, Betty entered the couple's home and shot the two while they were asleep. Dan and Linda are buried side-by-side at the Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego (via Find a Grave.)