Betty Broderick was born Elisabeth Anne Bisceglia in 1947 and raised in Eastchester, New York. She was only 17 when she met Dan Broderick, then a pre-med student. They married on April 12, 1968 and their family quickly expanded to four. Early into his medical residency, Dan decided to become a lawyer, and Betty supported the family while he obtained his law degree from Harvard. Dan moved the family to the San Diego, California, area after graduating, and Betty continued to support the family during the first years of his practice. Ultimately, he combined his medical and legal knowledge in a successful and lucrative practice as a medical malpractice attorney. Betty focused most of her efforts on their home and the family, which had grown to six.

In 1983, Dan began an extra-marital affair with Linda Kolkena, a 21-year-old who looked strikingly like a younger Betty. At the end of February 1984, Dan confessed...