Dirty John: The Real-Life Betty Broderick Is Still in Jail, and Here's Why

Dirty John's second season premiered on Monday, and it already has us wondering what Betty Broderick is up to these days. Because if Amanda Peet's central performance tells us anything, her true story is one to behold. After fatally shooting her ex Dan (Christian Slater) and his young bride Linda in 1989, Broderick unsurprisingly landed in prison. But did she ever make it out of jail? The answer is a staunch no, and here's why.

Broderick's story begins with her and Dan as college sweethearts building a life together. Even with four children, she hunkered down and kept her family financially afloat while Dan went to law school and medical school to eventually become a medical malpractice lawyer in San Diego. Their love story came crashing down with a hostile divorce that even had Oprah raising her eyebrows. Dan got together with his young secretary, Linda Kolkena, notably calling his ex names and even putting her in a mental hospital. (To be transparent, his ex-wife also fought back against him by smearing cake on his bed and driving into his front door among other things.) Months after Linda and Dan officially tied the knot, Broderick snuck into their house and killed them with a revolver on Nov. 5, 1989.

In 1991, Broderick received two counts of second-degree murder and faced a sentence of 32 years to life. In her high-profile trial, she claimed that Dan was abusive. She currently serves her sentence at the California Institution For Women, now 72 years old. In 2010, California's parole board denied her parole request because she did not show remorse or admit to wrongdoing. It also denied her parole in 2017 as well. Broderick will not be eligible for parole again until January 2032. However, this date may change depending on factors such as good behavior.