The convicted murderer was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole in California at the time of her death in May

Betty Broderick

Betty Broderick.Credit : Jerry Mcclard/San Diego Union-Tribune via ZUMA

Officials have released details about Betty Broderick’s manner of death after she died behind bars last month.

In a TMZ report published on Wednesday, June 3, the San Bernardino County Coroner confirmed that the convicted murderer’s death was accidental. Further details were not immediately known. PEOPLE has reached out to the county coroner for comment.

The confirmation comes nearly a month after the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced that Broderick, whose real name is Elizabeth A. Broderick, died on May 8 while serving her life sentence for killing her ex-husband and his new wife in 1989.

Three weeks prior to her death, Broderick was moved from the California Institution for Women to an outside medical center “for a higher level of care,” the CDCR said in May. The details of her health condition were not shared by officials.

However, Broderick’s son, Daniel Broderick, previously told TMZ that his mother had suffered a number of septic infections before she died and had a serious fall in prison, which resulted in broken ribs.

BETTY BRODERICK looks across the courtroom during her trial for murder in 1991.

Betty Broderick.Jack Yon/San Diego Union-Tribune via ZUMA/Shutterstock

Betty was convicted of second-degree murder in 1991 for fatally shooting her ex-husband, Dan Broderick, and his new wife, Linda Kolkena, at their home in San Diego as they slept.

Prosecutors said she killed the pair out of revenge and desperation after a brutal, years-long divorce and custody battle. Dan reportedly had an affair with Kolkena, a former flight attendant whom he had hired to work as his legal assistant amid marital woes with Betty.

Betty never denied the killing, but said she had been driven over the edge by years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Dan.

She was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison and was denied parole multiple times. Betty’s next chance for parole was scheduled for 2032, when she would have been 84.

SOURCE: https://people.com/betty-broderick-died-prison-manner-death-confirmed-11990035