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Former Detective Arrested In The Triple Homicide Of His Wife, Daughter and Daughter's Teen Boyfriend
Stephen Nicholas Broderick had been out on bond for an alleged sexual assault at the time of the triple homicide.
A former detective has been arrested for killing his estranged wife, daughter and his daughter’s high school football star boyfriend in a “domestic incident” Sunday at an Austin apartment complex.
Stephen Nicholas Broderick, 41, was apprehended without incident Monday after authorities received several 911 calls around 7 a.m. about a man walking on Old Kimbro Road near U.S. 290 just outside Manor, according to the Austin American-Statesman. At the time he was apprehended, Broderick was armed with a loaded pistol.
Austin interim Police Chief Joseph Chacon named Broderick as a suspect in the triple slaying in a press conference on Sunday, describing the victims as two Hispanic adult females and one Black adult male.
“This appears to be a domestic incident and the victims were all known to our suspect and so at this point we do not think this individual is out targeting random people to shoot them,” Chacon said a later press briefing. “That does not mean that he is not dangerous.”
While officials have yet to publicly identify the victims, the Elgin school district identified two of the victims as former student Alyssa Broderick—who had gone to school in the district from 2009 to 2020—and Willie Simmons III, a current senior at Elgin High School. A WHAM reporter identified the third victim as Amanda Broderick, who filed for divorce from Stephen Broderick last year.
“The Elgin ISD community grieves the loss of these two young, promising souls,” Superintendent Jodi Duron said in a statement obtained by Oxygen.com.
Duron described Alyssa as “an excellent student and athlete, enrolled in our Early College High School Program” who had also played on the girls’ basketball team before withdrawing from the school in the fall.
She described Simmons as “an exceptional young man” who had been a leader at the high school.
“Strong, both academically and athletically, he represented the very best of Elgin ISD,” she said. “He was the Captain of our football team; a friend to everyone he met; and most recently, recruited to play football for the University of North Texas.”
The two teens had reportedly been dating, according to Kris Betts at WHAM, who cited the Austin Police.
Broderick was a Travis County detective until he was arrested in 2020 for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old child, the Austin American-Statesman reported at the time.
He allegedly carried out the sexual assault at an Elgin residence on June 3, 2020, according to court documents. The alleged victim told her mother about the abuse that same day.
After her husband’s arrest, Amanda filed for divorce and a protective order against Broderick, according to court records obtained by USA Today. As part of the protective order, Broderick—who was out on bond—had also been prohibited from going within 200 yards of the couple’s daughter, although he still had a once-monthly visitation with his son.
Amanda wrote in the application for the protective order that she was afraid of her estranged husband.
“I'm afraid he will try to hurt me or my children, because these allegations have come out and he may lose his career," she wrote, according to the news outlet. "Stephen has prior military experience and is SWAT trained. If he wanted to hurt someone, he would know how."
A judge ordered Broderick's tracking device be removed in November after he had worn it for 142 days without any substantial violations.
Broderick, who resigned from the sheriff's office after the arrest, had also been required to surrender all of his firearms.
After the shootings, police said he went on the run until he was discovered along the roadway on Monday morning.
“We have three people here that lost their lives, the thoughts and prayers of this community are with them,” Chacon said.
In a statement released on Monday, Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez said, “I’m truly heartbroken that a former Travis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy is the suspect in such a horrific incident. TCSO is standing by to provide any, and all assistance we can to the families of the victims in their time of need."
