Who was Amanda Broderick? Austin shooter's ex-wife had accused him of raping 16-year-old adopted daughter Alyssa
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Stephen Broderick, a former sheriff's detective who was charged with shooting three people dead in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, April 18, allegedly raped his daughter. Stephen allegedly killed his estranged wife Amanda Broderick, adopted teenage daughter Alyssa Broderick and Alyssa’s boyfriend, Willie Simmons III. The wife had accused Stephen of rape in a protection order, where she warned that he was violent and that the family did not feel protected.
The disturbing charges were laid out in a protective order filed by Amanda, 35, in Travis County court on June 25, 2020, just three weeks after the alleged rape, according to court records obtained by Fox News. Here's what's to know about who Amanda is.
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Who is Amanda Broderick?
Amanda Broderick was the mother of Alyssa Broderick, 17, and the ex-wife of Stephen, who is currently facing murder charges. The duo was going through a divorce, according to the Austin American-Statesman, though police referred to Stephen as Amanda's "former husband". Stephen was Alyssa's adoptive father. Amanda and Stephen welcomed a second child, a son, into their family. While Alyssa was one of the three victims in the deadly shooting, the son's life was spared.
Amanda was a caring mother, according to her friends. She was photographed with her daughter at Alyssa's basketball games, according to Valley Central. "She was an amazing nurse, mother, and person," said Monica Simmons. Simmons said she has been Amanda's supervisor for the past year. She set up a GoFundMe page to help Amanda's mother, Charlene, pay for her daughter and granddaughter's funeral. The page raised $12,171 out of the $10,000 goal at the time of writing this article.
"Amanda was a beloved colleague who worked at Manor for three years and Centralized Triage for the last year. Her friends and coworkers at Manor and Centralized Triage will be grieving Amanda’s death and celebrating her life. She will be greatly missed by all of her many friends in the ARC/CMS family," she wrote.
In a Fox News report, Amanda said that her daughter, then 16, confronted her on June 3 and told her that Stephen "had been inappropriately touching her", according to the protective order. Amanda said that she took the girl to a children's hospital where a Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE) was done and police were notified. She said her daughter had said that her father abused her on more than one occasion.
Amanda Broderick Memorial - The money goes to Amanda‘s mother who has to bury both a daughter and a granddaughter. 💔 https://t.co/qOvNfbiRvY
— 🗽 Liz Gumbinner (@Mom101) April 20, 2021
"I'm afraid he will try to hurt me or (the) children, because these allegations have come out and he may lose his career," Amanda wrote in the application for a protective order. "Stephen has prior military experience and is SWAT trained. If he wanted to hurt someone, he would know how."
Stephen was apprehended by US Marshals three days after the suspected rape, which occurred in Elgin, Texas. According to an arrest warrant quoted by Austin's KXAN, Stephen, who was a Travis County Sheriff's Office investigator at the time, was put on unpaid leave. He was in Travis County jail under a $100,000 bond, according to a June 17 report by KVUE. He was charged with sexual assault of a child and family violence, which is a first-degree felony. His bail was set at $50,000 on June 22.
After spending 16 days in jail, Stephen was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device and not touch or come within 200 feet of the teenager. Stephen's bail terms allegedly included a prohibition against his owning any weapons. In the protective order quoted by Fox News, Alyssa wrote that she "felt safe after my dad had been arrested and he was in jail, but now that he's out I don't... feel safe."
We’re learning the names of the 3 people killed by a former Travis County detective Sunday.
— Kris Betts (@KrisB_13WHAM) April 19, 2021
APD says Alyssa Broderick, her boyfriend Willie Simmons & her mom Amanda Broderick were killed by Alyssa’s father Stephen Broderick. Thinking about the Elgin community this morning ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Q4TguUO6XD
"I'm afraid that to him, a protective order will be just a piece of paper," the teen wrote. "I'm worried that he'll come after my family and try to take my brother. I'm afraid he might hurt me or my mom for coming forward." A Travis County judge ordered the GPS system to be disabled only five months later, when the case was still pending, according to the Austin American-Stateman.
"He had been on GPS for (five) months with no violations," State District Judge Karen Sage said. "It's a pretty common thing for me to do, frankly." Stephen was arrested early Monday morning, April 19, less than 24 hours after reportedly killing Amanda, Alyssa and Simmons. According to investigators, responding officers discovered three people with bullet wounds lying behind two cars that seemed to have been in a collision in northwest Austin. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities are now looking at the crime to see if there is a clear motive behind the killings. According to investigators, autopsies will be performed by the Travis County Medical Examiner's office to determine an "official cause of death".