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October 25, 2022 – To the Wall County Sheriff:
My name is Meredith Broderick and this is my statement.
My husband Jacob (Jake) and I love each other very much. I’ve never had reason to doubt this which is why my heart is breaking right now writing this.
Jake and I have been married for almost 14 years. In that time, we’ve lost four children. I can barely put that into words, and it’s a far heavier burden than what anyone should have to bear.
Fertility issues prevented us from starting a family at first. We tried artificial insemination which was successful, and found out we were having twins.
I had an extremely rough pregnancy, with morning sickness, migraines, and many other uncomfortable symptoms. As terrible as I felt, the scans always showed them growing on schedule and a healthy weight. I was exhausted and was still trying to work through it, because Jake’s income at the time wasn’t steady and we needed the money.
Jake more than made up for it by doing all of the chores, from prepping meals and doing laundry to keeping the house clean. He decorated the nursery. He decided to continue his break from work and Jake’s father (Randy Broderick) helped us out with paying expenses.
My symptoms got worse as my pregnancy went on. At our 19-week scan, I knew the twins were gone as soon as the ultrasound tech couldn’t locate either heartbeat. I was devastated and Jake seemed to be too. The doctor didn’t have an explanation other than the pregnancy being too hard on me. We asked the hospital to send the remains to a funeral home and had them cremated.
We weren’t ready to restart the fertility treatment yet, but two years later we got pregnant again, with a single this time. The sickness and headaches weren’t as severe as they had been with the twins, though I still had a rough pregnancy. Jake was the same he had been when I was pregnant with the twins in caring for me. Following a near life-threatening complication near the end of the pregnancy, I gave birth to Lucy several weeks early. She was born healthy despite being premature.
We agreed that I would go back to work after my maternity leave was up. Rather than put Lucy in daycare, Jake took a leave from work so he could stay home. We also decided that I would exclusively pump to give Lucy the benefits of breastmilk, and I went back to work as planned. Lucy thrived at first.
Six months after she was born, I took a day off to spend with Lucy, as it had been a while since I was able to do so. Jake was tired of being stuck in the house and he seemed happy to get out to run some errands. He let me sleep in for a bit. When he woke me up, he let me know she had gotten up fussy and he had held her for a while. He said he fed her a stored milk bottle and changed her. She was tired at that point, and he handed her to me almost asleep before he left. I put her down for a nap.
When I checked on her after about an hour, Lucy was lifeless and blue. I was able to dial 911 and start CPR and worked on her until EMS arrived several minutes later. They rushed her to the hospital but was too late and she died.
The autopsy was inconclusive, and the cause of death was listed as SIDS. We again decided to cremate, and had Lucy’s ashes interred at a nearby cemetery.
After another few years, I got pregnant again. We were terrified, but it was the easiest of my three pregnancies. I gave birth to a healthy boy named Liam. I took a longer maternity leave with Liam, because Jake had by then taken a position that required spending some time in an office, and I was terrified of the same thing happening to him.
While on an extended visit with us shortly after Liam was born, Jake’s father died of a heart attack. Jake seemed to take it extremely hard. He was an only child and very close to his father, a widower. He took a leave of absence from work to grieve and to handle his father’s estate.
Liam had been doing fine as an infant. When he reached toddlerhood, at about the time I went back to work and Jake took over childcare during his leave, Liam began to get sick often. He was frequently at the pediatrician with dehydration, diarrhea and stomach issues, ear infections, unexplained fevers, and other symptoms. The doctor couldn’t explain it other than blaming increased exposure to germs. We took Liam to so many specialists, but none had any answers for us.
Today, Jake took Liam to the park while I stayed home to catch up on some chores. I was looking for a box cutter in Jake’s toolbox to break down some shipping boxes. That’s where I found the bag. It was full of vials marked only by different colors, pills, syringes, and small jars with powder and plant cuttings inside of them. I took a picture that I am sending with this statement. My first thought was that Jake was hiding a drug habit from me, which made no sense because neither of us have ever been drug users, and he never acted or looked like one.
A few minutes after I found the bag, Jake called. I was in shock about the bag and before I could think to decline the call and figure out how to respond, I answered it. Jake was screaming that Liam had a seizure at the park and was being rushed to the hospital. I put the bag back in the toolbox and drove as fast as I could. By the time I got to the hospital Liam was stable but critical and unresponsive.
I know what’s in the bag.
Jake killed my babies and Lucy he tried to kill Liam. The evidence is in the bag. My heart is breaking that I couldn’t see what my evil husband was doing to our children and to me. I couldn’t protect them. If he suspects I know, I think he’ll try to kill me.
The doctors took Liam for a scan a short time ago. Jake is talking to the nurse and I am writing this down where he can’t see me.
Liam is fighting for his life and Jake is staying too close for me to call. I am sending this statement to you as soon as I can. The bag is
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*The preceding is a transcript of a draft note recovered from the defendant’s phone after the victim’s death and entered into evidence at trial without objection.
Meredith Broderick was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Liam Broderick by intentional poisoning. Jacob Broderick was the state’s star witness against her. Meredith remains in custody pending sentencing in February 2024. Meredith has also been named as the prime suspect in the murder of Randall Broderick, following exhumation of his body and toxicological testing.*