Triple homicide suspect at center of child sexual abuse investigation
AUSTIN, Texas - After a nearly 24-hour manhunt Manor police and Travis County Sheriff’s Deputies apprehended 41-year-old Stephen Broderick in Manor Monday morning.
Video released by the Manor Police Department shows Stephen Broderick, a former Travis County Sheriff’s Office Detective being handcuffed by his ex-colleagues on Old Kimbro Road.
Law enforcement officers can be seen taking, and unloading, the triple-homicide suspect’s gun.
Authorities believe Broderick rammed his vehicle into a car near the Arboretum Monday, opening fire on those inside.
The vehicle’s occupants were:
- Amanda Broderick, 35, Stephen Broderick’s estranged wife
- Alyssa Broderick, 17, Amanda Broderick’s daughter and Stephen Broderick’s adopted daughter
- Willie Simmons III, 18, Alyssa Broderick’s boyfriend
- Stephen and Amanda Broderick’s young son
Court documents indicate Stephen Broderick fatally shot everyone inside the vehicle except the young boy. A bystander was able to get him to safety as Stephen Broderick fled on foot.
On June 3, 2020, Stephen Broderick was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Elgin. The girl’s mother immediately took her to Dell Children’s hospital for a Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE.) During the exam, medical professionals found evidence of trauma.
Court documents indicate Broderick began sexually and physically abusing the minor in March 2020. In November 2020, Stephen Broderick was indicted on 12 counts of physical and sexual abuse. The document states the abuse began in March 2020.
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Stephen Broderick spent less than a month in the Travis County Jail. He posted bond, which was originally set at $50,000, and was released from jail in early July. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim, surrender his firearms, obtain no new firearms, and wear a GPS tracker. Five months later that tracker was removed.
District Attorney Jose Garza was not in office at the time and is researching the case.
He told FOX 7 Austin, "What is clear in this case is a wealth-based approach to bail simply does not work, Mr. Broderick had a 50,000 bail which he made, and committed this heinous crime while out on that cash bail."
Authorities say they have taken 41-year-old Stephen Broderick into custody. Manor Police Department Chief Ryan Phipps says they arrested Broderick just before 8 a.m. this morning.
Amanda Broderick said she began receiving sexually explicit images from Stephen Broderick of the estranged pair and accusing her of a "cash grab". His bond was eventually raised to $75,000 and he was ordered not to contact her.
In July 2021 Amanda Broderick filed for divorce. Her attorney, Pedro ‘Peter’ Lopez of Mike Morales & Associates told FOX 7 Austin it was still pending at the time of her death.
"[Amanda Broderick] was a kind and loving mother, a friend to everyone she met, and a highlight esteemed client of our firm. The news of her death was shocking, and we are still processing the tragic events of yesterday. It is with heavy hearts that we extend our deepest condolences to her surviving son, her family, and her friends. Our thoughts and our prayers go out to them." he said.
In at least 54 percent of mass shootings between 2009 and 2019, the perpetrator shot a current, or former intimate partner or family member according to research conducted by gun control advocacy group Everytown For Gun Safety
"We definitely see that the violence increases when the victim tries to escape the abuse," said Coni Huntsman Stogner, of SAFE Alliance, non-profit aiding survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
If you are in an abusive situation you can contact SAFE 24/7 by phone call, text, or chat.
Call: 512-267-SAFE(7233)
Text: 737-888-7233
Online chat: www.safeaustin.org/chat