A Georgia man has been charged with murder after his wife died of AIDS, and prosecutors claim he was aware of his HIV status but never told her.
Cleveland Broadie, who is in his early sixties, was previously charged with reckless behavior when his wife, Denise Broadie, died in April 2022, two days after being diagnosed with AIDS. A grand jury has indicted him for malice murder and felony murder in connection with Denise Broadie’s death.
Denise Broadie’s family felt that their stepfather knew he was HIV-positive when he married their mother in 2014 but failed to inform her of his status. WAGA, a local Fox affiliate, spoke with the family, who hired a private investigator to dig into Cleveland Broadie’s life before he joined them.
Denise Broadie battled cancer in her final years. She was first diagnosed in 2017, according to WANF, a local CBS station, and then went into remission. Denise Broadie’s cancer resurfaced in 2019, but she battled it again.
However, she reportedly remained unwell. When she transferred to a different facility for treatment, fresh tests were performed, which revealed she had AIDS. Denise Broadie was diagnosed with AIDS on March 31, 2022, “which resulted in her death” on April 2, 2022, according to an arrest warrant reviewed by Law&Crime.
Her family believes she may have been living with AIDS for years without realizing it, at which time she could have received treatment.
But, according to her daughter, Karen Young, Cleveland Broadie never told her the truth.
Young told WAGA, “There was malice in what he did. At any time, he could have told her and given her the right to make the decision to stay with him. Not that she would have.”
According to court documents, Cleveland Broadie faced three accusations of reckless conduct in connection with his wife’s death, all of which were filed in 2023. Prosecutors claimed at the time that he had known about his HIV status since 2006 but never told his sexual partners.
According to WANF, another woman came forward, leading to a second reckless conduct accusation. When another lady came forward, a third charge was quickly filed. The station stated that “multiple women” had come forward in reaction to its story.
Cleveland Broadie was arrested and brought into custody on July 8, 2023. He pled not guilty to all three reckless conduct charges. It was unclear on Friday if he had filed a plea to the murder allegations.