Man who knowingly gave AIDS to his cancer survivor wife, who died 2 days after her diagnosis, avoids murder trial with plea deal

Inset: Denise Broadie (Facebook). Background: News footage of Cleveland Broadie during a court appearance (WANF).

A Georgia man who faced murder charges for knowingly infecting his late wife with HIV has accepted a plea deal.

Cleveland Broadie, 64, pleaded guilty on Oct. 7 to three counts of reckless conduct and was sentenced to 15 years in prison — although he will only be required to serve eight years. He was previously indicted by a grand jury on charges of malice murder and felony murder following the death of his wife, Denise Broadie, who died of AIDS-related complications in April 2022. Denise Broadie was being treated for cancer and was in and out of the hospital before she was diagnosed with AIDS. She died two days after her diagnosis.

Prosecutors said Cleveland Broadie was aware of his HIV-positive status when he married Denise Broadie in 2014, but never told her the truth. They also said he knowingly infected two other women.

According to reporting by local CBS affiliate WANF, Denise Broadie was battling cancer in the last years of her life. She had first been diagnosed in 2017, then went into remission. The cancer returned in 2019, and Denise Broadie beat it again.

When she remained ill, Denise Broadie went to another hospital, where new tests revealed she had AIDS. According to an arrest warrant reviewed by Law&Crime, Denise Broadie was diagnosed with AIDS on March 31, 2022, "which resulted in her death" on April 2, 2022.

Court records showed that Cleveland Broadie faced three charges of reckless conduct, all filed in 2023. Prosecutors alleged at the time that he had known of his HIV-positive status since 2006 and never informed his sexual partners. WANF reported that "multiple women" came forward about their relationships with Cleveland Broadie after the story broke.

The two murder charges against Cleveland Broadie were dismissed as part of his plea deal. According to court records, he will have to serve only eight years behind bars, but will be required to move out of Rockdale County upon his release. He was also ordered not to have any contact with his victims or their families, and he will be required to share his medical records with a probation officer and stay on HIV treatment.

More from Law&Crime: Man knowingly gave AIDS to cancer survivor wife who died 2 days after she was diagnosed — and he may have infected other women: Prosecutors

Denise Broadie's daughters, Karen Young and Tammy Hammonds, credited WANF with bringing attention to their mother's story and Cleveland Broadie's case. Young told WANF, "We fought tooth and nail trying to get attention and get police to investigate."

Young also said that others will be easily able to find the information they need on Cleveland Broadie in the future, should he be released. She told WANF, "A quick Google search on Cleveland Broadie will let any woman know" not to become involved with him.