When Denise Broadie first overcame breast cancer, her family celebrated with joy.
Yet, when the disease returned in 2019, spreading to her lungs, she managed to defy expectations once more. But then her health took a turn for the worse, leading doctors to uncover a more serious issue.
Tests revealed that the 65-year-old wasn’t battling cancer after all—she had HIV, which had progressed to AIDS.
Just two days after the diagnosis, Denise passed away, leaving her family heartbroken and searching for explanations.
Cleveland Broadie, her husband of eight years, insisted that he didn’t have HIV and couldn’t have transmitted it to her. However, the family claimed to find his nightstand filled with HIV medication.
Authorities have charged him with knowing about his HIV status since 2006, prior to marrying Denise.
Initially charged with reckless conduct concerning his HIV status in 2023, Broadie’s charges have now escalated to felony murder. Additionally, two other women have accused him of having sexual relations while infected with HIV.
Denise’s family contends that Cleveland never informed her of his condition or suggested that she get tested. They also allege that he insisted on using condoms even after their marriage, which led to suspicions of infidelity.
Her daughter, Karen Young, expressed her distress, saying, “Our mother married this man. She loved him and believed he loved her. He watched her slowly die without ever mentioning the possibility that she might have HIV.”
She lamented that had her mother known about her HIV status, she could have received treatment that might have allowed her to live a more normal life.
In April, Cleveland Broadie was indicted for malice and felony murder connected to Denise’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to the initial charges and hasn’t yet responded to the more severe allegations.
In the U.S., approximately 1.2 million individuals have HIV, and about one in ten are unaware of their infection.
HIV-positive individuals are urged to disclose their status to sexual partners to avoid legal repercussions, a rule that applies in many states like Georgia.
Reports indicate that Denise and Cleveland met at a Christmas party in 2012, quickly becoming serious, even discussing moving in together within six months.
They married in 2014 and settled into Denise’s home in Rockdale County.
While initially the family had no grave concerns about him—despite allegations of infidelity—there was a brief period where he was asked to leave their home but was later permitted to return.
Denise was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, and the whole family supported her through chemotherapy. She went into remission, only to have the cancer reappear in her lungs in 2019.
She fought the cancer once again but remained frail and eventually found herself in the hospital. It’s possible that an active HIV infection compromised her immune system, making her more susceptible to illness.
Denise died on April 2, 2022, primarily due to pneumonia and respiratory failure linked to her underlying HIV infection.
After her passing, it’s claimed that Cleveland transferred ownership of Denise’s home to himself and subsequently sold it to a new girlfriend. Allegations suggest he also discarded her personal belongings.
Young noted that he only communicated with the family via text, maintaining that he had not given Denise HIV.
He changed the locks on her home shortly after her death, prompting the family to force their way in about a month later.
Upon entering, they searched the bedroom and discovered pill bottles in his nightstand, some of which he had removed labels from. Young described how she found pills that turned out to be HIV treatment medications.
Cleveland was arrested in July 2023, with prosecutors indicating that he had recent sexual contact with another woman just months earlier.
If found guilty of felony murder, he could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids like blood and semen. Those infected may initially experience flu-like symptoms before entering a chronic stage with few visible effects, during which the virus continues to proliferate.
If left untreated, the condition progresses to AIDS, severely damaging the immune system. Without intervention, patients may succumb to the disease within three years.
While medications can lower the viral load to nearly undetectable levels, allowing for a standard life, a definitive cure for HIV remains elusive.
