Nancy Crampton Brophy, the 71-year-old novelist who wrote the book, 'How To Murder Your Husband', has been convicted of second-degree murder for her husband's killing. Her husband, the 63-year-old chef Daniel Brophy was found dead in June 2018 inside the Oregon Culinary Institute in Southwest Portland, where he worked.
He had been shot in the back and chest. Three months after the incident, Nancy was arrested and charged with murder and has been in prison ever since. On Wednesday, the jury of seven women and five men found Nancy Crampton Brophy, 71, guilty of second-degree murder. The author will be sentenced on June 13.
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She was once known as a prolific novelist, having published books such as The Wrong Lover and The Wrong Husband. Crampton Brophy displayed no visible reaction inside the crowded Multnomah County courtroom.
During the five-week trial, prosecutors argued that Nancy was motivated by money and a life insurance policy. However, Nancy denied having any reason behind killing her husband. She said that cashing in on a portion of Daniel Brophy's retirement savings had largely solved her financial problems.
Prosecutors said Nancy had the same make and model of the gun that was used to kill her husband. She was also seen in surveillance camera footage on her way to and from the Oregon Culinary Institute. Police never found the gun Nancy used to commit the crime, however, prosecutors alleged that the novelist had replaced the barrel of the gun used in the shooting and then discarded it.
Meanwhile, on May 18, Nancy's cellmate Andrea Jacobs had told prosecutors that the 71-year-old had inadvertently disclosed details of her husband's death. According to the New York Post, Jacobs said that Nancy told her that her husband had been shot twice in the heart. The novelist has also described in detail the distance from which she shot her husband.
