‘How to Murder Your Husband’ writer goes on trial for murdering her husband
Her essay, however, would be excluded from the trial’s evidence Judge Christopher Ramras announced on Tuesday. He deemed the post too old to be relevant - and said that any value it may provide the trial is outweighed by the prejudice it may spark.
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FollowAn Oregon romance novelist who once penned an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband” is now facing trial for fatally shooting her chef husband for a $1.5 million life insurance payout. Nancy Crampton-Brophy, now 71, has pleaded not guilty to gunning down her husband of 25 years, Daniel Brophy, in Portland in June 2018.
Her essay, however, would be excluded from the trial’s evidence Judge Christopher Ramras announced on Tuesday. He deemed the post too old to be relevant - and said that any value it may provide the trial is outweighed by the prejudice it may spark.
In the essay, Nancy Crampton Brophy wrote that she spends “a lot of time thinking about murder”. “As a romantic suspense writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, about police procedure,” she wrote. “After all, if the murder is supposed to set me free, I certainly don’t want to spend any time in jail. And let me say clearly for the record, I don’t like jumpsuits and orange isn’t my colour.”
Daniel was found with gunshot wounds to his back and chest at the Oregon Culinary Institute where he taught shortly after arriving for work, local outlet KGW8 reported.
Crampton-Brophy, who told police she was at the couple’s home when the shooting unfolded, was arrested months later after detectives said she had been in the vicinity of the crime scene.
At the time of Daniel’s slaying, Crampton-Brophy broke the news to loved ones on Facebook, writing: “For my Facebook friends and family, I have sad news to relate. My husband and best friend, Chef Dan Brophy was killed yesterday morning.”
She added: “For those of you who are close to me and feel this deserved a phone call, you are right, but I’m struggling to make sense of everything right now.”
According to the prosecutor, Crampton Brophy was motivated by greed and a $1.4 million insurance policy. They also played an audio recording of her asking a detective four days after her husband's death to write a letter exonerating her so she could collect the life insurance policy.
She had said the policy was worth $40,000, but investigators said she tried to claim 10 different policies that totalled $1.4 million, and a worker's comp plan because her husband was killed on the job.
The trial is expected to last seven weeks.
