The writer behind an essay titled 'How to Murder Your Husband' has been found guilty - of murdering her husband.
Nancy Crampton-Brophy - a self-published romance novelist - was convicted of second-degree murder this Wednesday, May 25 for the death of her 63-year-old chef husband Daniel Brophy in 2018.
In her 2011 essay, which appeared on the See Jane Publish blog, Crampton-Brophy describes five core motives for having a character kill their husband, per The Washington Post.
As well as listing the best possible weapons for the crime, the author ultimately advised hiring a hitman to carry out the task, adding: "An amazing number of hitmen rat you out to the police."
"As a romantic suspense writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, about police procedure. After all, if the murder is supposed to set me free, I certainly don’t want to spend any time in jail," she wrote in the essay.
However, The New York Post reports that the 71-year-old author gave the game way when she confided in her cellmate Anndrea Jacobs, who testified against her in Multnomah County Court on May 18, 2022.
Jacobs took the witness stand towards the end of the five-week trial, telling prosecutors how Crampton Brophy had described the killing in detail. "She told me that he was shot two times to the heart," she said, adding: "She showed me the distance."
After Crampton Brophy confided in her cellmate, Jacobs reported that their interactions became "very awkward".
According to police, the romance writer shot her husband in the back on June 2, 2018, while he was preparing for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute. She left his body on the floor where it was later found.
Prosecutors told the court that Crampton Brophy purchased the same make and model of the gun used to kill her husband, but that she had swapped out the barrel so it would be harder to trace her weapon.
They went on to allege that the novelist was motivated by money problems and that she hoped to get a life insurance payout after her husband's death, per The Guardian.
The day after her husband's death, she wrote on Facebook: "I have sad news to relate. My husband and best friend, Chef Dan Brophy was killed yesterday morning.
"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."
Crampton Brophy's lawyers sought to discredit the alleged motives, arguing that her money troubles had been mostly solved by the time of her husband's death. They also claimed that she only bought the gun for research in her writing, and that Brophy's murder was the work of robbers.
But the jury wasn't convinced. After two days of deliberation, they convicted Crampton Brophy of second-degree murder. She has yet to be sentenced.
As well as her essay 'How to Murder Your Husband', Crampton-Brophy has also written a novel titled 'The Wrong Husband'. Lisa Maxfield - one of her attorneys - said they would be appealing the jury's verdict.
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