How to Murder Your Husband author guilty of killing spouse

‘An editor would laugh and say, “I think you need to work harder on this story, you have a big hole in it”’

AN AMERICAN romance author who wrote a story called How To Murder Your Husband has been found guilty of killing her spouse for a million dollar insurance payout.

It took a jury eight hours to convict Nancy Crampton Brophy, 71, of murdering Daniel Brophy, her husband of 25 years, on June 2, 2018. She denied the charge at her trial in Portland, Oregon.

According to prosecutors, the author of the Wrong Never Felt So Right series of novels, including The Wrong Husband and The Wrong Lover, had been in financial difficulties when she shot her chef husband twice shortly after he arrived for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute. She was arrested months later after security footage captured her car near the crime scene.

Crampton Brophy insisted her presence was due to her scouting a location for inspiration. She also said the gun, which police alleged was the murder weapon, had been bought for research.

According to the prosecution, Crampton Brophy stood to make $1.4million (£1.1million) from her husband’s life insurance policies. “It’s not just about the money. It’s about the lifestyle Nancy desired that Dan could not give her,” said prosecutor Shawn Overstreet. Shortly before Mr Brophy’s death, she had written an essay titled How to Murder Your Husband for a writing workshop. The essay, which discussed methods of getting rid of an unwanted spouse, warned that guns were “loud, messy [and] require some skill”. However, it was excluded from evidence by the judge.

Kristen Winemiller, the defence attorney, insisted Crampton Brophy loved her 63-year-old husband. “You can see that in her eyes every time she talked about him. Her eyes lit up, they absolutely twinkled,” she told the jury.

Crampton Brophy denied she was in financial difficulties and said: “I do better with Dan alive financially than I do with Dan dead. Where is the motivation, I would ask you? An editor would laugh and say, ‘I think you need to work harder on this story, you have a big hole in it’.”

Crampton Brophy faces a life sentence for second-degree murder. Her lawyers said she will appeal against her conviction. She will be sentenced on June 13.