How To Murder Your Husband Author Convicted Of Murdering Husband

An author who previously published an online essay called "How to Murder Your Husband" has how been found guilty of murdering her husband.

By James Brizuela | Published

nancy crampton brophy author

An author by the name of Nancy Crampton Brophy once wrote an essay called “How to Murder Your Husband.” While the initial thought was likely that the essay had been written in a satirical fashion considering Nancy has been a romance suspense writer for decades, she has now been convicted of murdering her husband. It took a jury in Portland, Oregon two days of deliberation to find Nancy guilty of second-degree murder. Although she had written this essay some years ago, it was said that the presiding judge had not wanted that essay to be used as evidence in court. Also, the jury was not allowed to pass judgment based on the essay either.

Nancy Crampton Brophy was accused of killing her husband, Daniel Brophy, back in 2018. She has been in custody since her arrest in September of 2018. Her trial took this long to take place, and it wasn’t until 2020 that more evidence began to be discovered in this case. Nancy told the story of the day in question during her trial. She stated that she had taken their dogs for a walk and showered, but that was it. There had been traffic footage found in 2020 which showed her driving to and from the culinary institute where Daniel had been found dead by his students. During the 13-minute window in which the murder took place, there was clear evidence that Nancy had been in the area. She would go on to amend her story claiming that she had not remembered that drive at all and had likely gone out for coffee to destress from the day’s events.

The essay in question was written and posted online by Nancy Crampton Brophy and was intended to be a brainstorming exercise for other writers. In the contents of the essay, there had been various options for committing an untraceable kill. Written in the essay, “As a romantic suspense writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, about police procedure.” The essay also talked about the various weaponry that women would or could use in these situations, and a gun was referred to as, “loud, messy, require some skill.” Daniel Brophy was found dead with two gunshot wounds to his body.

Some of the more convincing evidence, apart from the traffic footage showing Nancy Crampton Brophy driving to and from the institute, was that she had purchased a “ghost gun” kit of parts via the internet. She had also purchased a slide and barrel for a Glock, which was the murder weapon. Nancy claimed those parts were bought with her husband so that he could have protection when looking for mushrooms to cook in the forest. She had been accused of killing the man based on money problems and his life insurance payout. She had apparently taken in some $1.5 million from those policies.

Nancy Crampton Brophy has been convicted of second-degree murder for killing her husband, Daniel Brophy. However, her legal team has claimed her innocence throughout the entire trial. They have claimed that someone else shot Daniel as part of a robbery attempt. Her legal team will also attempt to appeal the conviction.