A 68-year-old romance writer was arrested for allegedly gunning down her 63-year-old chef husband, Daniel Brophy, while he was at the Oregon Culinary Institute on June 2.
The novelist, Nancy Crampton-Brophy is the author of a 700-word essay in 2011 titled “How To Murder Your Husband,” The Oregonian reports.
A Facebook post belonging to user Nancy Crampton-Brophy had posted the following message about the alleged murder: “For my facebook friends and family, 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. There is a candle-light vigil at Oregon Culinary Institute tomorrow, Monday, June 4th at 7 pm. While I appreciate all of your loving responses, I am overwhelmed. Please save phone calls for a few days until I can function.”
At one point, Crampton-Brophy posted about a romance story she released on Amazon. The post was dated November 19, 2017, and stated “I have a new story out – just in time for Christmas. Order it on Amazon http://amzn.to/2jFuRWi At Christmas, You Always Tell the Truth For a long time, spotlight-avoiding attorney, Janelle Jackson, has been in love with her playboy law practice partner, Matt Masterson. She is the stalwart brains, and he is the flashy muscle—a perfect partnership. At least, until her one-sided romance sends her into a tail spin.”
Fox News later reported, after Crampton-Brophy’s arrest, that there was a password protected website on WordPress that was titled “See Jane Publish” and that’s where Crampton-Brophy allegedly discussed how she felt about murder in a bizarre essay.
“As a romantic suspense writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, police procedure,” she wrote, according to Fox News. “After all, if the murder is supposed to set me free, I certainly don’t want to spend any time in jail,” the author allegedly wrote, noting that “divorce is expensive.”
She allegedly also wrote that she “find[s] it is easier to wish people dead than to actually kill them. I don’t want to worry about blood and brains splattered on my walls. And really, I’m not good at remembering lies…. But the thing I know about murder is that every one of us have it in him/her when pushed far enough.”
The novelist was potentially a suspect, according to police, and possibly more so after neighbors reported that Crampton-Brophy did not seem very affected by the loss of her husband.
One of her other self-published works is titled “The Wrong Husband” and talks about ways to murder a husband. It mentions knives, guns and poison, and even talks about using a hitman.
At one point she wrote, “I find it is easier to wish people dead than to actually kill them. I don’t want to worry about blood and brains splattered on my walls. And really, I’m not good at remembering lies. But the thing I know about murder is that every one of us have it in him/her when pushed far enough.”
Crampton-Brophy was charged with murder and unlawful use of a firearm.
She is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 17.