In a US trial, a 71-year-old writer, author of an essay called “How to Kill Your Husband”, was found guilty on Wednesday of killing her own husband.
The jury deliberated the verdict for eight hours and concluded that Nancy Crampton Brophy had shot and killed her partner, Daniel Brophy. The sentence has not yet been announced – there is the possibility of life imprisonment.
Daniel was 63 years old and was shot twice in the chest in June 2018 at a culinary institute where he worked. His students found him on the floor of a classroom. Author of a saga called “Wrong Never Felt So Right” (wrong never felt so right), Nancy Brophy denies the accusation. She was arrested in September of the same year and has remained in custody ever since.
Prosecutors claim she committed the murder to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars due for her husband’s various life insurance policies. Recorded by security cameras at the scene of the crime, she claims that she visited places in search of inspiration for her next work.
He also says he bought a gun online — which police say was used for the crime — as part of an investigation into a romance. Her lawyers said they would appeal the decision in the Portland, Oregon, trial, according to The Oregonian newspaper.
The prosecution stated that the writer was facing financial difficulties and was at risk of losing the house in which she lived. As a result, District Attorney Shawn Overstreet says she masterminded her husband’s murder. “It wasn’t just about the money. It was about the lifestyle that Nancy wanted and that Dan couldn’t give her.”
Before the jury, Nancy declared that her financial problems had long since been resolved. “I was better off financially with Dan alive than with Dan dead,” she said. “If asked what the motivation is, an editor would laugh and say ‘you need to work on the story more, there’s a big hole in it’.”
The essay “How to Kill Your Husband”, published on a blog, discusses methods and reasons for getting rid of an unwanted partner, including the use of a firearm, although the author notes that these weapons are “noisy, dirty and require some skill”. “But what I do know about murder is that each of us carries it within us when pressed hard enough,” the text read.
