71-year-old romance novelist Nancy Crampton-Brophy, who wrote an essay titled How To Murder Your Husband, has been convicted of second-degree murder for killing her husband.
According to The Independent, 63-year-old chef, Daniel Brophy, was found dead in June 2018 inside the Oregon Culinary Institute, US, where he worked. He had a gunshot wound in his back and one in his chest. Three months after the incident, Ms Nancy was arrested and charged with his murder and has since remained in prison.
On Wednesday, the Multnomah County jury in Portland found Ms Nancy guilty of second-degree murder. During the five-week trial, prosecutors had argued that Ms Nancy was motivated by money and a life insurance policy. However, she denied having any reason to kill her husband. She had stated that their financial problems had largely been solved by cashing in a chunk of Mr Bromphy's retirement savings place.
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However, on May 18, Ms Nancy's cellmate Andrea Jacobs told prosecutors that the 71-year-old had inadvertently disclosed the details of the death of her husband of 26 years. As per New York Post, Ms Jabobs said that Ms Nancy had told her that her husband was shot two times to the heart. The novelists even described in detail the distance at which she shot her husband.
Prosecutors said Ms Nancy owned the same make and model of gun that was used to kill her husband. She was also seen on surveillance camera footage driving to and from the Oregon Culinary Institute. The police never found the gun Ms Nancy used to commit the crime, however, prosecutors alleged that the novelist had swapped out the barrel of the gun used in the shooting and then discarded it.
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On the other hand, the defence claimed that Ms Nancy's gun purchase was for research in her work as a novelist. They painted the prosecution's case throughout the proceedings as being solely based on circumstantial evidence and had even highlighted their client's marriage as one of love. Moreover, Ms Nancy had testified that her presence near the culinary school on the day of her husband's death was a mere coincidence and that she had parked in the area to work on her writing.
Now, Nancy Crampton-Brophy will be sentenced on June 13. It is to mention that she was once a prolific novelist who published books such as The Wong Lover and The Wrong Husband.
