Photo: Facebook
The evidence was hidden in plain sight.
By Emily Van Devender — Written on Sep 14, 2018
After reading campy romance novels with titles such as The Wrong Husband and The Wrong Cop, readers of author Nancy Crampton-Brophy’s works likely thought nothing of the violent themes brought on by abusive relationships or unrequited love. Romance novels are popular on their own, but murder and violence bring an extra draw to the otherwise sappy genre.
It’s nothing more than strategic marketing, right?
Crampton-Brophy’s portfolio seems highly suspicious when read with hindsight. If the novels aren’t enough to point the finger for her husband’s murder, then a blog post that she wrote in 2011 is. The essay has since been removed from its original platform, but archived versions still exist on the internet.
It details the violent methods that Crampton-Brophy would use to murder her husband if she were a character in one of her own novels.
Crampton-Brophy’s husband of 26 years, Daniel Brophy, was found dead of a gunshot wound on June 2. Nancy, who at first acted as if the death was a shock, is now being accused of the murder.
She is due in court on Sept. 17. Here are six facts to know about Nancy Crampton-Brophy, her writing, and the murder of her husband before the hearing.
1. Daniel Brophy was a renowned chef and beloved culinary instructor.
According to The Oregonian, Chef Brophy worked at the Oregon Culinary Institute as an instructor. He was killed by a gunshot wound to the head at the Institute in the morning before classes began, and his own students found his body in a kitchen.
Hundreds of students and colleagues later attended a candlelight vigil in his memory at the school.
2. Eerie foreshadowing appears in her novels.
According to The Washington Post, Crampton-Brophy wrote in The Wrong Cop of a female character who “spent every day of her marriage fantasizing about killing her husband.”
The book’s cover features a shirtless model wearing sunglasses and pointing a gun.
As if that wasn’t enough, The Wrong Husband features more suggestive details. The book’s premise involves a female protagonist who attempts to escape her abusive marriage by faking her own death.
3. However, her essay titled “How To Murder Your Husband,” was the dead giveaway.
How To Murder Your Husband was originally published on Crampton-Brophy’s blog, See Jane Publish. The blog has since been made private.
In the essay, she describes which methods she would and would not use to kill her husband if she were to do so, and it seems as though she stuck to her own advice. She told readers never to use a hitman, that they should carry out the act themselves (and it appears as though she did). She also writes that poisoning is a bad method for murder, because, as Washington Post quotes from the essay, “who wants to hang out with a sick husband?”
If that wasn’t enough, Nancy chillingly added, “the thing I know about murder is that every one of us have it in him/her when pushed far enough.” This is a rare, and telling, take on one of society’s most deplorable crimes.
In another See Jane Publish post from 2011, Crampton-Brophy wrote several moderately-loving details about her marriage, saying that the two agreed that it wouldn’t end in divorce.
“We did not, I should note, rule out a tragic drive-by shooting or a suspicious accident,” she adds. Or a gunshot wound at work, apparently.
4. And if that wasn’t enough, her comments to the Romancing the Genres blog were even more suspicious.
In 2012, Crampton-Brophy told the Romancing the Genres blog, “murder mayhem and gore seem to come naturally to me which means my husband has learned to sleep with one eye open.”
The preceding question asked why she enjoyed writing romantic suspense stories so much. At the time, it seemed like nothing more than an added comment for comedic effect, but now it reads as a warning. Disturbingly, all of Nancy’s strange references to murder come across as witty, even unsuspecting.
5. Nancy Crampton-Brophy put on an act after the murder, but not everyone was convinced.
Via a Facebook post, Crampton-Brophy described her feelings of loss and inability to function shortly after her husband’s death. She also detailed the time and location of the candlelight vigil which would take place the next day. Despite the post, which depicted Nancy as a grieving wife, neighbors saw a completely different reaction in person.
Some said that, although the couple seemed nice, they didn’t seem too involved in each other’s lives. A neighbor of six years, Dan McConnell, said that Nancy almost acted relieved after the death.
“{Nancy} never showed any signs of being upset or sad,” McConnell told The Oregonian. According to him, she showed little emotion when telling him that she had been named a suspect in the case.
6. An affidavit of probable cause for the murder has been sealed from the public.
This is unusual in any case, but the prosecution requested that the information be sealed from the public. A judge approved, so no probable cause is available at this time.
According to the Washington Post, the media’s requests for information on evidence justifying Crampton-Brophy’s arrest have been denied since the investigation is active. It seems as though her arrest was more than justified; she is being held in jail without bail pending the Sept. 17 court appearance.
More information may become available as her court date approaches.