Nancy Crampton Brophy gets life in prison for murdering husband

Celeb Gist

Explore More

Nancy Crampton Brophy, the author of the essay “How to Murder Your Husband,” was sentenced Monday to life in prison — for murdering her own husband.

A Portland, Oregon, judge said Crampton Brophy, 71, will become eligible for parole after serving 25 years behind bars, reported KGW.

In late May, the self-published romance novelist was found guilty of second-degree murder after a seven-week trial for fatally shooting her chef husband, Daniel Brophy, 63, at the Oregon Culinary Institute in 2018.

On Monday, several family members and others who knew Daniel got a chance to present their victim impact statements in court before Crampton Brophy learned her fate.

“You are a monster and I’m ashamed that I have to admit to my children that people like you walk among us undetected,” Nathaniel Stillwater, Daniel’s son from a previous relationship, said, addressing his stepmother, reported KOIN.

Daniel Brophy was fatally shot at the Oregon Culinary Institute in 2018. Chad Rachman
Crampton Brophy allegedly described the details of the murder to her cellmate before the trial concluded. Multnomah County Sheriff's Offic

Clarinda Perez, the Oregon Culinary Institute student who performed CPR on Daniel after he was found on the kitchen floor with two bullets to the heart, called the instructor’s wife a “cold-blooded murderer.”

Meanwhile, the chef’s elderly mother, Karen Brophy, expressed hope in her statement, which was read on her behalf by the prosecutor, that her former daughter-in-law would find God’s grace.

Crampton Brophy did not make any statements during the sentencing. She is due back in court for a restitution hearing Aug. 12.

Crampton Brophy wrote and self-published “How to Murder Your Husband.”

During Crampton Brophy’s murder trial, which started in April, her cellmate, Andrea Jacobs, testified that the novelist had described the June 2, 2018, killing in detail to her during their time in lockup together.

Police said Crampton Brophy shot Daniel once in the back and a second time while he was on the floor.

Prosecutors said that the wife had purchased the same make and model of the gun that was used in the murder of her husband, and allegedly had swapped out the barrel of the gun to make the weapon harder to trace.

Crampton Brophy killed her husband for his life insurance policy, prosecutors argued. Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP
Crampton Brophy shot Daniel once in the back and a second time while he was on the floor. Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP

According to the prosecution, Crampton Brophy committed the murder because she was facing financial woes related to mortgage debt and needed Daniel’s $1.5 million life insurance policy.

The defense painted the prosecution’s case as circumstantial, attempted to discredit Jacobs, claimed that Nancy’s gun purchase was for research in her work as a novelist, and insisted that she loved her husband to the end.

Crampton Brophy took the stand during the trial and told the jury that she missed Daniel.

“It’s like you’ve lost an arm. Like you’re just not as good as you were when you’re with him,” she testified. “You were the best you could be when you were together with him.”

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3N7j29mamtfo66vr9hmmquZnaXBsLqMm6moqJiueqix06xkpaGWmnqquoypqaKrn6N6p7vRZqSuqpSav6q6xmafrquSlrulew%3D%3D