How To Murder Your Husband writer found guilty of just that

An American romance author who wrote a story called How To Murder Your Husband has been found guilty of killing her spouse for a $1.4 million insurance payout.

It took a jury eight hours to convict Nancy Crampton-Brophy, 71, of murdering Daniel Brophy, her husband of 25 years on June 2, 2018.

Crampton-Brophy denied the charge at her trial in Portland, Oregon.

According to prosecutors, the author of the Wrong Never Felt So Right series of novels including The Wrong Husband and The Wrong Lover, had been in financial difficulties when she shot her chef husband twice shortly after he arrived for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute.

She was arrested months later after security footage captured her car near the crime scene.

Crampton-Brophy insisted to police that her presence was because she had been scouting for a location for writerly inspiration. She said the gun, which police alleged was the murder weapon, had also been bought for research.

According to the prosecution, Crampton-Brophy stood to make $1.4m from her husband’s life insurance policies.

‘‘It’s not just about the money. It’s about the lifestyle Nancy desired that Dan could not give her,’’ said prosecutor Shawn Overstreet.

Shortly before Brophy’s death, she had written an essay How to Murder Your Husband for a writing workshop.

The essay, which discussed methods of getting rid of an unwanted spouse, warned that guns were ‘‘loud, messy [and] require some skill’’.

However, the essay was excluded from evidence by the judge.

Defence attorney, Kristen Winemiller, insisted Crampton-Murphy loved her 63-year-old husband.

‘‘You can see that in her eyes every time she talked about him. Her eyes lit up, they absolutely twinkled,’’ she told the jury.

Crampton-Murphy denied she was in financial difficulties when she gave evidence.

‘‘I do better with Dan alive financially than I do with Dan dead.

‘‘Where is the motivation, I would ask you?

‘‘An editor would laugh and say, ‘I think you need to work harder on this story, you have a big hole in it.’’’

Lawyers acting for CramptonMurphy, who faces a life sentence for second-degree murder, said she will appeal against her conviction. –