Woman Who Killed Chef Husband At Culinary Institute Used 9MM: DA

PORTLAND, OR – Nancy Crampton Brophy is a romance novelist who once wrote an essay about how to murder your husband. The 68-year-old Beaverton resident currently living in the Multnomah County Jail.

"As a romantic suspense writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, about police procedure," she wrote in the essay. In it, she says that if you use a gun, consider that they are "loud, messy, require some skill. If it takes 10 shots for the sucker to die, either you have terrible aim or he's on drugs."

On Friday, a grand jury indictment charged her with using a .9mm pistol to kill her husband, Daniel, a well-respected chef and teacher at the Oregon Culinary Institute. Get all the latest information on what's happening in your community by signing up for Patch's newsletters and breaking news alerts.

Daniel Brophy was found on the floor of one of the kitchens at the institute on June 2, 2018. The 63-year-old had been shot. He was found by students arriving for class.

The next day, she took to Facebook to express her grief.

"I have sad news to relate," she wrote, saying that "her husband and best friend" had been killed. "I'm struggling to make sense of everything right now. While I appreciate all of your loving responses, I am overwhelmed."

Portland Police arrested her on Sept. 6.

The probable cause affidavit used to get a warrant for her arrest has been sealed because the investigation is ongoing, officials said.

In her essay, "How to Murder Your Husband," Crampton Brophy listed five reasons for doing so:

• Financial;
• Lying, cheating husband;
• Fell in love with someone else;
• Abuser;
• It's your profession.

She will be back in court next week.

Photo via Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.