Romance novelist convicted of murdering her spouse with blog ‘How to Murder Your Husband’ – World News

Nancy Brophy was convicted of second-degree murder over the death of her husband Daniel in 2018, years after she told fans a woman had to be “ruthless” to commit such a crime

Romance novelist Nancy Brophy, who once wrote a blog titled How to Murder Your Husband, was convicted of the murder of her spouse after a seven-week trial in Portland, Oregon.

The phrase “life mimics art” could never be more apt for the 71-year-old writer, who now faces life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder after shooting dead chef Daniel Brophy in 2018.

It took the jury, made up of seven women and five men, just 24 hours to conclude that the author is guilty and she will now be sentenced on June 13.

Mr Brophy was found dead on June 2, 2018 by his students at the Oregon Culinary Institute, where he taught cooking classes – he had been shot twice.

Prosecutors alleged Ms Brophy killed her husband to get her hands on his $1.4 million life insurance policy and believed she murdered him at his place of work to avoid cameras and witnesses.

They also made the argument that she had purchased several gun parts in the months leading up to the murder, including an additional component that would ensure bullets would not be traced back to her gun.

“She had the plan in place,” said Shawn Overstreet, an assistant district attorney, in his closing argument.

“She had the opportunity to carry out this murder, she was the only person who had the motive.”

Ms Brophy’s defense team argued that the gun parts were purchased as research for a book she was writing about a woman who sourced gun parts to complete a gun and turn the tables on an abusive partner.

They also claimed that she did not have sufficient financial motivation to justify her husband’s murder, as her insurance policies were not particularly unusual, although she did not benefit from all of them.

Ms Brophy had written a blog in 2011 where she wrote that a woman who kills her spouse has to be “reckless” and “very smart” because she is likely to become the prime suspect while also contemplating methods of murder, provided that Knives too were personal, poison was too traceable, killers were too unreliable, and guns were too messy.

After police informed her of her husband’s death, she was questioned about her whereabouts, where she claimed he got up early and did some chores before showering – when she woke up – and then to work at 7am had gone.

But investigators looking into the case found video evidence of Ms Brophy, who was driving in her old minivan in the area around the time of the murder, but on the witness stand testified she couldn’t remember, claiming she was either been on a coffee tour or taking notes for her book.

Ms Brophy’s lawyers also insisted that she and her husband had been happily married for 25 years, and her attorney, Kris Winemiller, stated: “The love that Nancy and Dan Brophy had was not a mere possibility, it was the best proven fact in this process. ”

They suggested a homeless man could have been responsible for the murder – they showed video of a man hiding behind a wall and looking in a bag when police arrived at the scene.

Investigators said they could not identify him.

Also in their closing argument, prosecutors acknowledged that their case was based on “all circumstantial evidence” and said the jury would have to put the pieces of a “puzzle” together to reach their conclusion.

“Nancy is the only person who could have committed this crime,” Mr. Overstreet told the jury.

Another of Ms Brophy’s attorneys, Lisa Maxfield, says they are now planning to appeal: “We were hoping that the jury would see it as ‘could, could, should’, which we did, but they didn’t did .”