Update, May 27: And the prosecution didn’t even need to cite the essay. Nancy Crampton Brophy was convicted of second-degree murder in the killing of her husband on May 25 — a case that gained national attention after attorneys weren’t able to reference her essay, “How to Murder Your Husband.†“She had the plan in place,†a district attorney said in closing arguments, per the New York Times. Crampton Brophy is set to be sentenced on June 13.
Original story follows.
On June 2, 2018, Oregon Culinary Institute instructor and chef Dan Brophy was found dead of two gunshot wounds in his classroom. His wife, Nancy Crampton Brophy, was arrested for the murder, with prosecutors pointing to a $1.5 million life-insurance payout as her motivation. The courts police had all kinds of evidence: footage of her driving to and from the scene, a Glock that matched the gunshot wounds on the body, reports from neighbors about strange behavior following the incident. But when the trial finally began on Monday, April 4, one detail that seems particularly pertinent to the specifics of this case was deemed inadmissible “by the danger of unfair prejudice.†In 2011, Crampton Brophy published an essay on the website See Jane Publish titled “How to Murder Your Husband.†Crampton Brophy is a self-published romance novelist, and the essay breaks down in great detail all of the motives and methods a wife might have for murdering her husband. The first motive on the list? “Financial.â€
Hope Shondaland has eyes on this one.