A novelist who wrote "How to murder your husband's text" is accused of the murder of a husband: NPR

How to get away with a murder? Perhaps you do not write an article about murder.

Last week, Portland police arrested 68-year-old Nancy Crampton-Brophy. She is charged with the murder of her husband, Chief Daniel Brophy, 63 years old.

At 8:30 am on June 2, police and doctors arrived at the Oregon Culinary Institute, after students and instructors arrived in class found Brophy suffering from an injury by ball. The first responders tried to revive him but did not succeed. At a press conference that day, police said they were investigating death as a homicide and that they had no immediate suspects.

Crampton-Brophy is a self-produced novelist of romantic thrillers, many of whom have ex-Navy SEALs chiseled – books with "sturdy men, strong women and a good story," she said on her website.

There, she described her life at home – the ones that read like the last satisfying pages of a romance:

"I live in the beautiful North West, very green and very humid, married to a chief whose mantra is: life is a scientific project, so there are chickens and turkeys in my garden, a fabulous vegetable garden that produces Tobacco for an insecticide and a hot meal on the table every night For those of you who have desired this, let me warn you The old adage is true Pay attention to what you want when the gods are really angry, they give us our wishes.

"… I can not tell you when I fell in love with my husband, but I tell that as soon as I decided to marry her, I was in the bath.C & # 39; was a big tub, I was waiting for him to join me and when he was delayed, I shouted, "Are you coming?"

"His answer convinced me that he was Mr. Right." Yes, but I'm out of work. "Can you imagine spending the rest of your life without a man like that?"

But in 2011, for a blog titled See Jane Publish, Crampton-Brophy wrote an essay titled "How to Kill Your Husband". (The message is no longer public.)

"As a romantic writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, therefore, police procedure," he added. "After all, if the murder is supposed to release me, I certainly do not want to spend time in jail.And let me make it clear for the record, I do not like the suits and the orange it's not my color. "

The essay described a series of possible motives for the murder of a husband, ranging from the financial avoidance of a divorce to infidelity by a "deceitful and deceitful bastard", and even the possibility that the wife is a professional murderer.

He also weighed the pros and cons of different methods: "Firearms – noisy, messy, require some skill … Knives – are really personal and close together. Blood everywhere.

She warned against committing a crime of passion: "Most of the time, there is a trail that leads directly to you.Every type of murder leaves clues.A passionate crime does not look like a stranger."

The couple had been married for 27 years, according to L & # 39; Orégonien, and would have been inseparable. Brophy was the principal instructor of the culinary institute, where he was known as "the resident encyclopedia of knowledge" with "a quirky sense of humor and a creative approach to l & # 39; 39; education. "

The day after her husband's death, Crampton-Brophy posted an update on Facebook.

"I have sad news to tell you." My husband and best friend, Chef Dan Brophy, was killed yesterday morning for those of you who are close to me and feel that it deserves a shot phone, sense of everything now, "she wrote." Although I appreciate all your loving responses, I am overwhelmed. Please, save phone calls for a few days until I can work. "

But a neighbor, Don McConnell, told Oregonian from a strange interaction with the widow.

"She has never shown signs of anger or sadness," McConnell said. "I would say she had an air of relief, as if it was almost a boon."

He asked if the police kept it up to date. "She said," No, I'm a suspect, "" without emotion, "said McConnell.

The news was a shock to others.

"It's a big shock – it's a big shock," said Brophy's mother, Karen Brophy. The Washington Post. "But we do not make any statement."

"All those who know her, especially those who are closer to her, have a funny heart," said Anna Brentwood, a writer who says she knew the couple for two decades. Oregonian. "We hope the police are wrong and are only looking for the easiest target."

A candlelight vigil a week after his death, Daniel Brophy is remembered as gruff on the outside, compassionate beneath. Participants recalled a cow costume that the instructor used with Velcro tags to illustrate the cuts of beef.

The suit was hand sewn by Crampton-Brophy, who spoke about his late husband. "He loved teaching, he loved mushrooms and he loved the family," she said, according to the newspaper. Portland Tribune. "Not only was life a science experiment, but sometimes it was an adventure."

Towards the end of the blog, imagining how and why to kill her husband, Crampton-Brophy wrote that she finds "that it's easier to wish death than to kill him".

"I do not want to worry about blood and brains splattered on my walls, and really, I'm not good at remembering lies, but what I know about murder is that each of us has it far enough. "

Crampton-Brophy was arrested on Thursday at the Multnomah County Circuit Court, wide-eyed. The judge approved a request from prosecutors to seal the court document describing the case against her.

She was wearing a blue jumpsuit.