'How to Murder Your Husband' author gets life sentence for killing own husband

Nancy Crampton Brophy, a US-based novelist who once wrote an online essay titled "How to Murder Your Husband," has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband.

The 71-year-old romance author shot her husband, Daniel Brophy, dead for a $1.5m (£1.2m) life insurance pay-out. He used to work as a chef and was a teacher at the now-closed Oregon Culinary Institute.

The woman was also seen driving to and from the Institute at the time of the crime in the CCTV footage shown in court. She had even purchased a Glock 17 handgun at a gun show, according to a report in The Guardian.

Her husband was later found dead in the kitchen of the same institute in June 2018, after being shot twice. The prosecution told the jury that the couple had been facing some financial problems and that was the motive behind her actions.

Brophy had been a self-published author whose works include novels such as "The Wrong Husband" and "The Wrong Lover." Her case attracted attention because of her essay written years ago.

In her essay "How to murder your husband," Crampton Brophy lists a number of ways to kill your partner. However, the judge did not allow the essay to be included as evidence because it was written years ago as part of a writing seminar.

The methods detailed in the essay include the use of a firearm, although it notes guns are "loud, messy, require some skill". "But the thing I know about murder is that every one of us have it in him/her when pushed far enough," it reads.

"If the murder is supposed to set me free, I certainly don't want to spend any time in jail," she had written then.

The jury found her guilty of second-degree murder after deliberating for less than two days. She has been given a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Meanwhile, her lawyers have decided to appeal against the verdict.

The family members of her late husband in a statement said: "You opted to lie, cheat, steal, defraud and ultimately kill the man that was your biggest fan," said Nathaniel Stillwater, Brophy's son from a previous marriage. "You were - to borrow from your catalogue - the wrong wife."