Romance writer accused of murdering her husband

If you plan to kill someone, the last thing you should do is broadcast your strategy. Yet, that is what the police in Portland, Oregon believe self-published romance novel author Nancy Crampton-Brophy did when she published her 2011 essay, "How to Murder your Husband".

In an investigation into the shooting of Nancy's husband, Daniel, on 3 June 2018, police unearthed the essay and other pieces of undisclosed evidence, leading to Nancy's arrest on charges of domestic violence murder on 5 September 2018.

In the essay, Nancy details several motives a woman would have for killing her husband, including lying, infidelity, and abuse. She also lays out possible weapons to use to do the job, among them guns and poison.

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She opens the speculative piece by saying it is her job as a writer to consider all the options that would be available to a person wanting to commit such a murder: "As a romantic suspense writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, about police procedure. After all, if the murder is supposed to set me free, I certainly don’t want to spend any time in jail. And let me say clearly for the record, I don’t like jumpsuits and orange isn’t my color.[sic]"

By all appearances, Nancy didn't do it - but she knows how to get away with murder if she should ever choose to. This is the suspicious behaviour that contributed to her being charged and held without bail. She has since entered a not guilty plea.

Nancy's novels tell the stories of unhappy wives who have affairs or dream of ways to get out of unfulfilling or abusive relationships. 

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Image courtesy of Anne Niu Niu.