Records: Writer near scene at time of crime

PORTLAND (AP) — A self-published romance writer charged with killing her chef husband in Portland was seen near her husband’s work around the time he was fatally shot there, unsealed court documents said.

Despite telling police she was at home the morning of June 2, surveillance video captured Nancy Crampton Brophy driving her minivan in front of the culinary school where Daniel Brophy worked, a probable cause affidavit showed.

The documents were unsealed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, revealing new details months after authorities jailed the 68-year-old author of “How To Murder Your Husband” on suspicion of killing her husband.

The pair had been married 27 years.

The essay Crampton Brophy wrote was published years before Brophy, a 63-year-old popular instructor at the Oregon Culinary Institute, was found gunned down in a kitchen. He had been shot once in the back and once in the chest, court documents said.

Investigators determined there were no signs of force or struggle and no signs of robbery. Brophy still had his wallet, cellphone, and car keys with him, documents said.

Several days later, documents said Crampton Brophy asked for a letter from detectives stating she was not a suspect so she could give it to their life insurance company, saying her husband’s policy was valued at $40,000.

Detectives instead investigated, saying in court documents they learned she was the beneficiary on several insurance policies with a value of over $350,000.

The court documents also allege she had an article titled “10 ways to cover up a murder” bookmarked on an iTunes account she shared with her spouse.

Police arrested Crampton Brophy in September, and a grand jury later indicted her on one count of murder.

She pleaded not guilty in September. An email to her lawyer wasn’t immediately answered Friday.