PORTLAND — The trial of a self-published romance writer accused of fatally shooting her chef husband has been paused temporarily because of a positive COVID-19 test.
Nancy Crampton Brophy was arrested in September 2018, facing a murder charge in the death of Daniel Brophy, 63.
KOIN-TV reported Friday that her trial, which began April 5, would be on hold until Monday, May 2. The prosecution rested its case Thursday.
Multnomah Circuit Court Public Information Analyst Rachel McCarthy said the court was notified that someone involved in the trial, who was in the courtroom, had tested positive for the disease.
Daniel Brophy was killed as he prepped for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute in Southwest Portland on June 2, 2018.
Nancy Crampton Brophy is a self-published romance writer who years before her husband’s death penned an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband.” Brophy’s death remained a mystery until his wife’s arrest, and authorities have never publicly disclosed another suspect.
Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Shawn Overstreet has told jurors Crampton Brophy was motivated by greed and a $1.4 million insurance policy.
Lead defense attorney Lisa Maxfield has said Crampton Brophy and her finances both deteriorated after Brophy’s death, far from the prosecution’s claim that she profited from ill-gotten gains.
She previously entered not guilty plea to the charge.
