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Daniel Brophy, a chef and instructor, was found shot to death in a teaching kitchen at the Oregon Culinary Institute on June 2, 2018, in Portland, Oregon. The 63-year-old, known for his passion for food and friendly demeanor, had been shot with two 9mm bullets in the back and chest in what appeared to be a targeted attack.
No valuables were missing, indicating a personal motive rather than a robbery. The investigation's attention soon turned to his wife of 27 years, Nancy Crampton Brophy, a 68-year-old self-published romance novelist whose 2011 essay “How to Kill Your Husband” raised some eyebrows for its detailed reflections on spousal murders.
After a trial based on circumstantial evidence such as surveillance footage of her van near the scene and her recent gun purchases, a jury convicted Nancy of second-degree murder in May 2022, sentencing her to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
This case was explored on Oxygen's murderous grandmotherspresented by actress June Squibb. The episode aired on November 9, 2025 on Oxygen. Viewers can stream it on Peacock or the Oxygen website.
murderous grandmothers: The murder of chef Daniel Brophy
Nancy Crampton Brophy was found guilty of killing her husband, Daniel Brophy. Prosecutors claimed their actions were motivated by financial stress, as the couple were in debt due to their unsuccessful writing careers and depleted retirement funds.
Nancy would receive more than $1 million in life insurance and home equity after Daniel's death, giving her a route to the stability she says was absent from her marriage. A partial license plate match verified key evidence, which included surveillance footage from a nearby brewery that showed his blue van driving toward it from the high school during the 8:30 a.m. killing window, according to Oxigen.
Nancy had bought a Glock 9mm pistol at a gun show four months earlier and parts for an untraceable ghost gun online the year before, which she said were for book research, though the murder weapon was never found.
Although ballistics did not establish a direct connection between his firearm and the two 9 mm shell casings found at the scene, experts speculated that he may have tampered with or discarded the weapon. Nancy quickly sought confirmation that she was not a suspect in order to claim insurance benefits, changing her alibi during police interviews from staying at home to a forgotten coffee shop.
The jury, after two days of deliberations in an eight-week trial, found the circumstantial case compelling enough for a second-degree murder conviction, rejecting his denials of involvement, according to Oxygen.
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The Life and Marriage of Daniel and Nancy Brophy
The son of a preacher, Daniel Brophy grew up in North Dakota and fell in love with cooking and the American West, which lasted a lifetime. He became a loving grandfather figure after a difficult first marriage and a period of separation from his son, Nathaniel.
The 63-year-old was hailed by his peers as a food encyclopedia for his vast knowledge and patient teaching style while serving as a culinary instructor at the Oregon Culinary Institute. He and Nancy Crampton connected over their love of food and adventure when they met while she was enrolled in culinary school in Portland, as Oxygen reported.
Before turning to writing sensual romantic novels like The wrong husbandNancy, who was born in Texas to lawyers, had established a catering business. Despite modest sales, she followed her passion as president of the local Rose City Romance Writers Group.
The couple, who had been married for more than 20 years, enjoyed romantic vacations and family outings with Nathaniel's children, whom Nancy referred to as her grandchildren, at their modest $300,000 suburban home. She introduced Daniel Brophy as her perfect partner, who understood exactly what she wanted out of life, and said their relationship was stable, with “more good times than bad”.
Despite the surface harmony, underlying concerns about money surfaced, including depleted savings and Nancy's aspirations for a more glamorous existence through her books. Friends and associates saw them as a typical older couple, unaware of the tensions that would arise after Daniel Brophy's death, according to Oxygen.
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The investigation falls apart
Daniel Brophy's body was found by students who entered the kitchen around 9 a.m. on June 2, 2018, and a murder investigation was immediately launched. Upon closer examination, emergency personnel checked for gunshot wounds after observing what appeared to be a heart attack.
After interviewing witnesses who said Daniel Brophy was alone and the door was open, police secured the urban location in Portland, indicating the shooter may have entered undetected. The focus shifted to a personal attack after initial theories suggested a robbery, but her wallet, which contained cash and cards, was found intact, according to Oxygen.
Shortly thereafter, Nancy appeared, cooperative and crying. He complained about the lack of security cameras and raised the possibility that Daniel Brophy's ex-wife was seeking revenge, which senior detectives quickly dismissed. Financial documents over time exposed the couple's struggles, including Nancy's insistence on completing insurance paperwork as quickly as possible.
Footage from the brewery showing a similar minivan leaving the area at 8:32 a.m. and returning at 8:42 a.m., which matched the estimated time of the shooting, provided a major breakthrough. Further investigation revealed that he had purchased ghost gun parts on eBay in 2017 and a Glock in early 2018, both of which he claimed were new inspirations.
In November 2018, she was arrested on charges of murder and weapons possession due to insufficient circumstantial evidence. Detectives emphasized that the killing was revenge and that the shots were fired in an area Daniel Brophy was familiar with, execution-style, according to Oxygen. Over the course of five months, this methodical discovery, which relied more on records and video than DNA, built the case.
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The trial and the sentence
The trial, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, began in April 2022 and lasted eight weeks in Multnomah County Circuit Court with witness testimony and evidence debates. Directed by Shawn Overstreet, fiscal introduced van footage, gun purchases, and unrelated insurance motifs with direct forensic links, while painting a picture of Nancy's character needing to escape hardship, according to Oxygen.
The prosecution said he followed Daniel Brophy to work in less than fifteen minutes and shot him and drove off. Nancy testified that she loved her husband, that he was better off alive for her, that the shock was the reason she couldn't remember that morning, and that the guns were actually props from the writing sessions. His defense team, led by Lisa Maxfield, highlighted the lack of eyewitnesses and ballistics matches, characterizing the case as a web of coincidences with a random attacker.
The 2011 trial was cited but not accepted due to concerns about bias. After eight hours of deliberation and contrasting her “erratic” writing with her actual actions in closing arguments, the jury convicted her of second degree murder on May 25, 2022. On June 13, Judge Christopher Ramras sentenced Nancy to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years, according to Oxygen.
During the hearing, Daniel Brophy's son Nathaniel called Nancy a “monster” as he maintained she was innocent. Since her arrest in 2018, she has been incarcerated at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility; no successful appeal has been documented, as reported by Oxygen.
Look murderous grandmothers, available in Oxigen.
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Edited by Somava
