Week 1 recap: The murder trial of Nancy Brophy

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The first week of Nancy Brophy’s murder trial was filled with students, police and Dan Brophy’s parents as the prosecution set to lay out their case that she killed him June 2, 2018 at the Oregon Culinary Institute in a well-thought out plan.

Nancy Brophy, 71, allegedly walked into OCI between 7:21 a.m and 7:28 a.m., shot her husband in the back and in the chest from close range and then went home. Dan Brophy, 63 at the time of his death, was found on the floor in the kitchen by students arriving for class that Saturday morning.

Previous KOIN coverage: The murder trial of Nancy Brophy

Testimony is expected to resume Monday morning in Multnomah County Circuit Court with Judge Christopher Ramras presiding. The trial will be livestreamed on KOIN.com

A quick recap of first-week testimony:

• Students arrived at OCI and found it odd the door was locked. They were let in by another instructor.
• Clarinda Perez was the student who found him on the floor. Initially she thought he had a medical event, like a heart attack, and began doing CPR. But she said her hands started getting full of blood.
• Paramedics and firefighters arrived and they determined Daniel Brophy had been shot. They also found shell casings on the floor of the kitchen.
• Daniel Brophy was shot twice, once through the chest and once through the back. The bullet that entered through his back went through the spinal column, spinal cord, through the aorta and then through the heart. The bullet that entered through his chest also went through his heart and then went down and to the left. Either one would have been fatal, but it’s unclear which shot was first.
• Detective Anthony Merrill said it appeared Daniel had been shot first in the back and then shot in the chest. But everything looked “symmetrically placed like it was, not out, nothing was out of the ordinary.”
• Officer Cassandra Wells was one of the first PPB officers who arrived at the scene. She stood with Nancy Brophy after she learned Dan was dead and she said Nancy started crying immediately. Wells gave her a hug.
• OCI had no surveillance cameras inside the building, the facilities manager said. It was also revealed OCI faculty members weren’t getting raises.
• Dan Brophy’s parents, Jack and Karen Brophy, gave Nancy a $50,000 loan 6-8 years ago to open a sandwich shop. They later forgave the loan.
• Karen Brophy testified Nancy called her to tell her about the police activity at OCI. Nancy later called her back and said she was on her way to the school because “It was Dan.”
• Very soon after Dan’s death, Nancy wanted to sell the house, the parents testified. Jack Brophy also testified he believed Dan and Nancy were sleeping separately.

KOIN 6 News and KOIN.com will continue to follow this trial.