PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — She wrote about romance, she wrote about storytelling and she wrote about mystery — and nearly seven years after she wrote an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband,” 68-year-old Nancy Crampton Brophy allegedly did just that. 

Crampton Brophy, who was arrested last week for the June 2 murder of her husband, Dan Brophy, wrote the essay on Nov. 4, 2011 for the website See Jane Publish. 

“As a romantic suspense writer, I spent a lot of time thinking about murder and, consequently, about police procedure,” Crampton Brophy wrote.

She listed 5 motives for murder:

  1. Financial: Divorce is expensive, and do you really want to split your possessions?
  2. Lying, cheating b*****d: This is a crime of passion. In anger, you bash his head in or stab him with a kitchen knife.
  3. Fell in love with someone else: Let’s say your Church frowns on divorce. You need to be a widow, so you won’t fall out of favor with your religion.
  4. Abuser: This one is tough. Anybody can claim abuse. What is abuse?
  5. It’s your profession: Now we’re talking. You already possess both skill and knowledge. You have the moral ambiguity necessary to carry it off.
A screengrab of Nancy Crampton Brophy’s essay “How to Murder Your Husband.” (KOIN)

Crampton Brophy goes on to list ways to murder your husband, including guns, knives, strangulation, poison and more. After each option, she explains the pros and cons. For example, she said knives are “really personal and close up. Blood everywhere. Eww.”

Crampton Brophy’s essay was first reported by the Oregonian/OregonLive on Tuesday afternoon.

Crampton Brophy is a writer who has published a number of books, according to her website. Among the titles: “The Wrong Series” –The Wrong Cop, The Wrong Husband, The Wrong Seal, The Wrong Lover, The Wrong Hero, plus other titles such as “Hell on the Heart” and “The Girl Most Likely To.”

Her husband, Daniel, was found shot to death by students at the Oregon Culinary Institute, where he was a chef instructor.

Nancy Brophy made this public Facebook post after Dan was found dead. 

The day after his death, Nancy posted on her Facebook saying in part: “My husband and best friend, Chef Dan Brophy was killed yesterday morning. For those of you who are close to me and feel this deserved a phone call, you are right, but I’m struggling to make sense of everything right now.”

Crampton Brophy was arrested on Sept. 5. She was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and murder.