PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — After 8 days of testimony over 2 weeks, the prosecution continues to make its case against Nancy Crampton Brophy, the romance novelist accused of killing her husband, Chef Daniel Brophy at the Oregon Culinary Institute on June 2, 2018.
Testimony is expected to resume Monday morning in the Multnomah County courtroom of Judge Christopher Ramras. KOIN.com will continue to livestream the trial.
It’s not clear how long the prosecution will continue. However it is expected that Nancy Brophy will testify in her own defense at some point in the trial.
Previous KOIN Coverage: The murder trial of Nancy Brophy
Here is a recap of what happened in the second week of the murder trial of Nancy Brophy:
- Nancy Brophy’s stepson, Nathaniel Stillwater, took the stand for the prosecution. He said he was close with his dad, saying they would go on trips together and spend time talking one-on-one. Stillwater told his dad know he was going to be a grandfather again shortly before he was murdered.
- A man that used to be Nancy Brophy’s neighbor testified he had talked about potentially buying her home in the days after her husband’s death. But he ultimately decided not to buy it.
- Insurance expert Steven Santos, who analyzed the Brophys insurance policies and payments, testified they had been paying more than $800 a month for their policies, which was 20% of their gross income at the time.
- The Brophys’ financial records showed the couple had struggled to make mortgage and insurance policy payments within the years leading up to Daniel’s death.
- Neighbor Heidi Hutchinson testified that on the morning of Daniel’s death, she saw Nancy in her car. Nancy said she was going to look for their dogs. Hutchinson thought it was unusual because they would almost always look for their dogs by foot and with leashes, not in a car.
- PPB Investigative Analyst Kelsey Guay testified over 2 days about what surveillance videos showed regarding a Toyota minivan that matched the make and model Nancy drove. It was seen in the area of OCI in the minutes immediately before and after Daniel was shot, sometime between 7:21 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.
- The audio of a phone call where Nancy Brophy asked the detectives for a letter clearing her as a suspect was played for the jury. She said she needed it to get about $40,000 of the insurance money. The detectives declined to provide that letter.
- The gun that Nancy owned was introduced as evidence. Investigators said they noticed the slide and barrel was not seated into place as it should be, as though it had been removed. Detective Rico Beniga said this is known as a gun being “out of battery.” He said a gun must be intentionally manipulated in order for its slide and barrel to be removed.
- A prosecutor asked Detective Anthony Merrill if any of the leads detectives received ever led them away from Crampton Brophy as a suspect and he said they did not.
KOIN 6 News will continue to follow this trial.