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Nancy Crampton Meets Daniel Craig Brophy

In the early 1990s, Nancy Crampton, who was in her 40s, moved to Oregon. She decided to attend the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland. There, she met instructor Daniel Craig Brophy, also in his 40s.

The two connected and eventually started dating. Later, they married. Their relationship worked for decades because they both had hobbies and interests and were okay with giving each other freedom. Nancy had a catering business and worked in insurance, romance, and mystery novels.

Daniel loved teaching, cooking, beekeeping, gardening, and many other activities.

By 2018, the couple was struggling financially and was planning to sell their home out of desperation.

Daniel Craig Brophy’s Murder

The financial issues led them to grow apart, and on June 2nd, 2018, Nancy put a plan into action that would allow her to get her hands on 1.4 million dollars in life insurance and the home.

At around 6:30 am, the 67-year-old drove to the Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland, where her husband worked. She then hung around the area, waiting for Dan to arrive.

Soon, Dan showed up, parked his car, and entered the building, turning off the alarm at 7:22 am. He started getting coffee and snacks, ready for his class when Nancy crept up and shot in the back. As he lay on the ground fighting for his life, she shot him in the chest, killing him; he was 63 years old. Nancy quickly fled and returned home.

Investigation and Prosecution

When the police came knocking, she played the distraught wife and told authorities she was home all morning, but the evidence told a different story.

Authorities learned Nancy bought a ghost gun kit online six months before the murder. They also retrieved her search history, where she researched guns similar to the one used to kill her husband.

Investigators also gathered surveillance video that showed Nancy near the murder scene when her husband was killed. She was arrested three months after the murder. At her 2022 trial, the prosecution said she killed because she wanted life insurance money.

Nancy took the stand and told the court she purchased the ghost gun kit as research for an upcoming novel.

When Nancy was asked why she was near the crime scene around the time her husband was killed, she couldn’t remember.

In May 2022, a jury convicted her of second-degree murder, and weeks later, she was sentenced to life in prison.