A romance writer who penned an online essay on discreet methods of killing one's spouse? Sounds like the plot of a novel, but it happened in real life. Nancy Crampton Brophy, 72, shot and killed her husband Daniel Brophy in June 2018 at the Oregon Culinary Institute. The murder drew national attention, partly because of an essay she published online seven years earlier titled "How to Murder Your Husband."

Her attorneys argued that the Brophys were facing financial stress before Daniel’s death and that she had been planning to cash out his 401K to help pay off debt and take their family on vacation. They also pointed to forensic accountant testimony that the couple’s finances were actually trending in the right direction.

In court, prosecutors countered that Nancy had a Glock gun parts kit and a replacement barrel and could easily have assembled an untraceable weapon to kill her husband. They also alleged that she hid her husband’s body in the back of her car to avoid a messy burial and then moved his belongings to a storage shed to hide the evidence.

In May 2022, a jury found Nancy guilty of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison and is currently incarcerated at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. Her case is being dramatized in a Lifetime movie that premieres Saturday, Jan. 14. It stars Cybill Shepherd as Nancy Brophy and Steve Guttenberg as her murdered husband, Dan.