PORTLAND, Ore. (KFDX/KJTL) — A romance and murder mystery-writing wife and her beloved chef husband are at the center of a murder investigation that’s gaining national attention.

Nancy Crampton Brophy is on trial for the 2018 murder of her husband Daniel Brophy.

Brophy’s name can be found on numerous self-published titles, including a 2011 blog post entitled “How To Murder Your Husband”.

Perhaps even more shocking is where else you can find the novelist’s name; inside a yearbook from Wichita Falls High School.

Brophy was a graduate of Old High in 1968, and one of her classmates said she’d never thought she’d see the former Wichitan’s name in the news attached to an actual murder.

“It was really kind of crazy,” said Brophy’s former classmate, who wishes to remain anonymous.

It’s like something out of a movie.

“Yes, that’s Nancy,” Brophy’s former classmate said. “She was in our class at Wichita Falls High School in 1968.”

While Brophy is making headlines for accusations of ending her husband’s life, her former classmate remembers her quite differently.

“She was very outgoing,” Brophy’s former classmate said. “She was my debate partner for a while, and in fact, I spent the night at her house more than once doing debate prep and studying. She was a very good student, but I hadn’t heard from her since high school.”

In more than 50 years since graduating from Old High and leaving Wichita Falls, Brophy and her husband had been living in suburbs of Portland, Oregon.

There, Brophy wrote romance and suspense novels and essays, including the formerly mentioned intriguing blog post “How To Murder Your Husband”.

“It’s all very strange,” Brophy’s former classmate said. “And the strangest part of it is that she was writing murder mystery novels and one of them was called ‘How To Murder Your Husband’. Now that is really strange.”

Brophy’s husband worked at the Oregon Culinary Institute, where he was fatally shot in June 2018.

Brophy was arrested in September 2018 as a suspect in the murder, months before the WFHS Class of 1968’s 50-year high school reunion.

“We knew nothing about it,” Brophy’s former classmate said. “They had a nametag for her with her high school photo on it, and I was going to look for Nancy. The person who was registering us said, ‘Oh, she won’t be here. I think she’s in jail’.”

Brophy has in fact remained behind bars since her 2018 arrest.

Her former classmate said it’s very shocking to see someone she spent so much time with growing up be accused of murdering their spouse.

“I’ve followed off and on and seeing what the evidence was,” Brophy’s former classmate said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what the verdict is when they come back next week. But, oh gosh, you just never think about this happening to someone that you went to high school with and someone that was, you know, from a good family and a well-known family in town.”

Now, everyone is awaiting a verdict.

Authorities in Portland have not publicly disclosed any other suspect in the case.

The defense could begin presenting their case as early as Monday, April 25.

Our Nexstar affiliate in Portland, KOIN, has been following Brophy’s trial since it began.

Stick with Texoma’s Homepage for updates on Brophy’s trial and for shared stories from KION.