Prosecutors grill Nancy Crampton-Brophy during cross examination at murder trial

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - Romance novelist Nancy Crampton-Brophy took the stand at her murder trial for the second day Tuesday.

She claimed her marriage with Daniel Brophy had no problems.

Crampton-Brophy, 71, was again confident in the witness box, but she wasn’t as calm and casual while being questioned by her attorneys on Monday. She was more combative with the prosecution as they dug deep with their questioning on the Glock 17 and the ghost gun she bought in 2018.

Prosecutors spent the first part of the day questioning Brophy about the guns she bought. They brought both of them into court Tuesday and when they showed the weapons to Crampton-Brophy, she visibly got uncomfortable.

Crampton-Brophy claimed that she bought the ghost gun for research and the Glock 17 for Dan’s protection. Prosecutors also pressed her on the whereabouts of a separate barrel and slide she bought on eBay for the Glock 17. The state believes this is a key piece of evidence that can explain why forensics of the shooting didn’t match the gun.

Here is an exchange between Crampton-Brophy and prosecutors when they asked her why she didn’t initially turn over a box of evidence to police.

Prosecutor: I’m failing to understand what your rationale was for making this available to the police. If you think it’s so important to them. That at some point they’re going to ask for it. But you don’t call them.

Crampton-Brophy: I figured the police were doing the police’s job the way the police did it. I will be the first to tell you, I got my detective’s license on TV. I guarantee you I had ideas about how this case should have gone but I figured police had more experience and they were the ones in charge.

Prosecutor: So you think you have relevant evidence to a murder investigation and you don’t think you should mention it to police?

Crampton-Brophy: How is a gun kit, even though I marked it, how is a gun kit relative evidence?

Prosecutor: I’m asking you.

Crampton-Brophy: I’m asking you because I don’t think it is because it’s never been put together

Prosecutor: Why would you mark it for the police?

Crampton-Brophy: Because I figured the police would come back and want to know.

Prosecutors also tried to get more details out of Crampton-Brophy about the morning Dan was murdered.

On Monday, she told the court that she was at home on June 2, 2018, writing after going to Starbucks. But then Tuesday, she admitted she was driving around Portland and claimed she was writing for a book. She also said she was in the same area of the Oregon Culinary Institute that morning but could not remember if she went inside the school.

Prosecutor: How do you know you didn’t go in the building?

Crampton-Brophy: I know I didn’t go in the building because I didn’t kill Dan. I know that for a fact.

Prosecutor: But you have no memory, how do you know you didn’t go in the building?

Brophy: You know I’m reconstructing this, but I’m reconstructing this based on what I know in my heart. What I know in my heart is the reason why I have no memory is because I was stunned by the fact Dan was dead.

The cross examination ended with prosecutors asking her about what it takes to murder someone. Crampton-Brophy said anyone is capable for murder, but they must have a reason to do it.

“I don’t think people murder willy-nilly, just because,” Brophy said. “Yeah financial reasons is a big reason but going back to my case, there’s not enough financial reason to make it. I do better with Dan alive financially than I do with Dan dead.”

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