Coronavirus: Oregon romance writer charged with murdering husband denied ‘guest house’

PORTLAND, Ore. — A self-published Oregon romance novelist, charged with fatally shooting her husband in 2018, will not be allowed to stay in a private guest house, a judge ruled Friday.

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Nancy Crampton Brophy, 69, whose works include “The Wrong Husband: Wrong Never Felt So Right" and essay called “How To Murder Your Husband,” has been awaiting trial at the Multnomah Detention Center in Portland, The Oregonian reported. Her attorneys argued that Brophy was “at risk of imminent death in jail” from the coronavirus pandemic because of her age and diabetic condition, the newspaper reported.

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Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras said Brophy must seek a bail hearing if she wants to be released, according to court records. She had previously waived her right to that hearing, The Oregonian reported.

Brophy was arrested in September 2018, three months after her husband of 27 years, 63-year-old Daniel Brophy, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds at the Portland culinary school where he was a teacher, KGW reported. Nancy Brophy has pleaded not guilty to the charges; her trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 28, the television station reported.

Nancy Brophy’s attorneys requested a transfer from jail to a "home detention with GPS monitoring and round-the-clock curfew,” The Oregonian reported. The arrangement was similar to one granted by a New York judge to incarcerated celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti, who will be allowed to stay at a friend’s home for 90 days after undergoing a 14-day quarantine at a prison.

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Multnomah County’s two jails, which can accommodate up to 1,200 inmates, have not reported any COVID-19 cases among inmates or jail staff, The Oregonian reported.

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