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Killer Grannies S01E01
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FunTranscript
00:00Recipes. Some write birthday cards.
00:03Nancy Crampton Brophy wrote murder novels.
00:07But when her husband was killed in broad daylight,
00:10the question became, was this fiction?
00:14Or something far stranger?
00:18The fire department personnel realized that there was a shooting that had occurred.
00:23A medical emergency at Oregon Culinary Institute becomes something much, much darker.
00:32Things weren't right when we responded.
00:36We expected to see a forced entry, a burglary, a robbery,
00:40and we weren't seeing any of those indicators.
00:43We were all interviewed, and the questions were blurred.
00:48Somebody that could plan something like this out is definitely an anomaly.
00:55It looks like the killer planned the perfect crime
00:58until a shocking suspect is uncovered.
01:03Nancy was a romance author and the president of my writing group,
01:08the Rose City Romance Writers.
01:10So she's the queen bee.
01:12She lost herself in her fiction.
01:15It was deliberately sensational.
01:18She seemed like a good grandma.
01:20Even did some babysitting at some point.
01:23We had a hard time wrapping our minds around her being involved in her husband's death.
01:29Is she a cold-blooded killer?
01:32Or just somebody's grandmother?
01:33At the time, I was a student at the Oregon Culinary Institute.
01:56That morning was a normal day.
02:01The class time for both the culinary and the baking and pastry program started at 8 a.m.
02:06I remember I was setting up my station, and I heard a loud shout.
02:12So I walked over to see what was going on,
02:14and when I went into the kitchen,
02:17I saw Chef Brophy was on the ground.
02:20He was in front of the ice machine, and he seemed to have fallen backwards.
02:26I thought maybe he'd had a heart attack.
02:29One of my classmates called 911.
02:33911?
02:33Hi, we are at Oregon Culinary Institute,
02:37and there is somebody collapsed in one of our kitchens.
02:40He's one of our chefs, and he's an older man.
02:42All right, is he conscious right now?
02:44No, he is not conscious.
02:45Okay, is anyone doing CPR?
02:47Yes.
02:48Okay, someone's doing CPR right now?
02:49Yes.
02:50Is he doing compressions?
02:51Oh, my God.
02:58That morning, about 8.24, a call came in
03:01for an unconscious person at the Oregon Culinary Institute.
03:04It seemed like a normal, typical EMS run
03:08with a patient who's having some severe issues
03:11that we need to treat and address.
03:13We were led into the kitchen area where the patient was laying.
03:17The patient wasn't breathing.
03:19He didn't have a pulse.
03:20My firefighter was burying the chest of Mr. Brophy
03:22to put the patches on and to put the Lucas on,
03:25and he said, hey, there's a spot of blood on his chest.
03:30During the process of getting ready to start that IVs,
03:33I was moving his arm,
03:34a shell casing rolled out from underneath.
03:38It was a surprise to me,
03:39it was a surprise to everybody,
03:41but I immediately stopped the scene,
03:43and the initial thought that ran through my head was,
03:45is this a suicide and where's the gun?
03:47During that sweep of just taking that second,
03:51looking around,
03:52I saw two shell casings,
03:55and I knew that this was a shooting.
03:57You don't normally shoot yourself twice.
04:00We determined that it was not a survivable event,
04:03and we terminated efforts and pronounced the patient deceased.
04:06At that point, we called for police code 3.
04:10Dispatches in 19, we need police code 3.
04:13Truck 4, I copy, I'll send in code 3 police.
04:16Yeah, this will be a shooting this summer.
04:20As word of Chef Brophy's death begins to spread,
04:23everyone on campus is spooked and rattled.
04:26I was doing yoga at my home.
04:29I got a call from my colleague.
04:32He said, hey, something happened at school.
04:35Chef Brophy's down.
04:37He's like, okay, I'll go.
04:40I went out in the parking lot,
04:42and I was crying because, you know,
04:44everyone loves Chef Brophy,
04:45and every student of Brophy's absolutely adored him.
04:50Chef Brophy was the backbone of a lot of my stuff,
04:58what I became.
05:00He encouraged me all the time.
05:02Become, you can do it.
05:04I've known Chef Brophy for 22 years.
05:08He's like my father.
05:13And we were all discussing it and trying to calm down.
05:16And that's when the SWAT team showed up.
05:24That whole situation dramatically escalated with the response.
05:30Our police patrol officers didn't know
05:32if there could have been a shooter still on the premises.
05:36T1 responding, just FYI,
05:38I appreciate the building is on lockdown
05:40and the surrounding area,
05:41they have not located the suspect yet.
05:46The police scour the campus,
05:51but they don't find any suspects,
05:54so they make the tough call
05:55to lift the active shooter alert.
05:58That allows investigators in
06:00to start piecing together details.
06:03We quickly wanted to determine
06:05if there were any students
06:06who were missing from that class that day
06:08that may have been responsible for this.
06:11Our concern, obviously,
06:13is that somebody's upset with Dan
06:15and decided that they're going to take him out.
06:20We did follow-up interviews
06:21with each one of those students,
06:23and nothing raised any red flags for us.
06:27Everyone just seemed to talk very highly of him.
06:30The first time I met Chef Brophy,
06:33he was taking everyone out on a field trip
06:36to harvest chanterelle mushrooms.
06:38He was very interested in sustainability,
06:41part of his wisdom that he has to share.
06:45Chef Brophy is an encyclopedia of food.
06:49He had so much knowledge in his brain,
06:53no one has ever seen.
06:56So he has done so much good things
06:58for all the students and community
07:01so they can experience it.
07:05Detectives decide after the interviews
07:07that no students were responsible.
07:11As investigators continue to look for evidence,
07:14patrol cops spot someone
07:16trying to enter the building.
07:17We were notified that Nancy Brophy,
07:20the wife, was at the location,
07:22and she had come to the scene
07:25because she had heard
07:27that there was some kind of situation
07:28at the school.
07:32Nancy appeared to be older.
07:34She had gray hair.
07:36She was somewhat overweight,
07:38dressed in what looked like
07:39elderly women's clothing,
07:41a dark-colored sort of sweater jacket
07:44over another blouse.
07:45Knowing that was the spouse
07:48of our decedent,
07:50we wanted to take the time
07:52and explain to her
07:53what had happened
07:54to give the death notice.
07:56And it's an important part of the process.
08:00We recorded that family notification,
08:02and we normally don't do that.
08:04The only reason we recorded
08:06that interview with her
08:07is we knew we had something big on our hands,
08:09and we didn't want to miss one detail.
08:11We're here with Nancy.
08:13And your last name, Nancy?
08:14Brophy.
08:15Okay.
08:16So,
08:17I just want to let you know
08:19that, you know,
08:20we believe Dan,
08:22Dan,
08:22we believe it's Dan
08:23that's been killed.
08:24Yeah,
08:25I kind of got that
08:26when everybody gave me
08:27this sad sack look.
08:29Yeah.
08:29I am sorry.
08:31It's our job
08:32to figure out what happened,
08:34and that's why
08:34we're talking to you.
08:35Oh, sure.
08:36Is there anybody
08:38that we know of
08:39that wanted to do something
08:41to Dan?
08:42He doesn't harbor judges.
08:44I mean,
08:45he truly doesn't harbor judges.
08:46In 25 years of teaching,
08:49I have never heard him
08:50badmouth a student
08:51one time.
08:52Okay.
08:53She tells them,
08:54we lived a quiet life.
08:55Dan had no enemies.
08:57They both loved to cook,
08:59and they would take romantic trips,
09:00just the two of them.
09:02It was a happy life
09:03with her husband.
09:05They did that for 25 years.
09:09Nancy's statement
09:10doesn't give the cops
09:11much to go on
09:12as far as who killed Dan.
09:14But they work late
09:16into the night
09:16looking into Dan's
09:18immediate co-workers
09:19for possibilities.
09:21We actually did
09:22a lot of research, too,
09:23with the administrators
09:24of the school.
09:26We learned his routine,
09:27and he was methodical
09:28and consistent with it.
09:31He would park his truck
09:32on the corner
09:33right outside the side door
09:35on 17th Avenue,
09:37and then he would take
09:37the garage roll-up door
09:39and open it up
09:40to prepare for his class,
09:41but then he would usually
09:43leave that door open,
09:44or he didn't really,
09:45you know,
09:46he was just kind of
09:47absent-minded
09:47when it came to things
09:48like that.
09:49We didn't see any signs
09:51of forced entry
09:52into the location.
09:54It looked like
09:55somebody came in the door
09:56that Daniel Brophy
09:58had opened
09:59and unlocked
10:00and gone through.
10:03We've got so little
10:05to go on at this point.
10:06It was very much
10:08a whodunit.
10:09Realizing that door
10:11could have let just about
10:12anybody into the building,
10:14police pressed the students
10:16to see if anyone
10:17can describe
10:18a possible suspect.
10:20There was one witness
10:21that morning
10:22that described seeing
10:23a vehicle
10:24driving quickly
10:25out of the area,
10:27a dark SUV.
10:28It had been parked
10:29directly across the street
10:31from Oregon Culinary Institute
10:32on the side street.
10:33It looked like
10:34a person trying to
10:35leave quickly
10:36without being seen.
10:38Is it possible
10:39that that person
10:40could have been involved
10:41or assisted
10:41in this incident?
10:45His wife, Nancy,
10:46wasn't just distraught.
10:48She was angry.
10:49She confronted
10:49the president
10:50of the culinary school
10:51and she said,
10:51why aren't there
10:52cameras displaced?
10:52In this situation,
10:54there's two grandmas.
10:55There was some indication
10:57that Daniel's ex-wife
10:59was hostile.
11:01I thought that there
11:02had to be an explanation.
11:04I couldn't wrap my head
11:05around the idea
11:06of a grandmother
11:07doing something like this.
11:13Police investigating
11:15the mysterious shooting death
11:17of culinary instructor
11:19Daniel Brophy
11:20hear about a suspicious vehicle
11:22spotted racing away
11:24from the school.
11:26Initially,
11:27we investigated
11:27that dark SUV
11:29and we learned
11:31that there was
11:32a car repair shop
11:33directly across the street
11:35from Oregon Culinary Institute
11:37on 17th Avenue.
11:40And we learned
11:41that the dark SUV
11:43was likely workers
11:45that were there
11:46early in the morning
11:47shuttling cars
11:48back and forth
11:49to the dealership.
11:50so there was
11:53no information
11:53of relevance there.
11:55The only evidence
11:57we had of the crime
11:58were the two
11:59spent 9mm
12:00or semi-automatic
12:01shell casings.
12:03The evidence
12:04was small.
12:06We did not locate
12:06a weapon
12:07and there were
12:08no eyewitnesses
12:10to the actual
12:11shooting incident.
12:13There was an alarm system.
12:16Chef Burphy
12:16disabled that alarm
12:17at 7.21 a.m.
12:19and a lot of the students
12:20were arriving at 7.30.
12:22That's a short window of time.
12:26Nobody heard a gunfire.
12:28Nobody saw anybody
12:30running around with a gun.
12:32There weren't any cameras
12:33inside the building
12:34or outside the building.
12:39So at this point
12:40our law enforcement
12:41experience was telling us
12:42that this could be
12:43forced entry,
12:45a burglary,
12:46a robbery,
12:47something of that nature.
12:50Darren, myself,
12:51other investigators,
12:52we all took
12:52different quadrants
12:53of the building
12:54and started searching
12:55for anything out of place.
12:57During the search
12:58one of the interesting
12:59things was that
13:00Mr. Burphy
13:01had his wallet.
13:03The cash and credit cards
13:04were all in his wallet.
13:06It didn't look like
13:07there was a fight
13:08and there didn't appear
13:10to be anything
13:11taken from
13:12the Culinary Institute.
13:14This seemed very focused
13:15on Mr. Burphy.
13:18The evidence
13:19is telling police
13:20that someone
13:22planned this out
13:23and intended
13:24to shoot
13:25Chef Burphy,
13:27hoping they can
13:28unmask his killer,
13:29the cops delved
13:30into his past.
13:33Dan Burphy
13:34was a preacher's son
13:35from North Dakota.
13:36From a very young age
13:37he became enchanted
13:38by both the cultures
13:39of the West
13:40and its food.
13:41He wasn't necessarily
13:42farm to table
13:42but he was
13:43backyard to table,
13:45that's for sure.
13:46So Dan had a first marriage
13:47that was tumultuous
13:48at best.
13:49They had a son together
13:50but Dan left
13:51and was not involved
13:52with his son's life
13:53until around high school.
13:55Nancy Burphy
13:56was from the right side
13:57of the tracks
13:57on Wichita Falls, Texas.
13:58She decided
13:59that she was going
14:00to become
14:01a successful caterer.
14:02So she went
14:03to culinary school
14:04and that's where
14:05she met Dan.
14:07She worked in catering,
14:08had a very successful
14:09business that
14:10she kind of walked
14:11away from inexplicably
14:12to write romance novels.
14:15Nancy was a romance author
14:18and the president
14:19of my writing group,
14:21the Rose City Romance Writers.
14:22So she's the queen bee.
14:24She would celebrate
14:25people who had
14:26either finished books
14:27or published books.
14:28She would give them
14:29a rose
14:29and that was
14:31a very big honor.
14:34Very few people
14:35in the Rose City Romance
14:36Writers were full-time writers.
14:39Most of them,
14:40like Nancy,
14:41were aspiring.
14:45Nancy and Dan
14:46did not have children
14:47but Dan had had
14:48his son, Nathaniel,
14:50when he was married
14:51to his first wife.
14:52During the initial notification
14:55we had with Nancy,
14:57it sounded like
14:57she really loved Nathaniel
15:00as a son,
15:01loved his children,
15:03she considered them
15:04her grandchildren,
15:05and they would have
15:05a lot of family functions
15:07and dinners together.
15:09Nancy wanted to be
15:10the uber-grandma.
15:12She would say,
15:13let's go on a family trip
15:14to the zoo or the garden.
15:15She really wanted to be there
15:17to have some fun time
15:18with the little ones.
15:19It turned out that
15:21Dan and Nancy
15:22had actually acted
15:24as a caregiving couple
15:26to a relative of Nancy's,
15:28right?
15:28Nancy stepped up
15:29and she said,
15:29hey, I could take care
15:30of a young relative.
15:32I'd love it.
15:36The details seem
15:37to paint the picture
15:38of Dan and Nancy
15:40as happily married grandparents.
15:42So why would someone
15:44want Dan dead?
15:47You know,
15:47we had some more information
15:49to try to obtain from her
15:51because we were still
15:51trying to understand
15:52Daniel and some
15:54of the features.
15:55I think we also asked
15:57if Dan would have had
15:58a gun with him
15:59for safety purposes
16:01because he's opening up
16:03the building.
16:04She said that they had
16:06bought a gun
16:07because of school shootings
16:08and she said
16:10she believed it was
16:11at the house
16:11and that they had never
16:12used it ever
16:13because they realized
16:14that after they bought it
16:15they weren't gun people
16:16and so they never
16:17did anything with it
16:18and then what we did
16:20is we had two detectives
16:22go with her
16:23to check on
16:25the status of the gun.
16:30When the detectives
16:31brought that gun back
16:32it still had the zip ties
16:34that are put through
16:35the barrel and slide
16:36to make it safe.
16:37Never operated,
16:38never loaded.
16:40That gun was cleared
16:41by the crime lab
16:42here in Oregon
16:43as not being the gun
16:44that fired the two
16:45spent casings
16:46at our crime scene
16:47so we knew we didn't
16:48have the actual gun
16:50responsible for that.
16:52With just no solid leads
16:55to work with
16:55the police take another
16:57look at the crime scene.
16:59Right across the street
17:00on Southwest Jefferson
17:02about a half a block up
17:03we noticed that
17:05there were pretty good
17:06video cameras
17:07on Bellagio's pizza store.
17:08We went in
17:11the manager took us
17:13to the back video room
17:15and turned the video on.
17:18Cameras were inside
17:19the restaurant
17:20but they filmed
17:21a perspective
17:22that went right through
17:23their big front
17:24picture windows.
17:26Trying to see if like
17:27we see somebody
17:28running from the place
17:29or whatever
17:29and so as I'm
17:31looking at that
17:32this van drives by
17:34it was a tan gray
17:36Toyota minivan.
17:37It looked like
17:40somebody trying
17:41to leave the scene.
17:43It was right
17:44in the beginning
17:45of the morning
17:45it was 7.28 a.m.
17:48There's literally
17:49a student arriving
17:50just a couple minutes
17:51after that.
17:53That's the right time
17:54for when we think
17:55this incident has occurred.
17:57We all were like
17:58who's the person
18:00in the van?
18:05Portland police
18:06set their sights
18:07on a suspicious van
18:09that left the area
18:10right around the time
18:11Dan Brophy was shot.
18:14The question is
18:15who was driving?
18:18As I'm looking
18:18through the video
18:19and I'm like going
18:20that van looks
18:22a lot like Nancy's van
18:24that Nancy drove
18:26to the school
18:27that morning.
18:29It looks exactly like it
18:30and that's what he said
18:31and we all were like
18:32whoa.
18:34It looks exactly like it.
18:36We looked at it
18:37and we were like
18:37oh maybe this is off.
18:39The time stamp
18:40might be off
18:40because she just
18:41drove down here.
18:42Maybe this is when
18:43she first drove down.
18:45But we don't see
18:45any crime scene tape.
18:46There's no police
18:47anywhere.
18:47I mean the person
18:51who you see
18:52in the image
18:53it's hard to see
18:54there's a lot of
18:54reflective issues
18:55and whatnot
18:56but the person
18:59fits Nancy's
19:01description
19:01generally.
19:05This is something
19:06that we need
19:07to examine further.
19:10Immediately
19:10I had Anthony
19:12call our other
19:13detectives
19:14and asked him
19:15to quickly take
19:16some pictures
19:17of the van
19:19as much as he could.
19:21While they were
19:22taking the pictures
19:23Nancy
19:23says
19:25why are you
19:25taking pictures
19:26of my van?
19:27I wasn't down there.
19:29And so
19:30to us
19:31that became
19:31a big red flag.
19:33With that video
19:34possibly showing
19:35Nancy
19:36right there
19:37at the time
19:38of the murder
19:38detectives decide
19:40to show the DA
19:41what they've got.
19:44When I watched
19:45the surveillance video
19:46from Bellagio's
19:47my reaction
19:48was the same
19:49as the detectives.
19:50It kind of had
19:51a profile
19:52that you could
19:53make out
19:53a side view profile
19:54that was consistent
19:56with Nancy
19:56but nothing
19:57that we could
19:58be definitive with.
20:01The video
20:02wasn't clear enough
20:03to really see
20:03the driver
20:04and there was
20:05no license plate
20:05that you could see.
20:07We're not going
20:07to go arrest
20:08somebody just
20:08based on that.
20:10And although
20:11I had it
20:11in the back
20:12of my mind
20:12that Nancy
20:13was there
20:14I thought
20:15that there
20:15had to be
20:15an explanation.
20:16I couldn't wrap
20:17my head
20:17around the idea
20:18of a grandmother
20:20doing something
20:21like this.
20:23It's not
20:23who fits
20:24the mold
20:25of a killer.
20:28Since the video
20:29is too grainy
20:30to prove
20:31Nancy was driving
20:32detectives decide
20:34to look
20:34for more evidence.
20:37Anthony and I
20:38were both
20:38at the autopsy
20:39with the medical
20:40examiner.
20:41Through that
20:42we were able
20:43to get
20:43a feature
20:44of the trajectory
20:45of the shots
20:46through the body
20:47the gunshot
20:49to the back
20:50was actually
20:50probably the first
20:51gunshot
20:52because that
20:53hit his spine
20:54that would have
20:56caused him
20:57to fall backwards.
21:03The trajectory
21:04of the second bullet
21:05to the chest
21:06was angular
21:08almost as if
21:09somebody had come
21:10and stepped up
21:11over his body
21:12and shot
21:13into his chest.
21:16It looked
21:16like somebody
21:18executed
21:18Daniel.
21:22We didn't know
21:24who was responsible
21:24for this.
21:25All we knew
21:25is it seemed
21:26very personal.
21:27It seemed like
21:28somebody went there
21:29with vengeance.
21:30Like they wanted
21:31to kill Chef Brophy
21:32and that was all
21:33they wanted to do
21:34and they did it
21:35in a very tight
21:36window of time
21:37and were undetected.
21:40Judging by how much
21:42this shooting
21:42looks like the work
21:43of a hitman
21:44the cops just
21:46have a hard time
21:47believing that
21:47Nancy pulled the trigger.
21:50We had a hard time
21:51wrapping our minds
21:52around the elderly
21:53grandmother figure
21:54coming in there
21:54and executing her husband
21:56center punched
21:57in the back
21:57and in the chest
21:59like an assassin.
22:01Whoever did the shot
22:02shot well.
22:03They knew what
22:04they were doing
22:04when they shot
22:05the handgun
22:05and we just
22:06couldn't picture that.
22:08As the search
22:09for the killer
22:09goes on
22:10Daniel's family
22:12and friends
22:13gather to say
22:14goodbye.
22:17The feeling
22:18at the vigil
22:19was very positive.
22:22Everyone knew
22:23that Chef Brophy
22:24wouldn't want us
22:25to all just be sad
22:26that day
22:27and instead
22:27we talked about
22:29all of our favorite
22:29things and our favorite
22:30moments with Chef Brophy.
22:31I think we all
22:32needed that
22:32to heal.
22:36We did a
22:37spiritual puza
22:38and that's
22:39my country.
22:40How we do
22:41the only thing
22:43I can share
22:44was
22:44my love.
22:47We lost
22:48someone
22:48who was
22:49one of a kind.
22:51It was an
22:52overwhelming
22:53show of support
22:54with candles
22:55and roses.
22:57His colleagues
22:57were there
22:58and Nancy
22:59Brophy
22:59was there
23:00too.
23:01I stood
23:01across from her
23:02I could see
23:03how sad
23:04she looked.
23:05I thought
23:05this is a
23:05heartbroken widow.
23:08Everyone
23:08quickly
23:09kind of rallied
23:10around to support
23:11her.
23:13Nancy's
23:13the sweet
23:14little grandmother
23:15who's lost
23:16their spouse
23:16to a violent
23:17crime.
23:18It's just
23:19completely
23:20out of the realm
23:21of what you
23:21might expect.
23:22What I came
23:26to find out
23:26later is that
23:27Nancy wasn't
23:28just distraught
23:29she was angry.
23:30She confronted
23:30the president
23:31of the culinary
23:32school and she
23:32said why aren't
23:33there cameras
23:33this place?
23:34Why didn't you
23:34have better
23:35protection here?
23:35If there were
23:36some cameras
23:36we would know
23:37who had killed
23:37my husband.
23:40Nancy was
23:41telling people
23:41at the vigil
23:42who she thought
23:43might be suspects.
23:44She talked
23:45about Dan's
23:46ex-wife who
23:47was apparently
23:47motivated somehow
23:48to get revenge.
23:50That was a piece
23:51of background
23:51information.
23:52on the victim
23:53that didn't come
23:54up when
23:55Nancy was
23:55interviewed.
23:56In this
23:57situation
23:58there's two
23:58grandmas.
23:59There's the
23:59real grandma
24:00by blood
24:02before he
24:03and Nancy
24:04got together.
24:06There was
24:06some indication
24:07that Daniel's
24:09ex-wife
24:09was hostile.
24:14When we
24:14learned about
24:15this information
24:16we were like
24:17oh this is
24:18new.
24:20That definitely
24:21fueled
24:21and motivated
24:22us to
24:24try to
24:25dig that
24:26information out
24:26where we
24:27could.
24:29When you're
24:29looking at
24:30other options
24:30I think you're
24:32always going to
24:32look at the
24:32ex.
24:33What if there
24:34was a motive
24:35even though
24:35it's been
24:3625 years
24:37to come and
24:38murder somebody?
24:39I think that's
24:40something in any
24:40case you're
24:41going to always
24:41want to run
24:41down and
24:42investigate.
24:43when the cops
24:49get a tip
24:50that Dan
24:51Brophy's
24:52estranged
24:52ex-wife
24:53could be
24:54connected to
24:54his murder
24:55they find
24:56and contact
24:57her right
24:58away.
24:59We eventually
24:59got the
25:00contact information
25:00for Daniel
25:01Brophy's
25:02ex-wife
25:03Perla
25:03Stillwater
25:04to make sure
25:05there wasn't
25:05something there.
25:07Perla
25:07Stillwater was
25:08very cooperative
25:08with us
25:09and sat
25:10and gave us
25:10a long
25:10interview.
25:13We found
25:14out that
25:14even though
25:15things had
25:15been difficult
25:16initially
25:17during the
25:17divorce
25:18and after
25:18the divorce
25:19with Daniel
25:20and his
25:21ex-wife
25:21things had
25:22been resolved
25:23and it wasn't
25:24necessarily an
25:25issue.
25:26There was
25:27some healing
25:27trying to
25:28happen in
25:29regards to
25:29what had
25:30happened in
25:30the past.
25:32We didn't
25:33uncover really
25:33any abuse
25:35or mistreatment
25:37between Dan
25:38and his
25:38ex-wife.
25:39They had a
25:40decent
25:40relationship.
25:42I just
25:42didn't
25:42understand
25:43why Nancy
25:43lied about
25:44it.
25:45Right away
25:45I thought
25:46what is
25:48going on
25:49with this
25:49woman?
25:51Once they
25:52clear
25:52Perla
25:53Stillwater
25:54investigators
25:55keep looking
25:55for new
25:56suspects.
25:58While we're
25:59working on
25:59all this
25:59information
26:00Nancy
26:01called
26:01Darren
26:01on the
26:02phone.
26:03I remember
26:04distinctly
26:04I was sitting
26:05right next
26:05to him
26:05and he
26:06just seems
26:07like shocked
26:08by whatever
26:09she just
26:09said.
26:10She's
26:11asking me
26:11about getting
26:12a letter
26:13of clearance
26:13that she's
26:14not a
26:14suspect
26:15in the
26:15case.
26:17And I
26:18was like
26:18why would
26:19you ask
26:19for that?
26:19And what
26:20she said
26:20was that
26:21it was
26:21for a
26:22small
26:22insurance
26:23policy
26:24and that
26:24they needed
26:25that so
26:26that they
26:26could release
26:27funds to
26:27her.
26:30That's not
26:30something the
26:31police do.
26:32They don't
26:32give letters
26:32of exoneration
26:33and she
26:35was very
26:35jovial in
26:36that call.
26:37She thought
26:37it was
26:37funny that
26:38she needed
26:39this letter
26:40to send
26:40to her
26:41insurance
26:41company.
26:43During our
26:44interaction
26:44with Nancy
26:45that first
26:45day she
26:46was a
26:46grieving
26:47elderly
26:47widow
26:48which was
26:49the way
26:49we viewed
26:49her.
26:50But now
26:50she didn't
26:52seem really
26:53upset.
26:54I would
26:55probably say
26:55that's when
26:56we're going
26:57she's involved
26:58somehow.
26:59after this
27:01call the
27:02cops decide
27:03they better
27:04look into
27:04the Brophy
27:05family
27:05financials.
27:07We found
27:08out that
27:08there were
27:09some
27:09financial
27:09issues
27:10with Dan
27:11and Nancy.
27:12They
27:12weren't
27:13making ends
27:14meet all
27:14that great.
27:16We learned
27:17that they
27:18had not
27:18paid their
27:19mortgage
27:19several
27:20different
27:20times over
27:21the period
27:21of about
27:22a year
27:22and a
27:22half.
27:23But we
27:23did note
27:24that they
27:24were
27:24successfully
27:25paying
27:25all these
27:26premiums
27:27for the
27:27life insurance
27:28policies.
27:29When they
27:30were added
27:30up they
27:31were extensive.
27:33She actually
27:34had about
27:34$800,000
27:35in life
27:36insurance
27:36on Dan
27:37and then
27:38because Dan
27:39was killed
27:39at work
27:40she was
27:41going to
27:41be entitled
27:41to
27:42workers
27:42comp
27:43that was
27:43going to
27:44be about
27:44another
27:44$400,000
27:45without
27:46that they
27:47were about
27:47to be
27:47very very
27:48broke
27:49in just
27:49a couple
27:49of months.
27:50Things
27:51would have
27:51been
27:51really
27:51bad.
27:54When
27:54the
27:54detectives
27:55saw
27:55all of
27:56these
27:56overlapping
27:57life
27:57insurance
27:57policies
27:58exclusively
27:58taken out
27:59on Dan
28:00Brophy
28:00they had
28:01a motive.
28:03She stood
28:04to gain
28:04quite a bit
28:05but there's
28:06only so much
28:06you can do
28:07without serving
28:07warrants
28:08seizing cell
28:09phones and
28:09computers
28:09searching the
28:10property
28:11to find
28:11every piece
28:11of evidence.
28:13We were
28:14confident
28:14at this
28:14point
28:15that we
28:15had ruled
28:16out any
28:16other suspects
28:17in this
28:17case
28:17based on
28:18the
28:18investigation.
28:20We felt
28:20100%
28:21confident
28:22that that
28:22was Nancy's
28:23van
28:23that drove
28:24into the
28:25area before
28:25his death
28:26and left
28:27area right
28:27after his
28:28death.
28:30Police
28:30changed
28:31their tune
28:32about
28:32Nancy
28:32Brophy.
28:33This
28:34woman they
28:34thought was
28:35a grieving
28:36granny has
28:37quickly become
28:38their main
28:38suspect in
28:39her husband's
28:40murder.
28:42We had a
28:42lot to
28:43learn still.
28:45I couldn't
28:46wrap my head
28:46around the
28:47idea that
28:48this person
28:48who looks
28:49like my
28:49grandmother
28:49could kill.
28:51Nancy did
28:55not have
28:56any criminal
28:56history that
28:57we found.
28:58We learned
28:59by speaking
29:00to her
29:00brother-in-law
29:01that she
29:02had an
29:03interesting
29:03interaction
29:04with one
29:04of her
29:05family members.
29:06One of
29:07her relatives
29:08was in
29:09trouble
29:10criminally.
29:12So Nancy
29:12and Dan
29:13had started
29:13to provide
29:14care for
29:15the relative's
29:15child for
29:16some time
29:17frame here
29:17in Portland.
29:18And at
29:19some point
29:19Nancy didn't
29:20think that
29:20the child
29:21should return
29:21to that
29:22house.
29:23And she
29:23apparently,
29:25according to
29:26records we
29:26found,
29:27attempted to
29:27keep the
29:28child against
29:30the parents'
29:31decision-making
29:32on this.
29:33Nancy had
29:35almost somewhat
29:36kidnapped this
29:36person for a
29:38period of time
29:38that was so
29:40odd.
29:41Ultimately,
29:42the child went
29:43back with his
29:44parents.
29:46I don't think
29:47we really ever
29:48understood what
29:48was really going
29:49on with Nancy
29:50at that time
29:51other than
29:52she was
29:52expressing a
29:53desire to
29:54become this
29:55child's
29:55grandparent,
29:56essentially.
30:02Stories from
30:03Nancy's past
30:04start to reveal
30:05she's got more
30:06than a few
30:07dark corners
30:08in her
30:08personality.
30:10I think she
30:11always leaned
30:12into the
30:13harmless grandmother
30:14stereotype or
30:15expectation based
30:16on her looks.
30:17unassuming and
30:20quiet and
30:21humble.
30:23But by
30:24contrast, the
30:25Nancy as
30:26president, she
30:29is up front at
30:30the podium like a
30:31blowhard, like
30:32larger than life,
30:33and that was a
30:34very specific
30:35personality pattern.
30:39Nancy Brophy
30:40wanted to be a
30:41successful romance
30:41novelist.
30:43She'd gone and
30:44taken classes.
30:44She'd learned that
30:45the way to be a
30:46successful romance
30:47novelist is to
30:48write a series of
30:48novels and give
30:49the first one for
30:50free and make
30:50them buy the
30:51rest.
30:51So she published
30:52under her own
30:53name and she
30:54self-published
30:54those books.
30:56It was a big
30:56dream, but she
30:57was never
30:57successful.
30:58She was making
30:5810 or 20
30:59bucks off these
31:00books.
31:00I think it was
31:02horribly embarrassing
31:03for Nancy.
31:06She is the
31:07president of this
31:08group that's
31:09supposed to make
31:10authors successful,
31:11but she never
31:12really built either
31:13that audience or
31:15got that traditional
31:16publishing recognition.
31:18The reality, the
31:20financial reality, was
31:21that they were really
31:22living on the edge.
31:23Several of her
31:24friends said that
31:25Nancy needed to
31:26borrow money from
31:27them in order to be
31:28able to fund going to
31:29some of these writing
31:31events and conventions.
31:33We started to find
31:35out Nancy was a
31:36romance novelist.
31:37People started
31:38contacting us because
31:40Nancy had written a
31:42writer's blog and it
31:44was how to murder
31:46your husband.
31:50They talked about
31:51how you go to the
31:52person's work site,
31:53make sure there's no
31:54video cameras, you do
31:55these things, and it
31:57was just kind of this
31:57theme of a woman
31:58character.
31:59solving her problem
32:01by getting rid of a
32:02male in her life that
32:03was causing all her
32:04problems.
32:05It was clickbait.
32:06It was deliberately
32:07sensational, but if
32:10you read the comments,
32:11it's really quite
32:12disturbing.
32:13One person said,
32:14I'm going to check on
32:15Dan and see if he's
32:16okay.
32:21I don't know to what
32:22degree she lost
32:25herself in her fiction.
32:27I think that a question
32:29that we always wanted to
32:31understand was Nancy
32:33using her books as a
32:35trial ground for
32:36ultimately acting out
32:39that process of shooting
32:41your husband, getting away
32:43with it, riding off into
32:44the sunset to do the
32:45things you wanted to do
32:46in life.
32:47She had written that
32:48article back in 2011, but
32:51nonetheless, it made us
32:52curious about her writing.
32:54It was apparent that she had
32:55knowledge of firearms, police
32:58procedures, and how somebody
33:02might carry out a murder.
33:03With money as a motive, and
33:10Nancy's writing more than a
33:12little suspicious, the DA gives
33:14police the okay to have a team
33:16watch Nancy's movements.
33:19The idea was that detectives
33:21were going to be out on scene
33:23so they could monitor where she
33:25was, because we kind of thought
33:27that maybe she had wind, that we
33:29were onto her.
33:30So, I walked over to the
33:32Portland Police Bureau, we get
33:34upstairs, and we're informed
33:37that there was some
33:38miscommunication on scene, and
33:41she had been arrested.
33:43Whoops!
33:45They jumped the gun with the
33:46arrest.
33:48Without the right evidence, the
33:50entire case could fall apart.
33:54It was a chaotic moment because
33:56Nancy was arrested too soon.
33:58It starts this countdown clock
34:00because suddenly they need to go
34:01and show a grand jury that they
34:03have proof, which they weren't
34:05quite ready to do.
34:17Nancy was transported back to the
34:18detective division.
34:20Darren and I attempted to interview
34:22her.
34:23We know that you're involved with
34:26your husband's death.
34:28The information's clear.
34:29It shows your vehicle.
34:30It even captures your license plate.
34:33Before you are asked any questions,
34:35you must understand your rights.
34:37I understand those rights, and I
34:38have a lawyer.
34:39Okay.
34:41She invoked and asked for an
34:42attorney very quickly.
34:45Nancy didn't ask for an
34:46explanation about why she was
34:48being arrested.
34:49Her response was, oh, you must
34:51think I killed my husband, and it
34:52surprised me just because of the
34:54lack of emotion that this person
34:55was showing.
34:58The clock is ticking, and the
35:00cops have to scramble to gather
35:02enough evidence to make their
35:03case.
35:04We went to the house to execute
35:06the search warrant.
35:07We found various life insurance
35:09policy documentation that we
35:11collected.
35:12We also found documentation of a
35:14storage unit that she had
35:15purchased.
35:16We conducted a search warrant on
35:20that storage unit, and during
35:22that search, a box was located
35:25that was marked Scarves, Purses,
35:28and GK.
35:30And when they opened that, it was
35:33an unbuilt ghost gun.
35:37The ghost gun is an 80% built
35:40firearm.
35:40You could buy online.
35:42It's unserialized.
35:43It's unregistered, and once you
35:45buy it and it arrives, you have
35:47to do a couple of things to it in
35:50order for it to be an operable
35:52firearm.
35:53We realized the gun's never been
35:55put together, but she never told
35:57us about this gun.
35:59Why would you have a ghost gun,
36:00especially that kind of gun that's
36:02unserialized with law enforcement?
36:05So we started developing a running
36:07theory once we found that gun that
36:09that must have been her plan, was to
36:11buy a ghost gun, she could commit
36:13the murder with it, she could drop
36:15it in one of her many bodies of
36:16water, and nobody would be the
36:19wiser, and we'll never find it.
36:21But once she realized that she
36:23couldn't build it, she had to come
36:24up with another plan.
36:27And that's when we found the other
36:28guns.
36:29Once the cops find Nancy Brophy's
36:37ghost gun, they scour every bit of
36:39her activity on the internet to see
36:42what else she's hiding.
36:45Come to find out, Nancy buys a full-
36:48size Glock handgun at a gun show.
36:52And then she was on eBay, and she had
36:55purchased the slide and the barrel
36:58assemblies that fit onto a Glock
37:02handgun.
37:04That gun that she bought at the gun
37:05show turned out to be the gun that
37:07she had handed over to police on the
37:09day of the murder.
37:11So knowing that that gun was not the
37:14murder weapon, we started thinking,
37:16well, maybe she swapped the slide and
37:17barrel.
37:19Once police had that, if they tested it,
37:22it would not be a match and would take
37:24us off the trail that she possibly did
37:26this.
37:28Despite continuous searching, searching
37:30of sewers, searching of garbage cans, we
37:33were never able to find the slide and
37:35barrel that she bought on eBay.
37:41Unfortunately, ballistics can't match
37:44Nancy's gun to the crime.
37:46So the cops go back to that video of the
37:49suspicious van to see what else lines up.
37:54We knew this van fit with the
37:56description of the Nancy's van.
37:58So we started working really hard on
38:00the video.
38:01We played with it over and over trying
38:03to grab that one image.
38:05We were able to actually read numbers
38:08and letters off the license plate.
38:12And we were able to run reports with
38:15DMV.
38:16The only one with that partial plate
38:19make, model, and color came back to
38:22their van, the Brophy van.
38:26And that video also provided for us a
38:28really good window of time when she first
38:31arrived in the van.
38:32It was 7.08 a.m.
38:35That morning, Dan had put in his pin to
38:39disarm the alarm.
38:40And he did that at 7.21 a.m.
38:42We have the video that shows the van
38:46leaving at 7.28.
38:48And we know the next instructor arrived
38:50shortly after 7.30.
38:52So we did have a nice tight window that
38:55we could focus on.
38:57We believe that she had parked somewhere
38:59in that back block where there's no
39:00video and saw him park, saw him leave the
39:04door open and went in and did what she did.
39:14That made us feel pretty strong about our case.
39:18With all the evidence he needs, the D.A.
39:22proves to the grand jury that this case is
39:25ready to move to trial.
39:27Nancy's trial is delayed for many years.
39:33COVID hits and the courthouses shut down.
39:36So she sits in jail for four long years,
39:39from 2018 to 2022.
39:49I was very confident that we were going
39:51to convict Nancy as long as our evidence
39:54came in the way that we anticipated it.
39:57We wanted an older jury.
40:01We thought a young juror would walk in the
40:04courtroom, look at her.
40:07She's going to be dressed in nice clothing.
40:09She always had a nice scarf on every day.
40:11And they're going to see their own grandmother
40:13and not ever be able to convict their own grandmother.
40:21The defense pushed really hard on our theory
40:25of the case.
40:25She tried to explain what she was doing that morning
40:29and why she would have lied about it
40:32because it just came across so insincere.
40:36This was a very tough trial for Dan's family.
40:41Dan's son, Dan's mother and father were all there.
40:44They were trying to see justice done
40:47for the person who had killed their son.
40:49And they're seeing this person deny it all.
40:52It didn't make any sense.
40:54So I said, isn't it possible?
40:56What really drove Nancy to kill was
40:58she wanted to change a lifestyle.
41:01And Dan couldn't give that to her.
41:03Ultimately, we were left with a good panel.
41:14We went about eight weeks.
41:16This is poor, if you can rise.
41:18The jury came back with the correct verdict of guilty
41:21for murder in the second degree,
41:23which carries a life sentence.
41:25With Nancy locked up,
41:30Dan's memory lives on
41:32in the hearts of those
41:33who learned from and loved him.
41:36There's a lot of lasting wisdoms
41:39that Jeff Brophy has given to a lot of people.
41:43I wish that he could have continued to teach.
41:45He left a great impact on many people
41:49that love him still.
41:59Something I personally struggled with was,
42:03how did we even get here?
42:04How does this even happen?
42:07It's hard to believe Nancy Brophy,
42:09this elderly lady we just sat with and cried with,
42:12that she could have come there and killed him.
42:15Not what you picture in your head
42:18when you think grandmother.
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