Nancy Brophy case joins list of Oregon true crime sagas, from unsolved mysteries (D.B. Cooper) to tragic murders

The current podcast, “Happily Never After: Dan and Nancy,” from Wondery in partnership with The Oregonian/OregonLive, tells a story based on a shocking 2018 Portland murder, in which a woman who once wrote an essay titled “How to Kill Your Husband” was convicted of exactly that crime.

The podcast is another example of consumers’ seemingly limitless appetite for true crime stories, a genre that, depending on how it’s done, can range from illuminating to exploitative. Over the years, Oregon-related cases have been part of the true crime menu, in everything from dramatized versions to journalistic explorations.

Here’s a look at some of the most notable Oregon-connected cases that have received national media attention.

Nancy Crampton Brophy: “Happily Never After: Dan and Nancy,” the podcast from Wondery and The Oregonian/OregonLive, is bringing the strange-but-true saga of a notorious Oregon murder case to listeners from all over. It began in June 2018, when students of the now-closed Oregon Culinary Institute discovered one of their instructors, Daniel Brophy, had been fatally shot.

As investigators began looking into the case, Brophy’s wife, a self-published author of romance novels, emerged as a suspect. The case leapt into the national spotlight with the news that among Crampton Brophy’s works was a 2011 online essay, titled “How to Murder Your Husband.”

In addition to the podcast, the case has been the subject of a 2022 episode of “Dateline,” and inspired a 2023 Lifetime TV movie, “How to Murder Your Husband: The Nancy Brophy Story,” which starred Cybill Shepherd as Crampton Brophy and Steve Guttenberg as Daniel Brophy.

(You can watch the “Dateline” episode, “Murder in Kitchen One,” via Fubo, which offers a free trial. You can stream Lifetime movies on DirecTV Stream; on Philo, which offers a free trial; and on Fubo)

“Ghosts of Highway 20″/”Lost Women of Highway 20″: The Oregonian/OregonLive’s 2018 prize-winning project, “Ghosts of Highway 20″ combined reporting, photography and video to investigate a series of cases involving women who were raped and killed over the course of several years in the vicinity of Highway 20, in Oregon. The newspaper’s stories brought to light how the justice system had failed the women who were victims. Those interviewed included Marlene Gabrielsen, who in 1977 was assaulted and raped by a man named John Arthur Ackroyd. Authorities didn’t prosecute, and Ackroyd went on to be convicted in two Oregon murder cases, and was, police believe, responsible for more.

The Oregonian “Ghosts of Highway 20″ stories, photos and five-part video series inspired Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer to narrate and be an executive producer of “Lost Women of Highway 20,” a 2023 documentary series that aired on Investigation Discovery.

(The “Ghosts of Highway 20″ video series is on YouTube; “Lost Women of Highway 20″ streams on Philo)

D.B. Cooper: The mystery of who the skyjacker known as D.B. Cooper really was, and what became of him after he parachuted out of a plane over Northwest skies in 1971, carrying $200,000, has never been solved. But that hasn’t showed down the onslaught of documentaries, and news magazine episodes that interview supposed experts who have theories about Cooper’s identity and fate.

Among the examples of TV’s obsession with the Cooper saga are 2020′a “The Final Hunt for D.B. Cooper,” an episode of the History Channel true crime series, “History’s Greatest Mysteries.”

Also in 2020, HBO aired “The Mystery of D.B. Cooper,” which told the stories of four people who might have been Cooper.

In 2022, a movie, “I Am D.B. Cooper,” offered a mix of re-enactments, along with some interviews, including a man in Mount Vernon, Washington, who claimed that he was the real Cooper.

(”I Am D.B. Cooper” is available to rent or purchase on sites including Amazon Prime Video, DirecTV, and more)

Diane Downs: One of the most shocking true crime stories in Oregon history involved a woman named Diane Downs, who was convicted of shooting her own three children, and killing one. Downs was accused of trying to murder her children, in 1983, after she became infatuated with a married man. The case drew even more attention when Downs turned up pregnant at her 1984 trial. In 1987, Downs briefly escaped from the Oregon Women’s Correctional Center in Salem, and was soon recaptured.

The sensational nature of the terrible crime caught the attention of the national media early on. Seattle-based true crime author Ann Rule’s 1987 book, “Small Sacrifices,” took the story of the woman whose full name was Elizabeth Diane Downs to readers all over the country. Rule’s book was adapted into a 1989 two-part TV movie, also titled “Small Sacrifices,” which starred Farrah Fawcett as Downs, and Ryan O’Neal as a married man with whom Downs was having an affair.

Among the other media accounts was a “20/20″ episode in 2010, which included an interview with the now-grown child with whom Downs had been pregnant during her trial, and another episode about the case, which aired in 2019.

Kyron Horman: The immensely sad story of Kyron Horman, who was 7 years old when he disappeared in 2010, has been told many times in national media. “Real Life Nightmare,” a true crime series on the HLN cable channel, devoted a 2020 episode, titled “Vanished from School,” to the case.

Other TV shows that looked at the case include a 2020 Investigation Discovery documentary, “Little Boy Lost: An ID Mystery,” and a 2020 episode of “In Pursuit With John Walsh,” another Investigation Discovery series.

In a 2016 episode of “Dr. Phil,” Terri Horman, who was Kyron Horman’s stepmother, ssid she thought the boy was still alive. As The Oregonian/OregonLive reported, Kyron’s father, Kaine Horman, and biological mother, Desiree Young, have suggested that Terri Horman had something to do with Kyron’s disappearance.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that authorities believe that Terri Horman was the last person to see Kyron before he went missing from his school in Northwest Portland. No charges have been filed in the case. Terri Horman has denied that she was the last person to be seen with Kyron and has said that she doesn’t know what happened to him.

Rebecca Schaeffer: The former Lincoln High School student from Portland was just beginning what seemed to be a promising acting career in Los Angeles, when she was shot at her home by an obsessed fan, in 1989. The tragedy of Schaeffer’s murder made national headlines, and led to legal changes intended to help protect people from stalkers.

The case was revisited in a “20/20″ documentary that aired in 2019.

“The Happy Face Killer”: The story of convicted murderer Keith Jesperson continues to inspire new versions. Jesperson gained “The Happy Face Killer” moniker after he confessed to killing women in a series of anonymous letters sent to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and to The Oregonian, and included smiley-face signatures.

Lifetime aired another of its ripped-from-the-headlines TV movies about the case, the 2014 title, “Happy Face Killer,” which starred David Arquette as Jesperson.

Earlier this year, the streaming service Paramount Plus announced that Dennis Quaid would play Jesperson in a new TV series, “Happy Face,” which is scheduled for 2025. In the series, Annaleigh Ashford plays Melissa Moore, who tried to cope with learning that she was the daughter of Jesperson, who is serving a life sentence at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

The Paramount Plus series is inspired by the “Happy Face” podcast, and the book, “Shattered Silence,” by Moore and M. Bridget Cook.

— Kristi Turnquist covers features and entertainment. Reach her at 503-221-8227, kturnquist@oregonian.com or @Kristiturnquist

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