A former Texas high school football coach was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife two decades ago. David Temple was found guilty on Tuesday after a jury deliberated for just over eight hours in his second trial related to the 1999 slaying.
Temple was accused of fatally shooting his wife, Belinda Temple, in the back of the head in their Katy, Texas home. Belinda was eight months pregnant at the time.
Brian Lucas, Belinda’s brother, told the media after the verdict that “the evidence was still there. It never changed. David was guilty from day one. The phone call I got that night, 10 minutes to 9 on Monday night, January 11, I said he was guilty then. 20 and a half years later, David Temple is still guilty.”
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Temple faces up to life in prison.
During closing arguments, prosecutors said Temple committed the murder because he wanted out of his marriage because he was having an affair. Temple later married his mistress, Heather, who filed for divorce shortly after his second trial began.
“48 Hours” covered Temple’s original trial in 2007, when it took more than eight years to bring Temple to trial.
“Harris County did an excellent job of collecting evidence and processing the scene,” Steve Clappart told “48 Hours.”
At the time, Steve Clappart was an investigator for the District Attorney’s Office. He said Belinda Temple’s murder unnerved the Houston suburb of Katy. Temple grew up there and was a high school football star. After college, he brought Belinda back to his hometown.
Belinda taught special education at Katy High. David coached football in a nearby town. Their son, Evan, was 3-and-a-half years old when Belinda was killed.
David served nine years in prison before his conviction was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal appeals in late 2016. The court found he did not get a fair trial, and granted his request for a new one.
