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Post by Graveyardbride on Jan 6, 2017 12:34:44 GMT -5
David & Belinda Temple and son, Evan Texas Wife Killer Free on Bail Awaiting New TrialDavid Temple, convicted of murdering his wife in 2007, was officially released from prison December 28, 2016. His bond was set at $30,000.
In November, an appeals court ruled that Temple should get a new trial in the January 11, 1999, murder of his pregnant wife, Belinda Temple, who was eight months pregnant when she was shot in the back of the head with a shotgun, literally blowing away part of her head. The child she was carrying, whom she was going to name Erin, did not survive. The Temples’ son, Evan, was 3 when his mother was killed. The divided court ruled that important evidence had been withheld during the trial. The 20-gauge shotgun used to kill Belinda Temple has never been found.
Temple, a former Katy High School football star and Alief ISD football coach has always insisted he is innocent and the real killer is still “out there.” In a 48 Hours episode, Temple said, “Two angels left to go to heaven a long time ago and justice hadn’t been served one day for them yet.”
Former Harris County prosecutor Kelly Siegler, notorious for her attention-grabbing courtroom demonstrations, prosecuted the case. She theorized Temple killed his wife to be with his mistress, whom he later married. “Who is David Temple? He’s a man nobody ever said no to,” Siegler said during the trial. In 2015, a judge found 36 instances of prosecutorial misconduct. Siegler has thus far refused to comment except to deny any wrongdoing.
“David Temple is an innocent man. The timeline proves it. The evidence proves it,” insisted defense attorney Stan Schneider. The lawyer accuses Siegler of both intentionally withholding evidence and turning over evidence late, including crucial clues he believes point to a second possible suspect. “The first day of the murder, Riley Joe Sanders said, ‘I was at school all day and I never saw anything,’” Schneider declared. “To what later came out, ‘I was home, I skipped school by smoking dope.’” Sanders, 16, was a neighbor and one of Belinda’s students at Katy High. Defense attorneys theorize that Sanders was mad at Belinda for complaining to his parents about his frequent absences. Sanders, now married with a child, was never charged in the case and his attorney insists he’s innocent.
Crime writer Kathryn Casey disagrees. “That was actually all covered at the trial. I mean, the jury heard all of that,” she explained. “The suggestion that the appeals court makes is that had they had that evidence earlier they might have honed the argument differently and been more able to be effective in the defense.” Casey sat through the entire trial and wrote Shattered: The True Story of a Mother’s Love, a Husband’s Betrayal, and a Coldblooded Texas Murder, a book about the Temple case and its compelling twists and turns. “I don't know of any evidence that clears David at all,” she added.
But David Temple’s family claim there has never been any evidence that convicts him – no fingerprints, no forensics, no DNA. They are convinced the jury got it wrong the first time.
On Thursday, January 5, 2017, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said she would personally review thousands of pages of evidence and testimony in the case because of the controversy surrounding Kelly Siegler. The decision whether to seek a retrial or dismiss the murder case against Temple is in Ogg’s hands. “I will personally review the files,” she asserted. “There is no review team and the decision will be mine. This won’t be the practice in every case. This stands out because there have been so many accusations and such controversy about the trial prosecutor.” Back in 1999, when it was revealed that David Temple was having an affair with a co-worker, Heather Scott, whom he later married, he became the prime suspect in a saga that led to his prosecution by the high-profile Siegler. He was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison and Siegler later starred in a nationally televised show about cold cases.
At a news conference Wednesday, Schneider cited the epic file, which begins with a 1,400-page offense report and has been growing for more than 16 years. “It took me a month to read the offense report,” he claimed. “It took me another two weeks to read the grand jury testimony from 1999. And that’s just the start of the process.”
The archive of reports, trial testimony and exhibits is massive. It contains audio tapes and thousands of pages of notes, telephone records and other evidence in at least a dozen boxes that prosecutors cart around on an industrial four-wheeled dolly. The transcripts alone are dozens of volumes and there are at least 200 pages of appellate opinions on the case. “It’s a ton of stuff,” Schneider continued. “The writ hearing lasted 26 days. The original trial lasted 22 days, so there’s a lot of material that has to be digested.” Add to that the possible reports, notes or records of privileged information Ogg can access as the elected DA. Schneider said he thinks it will take her at least two months just to read all he information. “And then comes the hard part, she has to digest it all. She has to come to her own conclusions.” Schneider added that he and Temple are comfortable with Ogg taking the time to personally review the file. “If she’s comfortable with it, I’m comfortable with it,” he said.
The defense attorney suggested at his news conference that Ogg enlist the help of DA employees who have been involved in the case since 1999 and floated the names of three attorneys and an investigator. The suggestion was rejected by Ogg, who insisted the infamous case is too important to delegate. “It is the duty of a prosecutor to seek justice,” she said. “I have many responsibilities, but none more important than protecting the integrity of a criminal prosecution in Harris County.” Sources: John Chapin, KHOU, December 28, 2016; Brian Rogers, The Houston Chronicle, January 6, 2017; Shattered:The True Story of a Mother's Love, a Husband's Betrayal and a Cold-Blooded Texas Murder by Kathryn Casey; and State of Texas v. David Mark Temple, Cause No. 1008763, Harris County District Court, Houston, Texas.
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Post by pat on Jan 7, 2017 2:36:02 GMT -5
There's more to this case. If there wasn't, you wouldn't have called him a wife killer, you would have said "alleged" or "accused" wife killer. Why are you so sure that he's guilty?
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Post by kitty on Jan 7, 2017 18:32:09 GMT -5
This case was on 48 Hours a few months ago and after that I saw some comments on sites where people posted that they weren't sure that he was guilty. I know that sometimes innocent people are convicted and sent to prison, but I don't think that this is one of those cases. Something about David Temple just isn't right and I think that he's probably guilty.
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Post by madeline on Jan 9, 2017 17:54:48 GMT -5
It takes a heartless SOB to blow his pregnant wife's head off with a shotgun and David Temple is as guilty as they come.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Apr 25, 2017 20:31:12 GMT -5
There's more to this case. If there wasn't, you wouldn't have called him a wife killer, you would have said "alleged" or "accused" wife killer. Why are you so sure that he's guilty? I’m sorry for not responding sooner; I didn’t realize until now that you’d asked a question.
Yes, I’m sure he’s guilty because no one else had a reason to kill his wife. He treated her like dirt, told her she was “fat” when she was several months pregnant and he was having an affair with another woman and didn’t want the baby. Investigators determined the break-in was staged and there was a vicious Chow dog in the backyard that wouldn’t allow anyone – not even neighbors it knew – to enter the yard and it was the glass in the back door that was broken. Temple is a disgusting lout who never got over being a high school football hero. A man who murders a woman pregnant with his child is the lowest form of life on Earth and this oaf should never have been released from prison to await trial.
The Temple house at 22502 Round Valley Dr., Katy, Texas, was Mystery Location No. 33 in January of this year. whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/6393/mystery-location-33-january-2017
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Post by jane on Apr 30, 2017 17:36:59 GMT -5
This is what happens when prosecutors don't follow the rules. If she had released whatever it was to the other side, that Neanderthal would have probably still been found guilty. Now, he might get away with it like that preacher that killed his wife in Alabama. whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/5690/july-2013-who-pastors-wife
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Post by jason on May 12, 2017 17:38:55 GMT -5
The Harris County DA's office has recused itself from the case and if the judge doesn't appoint a special prosecutor in 6 weeks, this Neanderthal gets away with murder.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jul 7, 2017 17:40:58 GMT -5
Special Prosecutors Appointed in David Temple Murder CaseFormer Alief Coach David Temple appeared in court Friday, June 16, for a hearing that advanced the defense of his nearly 20-year-old murder case. His attorney, Stanley Schneider, secured permission from state District Judge Kelli Johnson to take the deposition of Temple’s 75-year-old father while his health is stable. Ken Temple, who has heart ailments and diabetes, needs to have his words captured while he is not in a health “crisis,” Schneider said. The elder man’s testimony, which involves video evidence and a statement from 1999 when David Temple’s pregnant wife was killed, will show that it was “impossible” for David to have committed the offense, Schneider said. “I'm just trying to protect Mr. Temple’s right to present a defense.” Temple, 48, was found guilty of murder in 2007 in the execution-style shooting of his wife, Katy High special education teacher Belinda Lucas Temple. She was eight months pregnant. The couple also had a son, who is now an adult.
The state’s highest criminal court, however, tossed out the conviction and ruled that prosecutors improperly withheld evidence in the murder trial, including details as to what the Harris County District Attorney’s Office has revealed are “additional possible suspects.” A judge ruled in 2015 that Temple deserved a new trial because prosecutors withheld evidence that might have helped his defense. He was released from prison last year after he had served 10 years of a life sentence.
Friday’s 10-minute hearing also determined how evidence will be shared. David Mitcham of the Harris County DA’s Office said his agency is prepared to transfer copies of its case files, which fill “33 banker’s boxes,” to the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Temple’s defense team. Bill Turner, one of two special prosecutors with the AG’s Office chosen by Johnson after Harris County DA Kim Ogg withdrew from the case, joined the hearing by phone. Ogg’s potential conflicts of interest led her to seek the appointment of a special prosecutor.
Victims’ advocate Andy Kahan, who has spoken for the Lucas family since the shooting, continues to maintain that Temple is responsible for the death. “David Temple is guilty of first-degree murder, and he’ll go back to prison for the rest of his life,” Kahan said.
Temple and his lawyers did not comment Friday as reporters followed them to an open elevator and the doors closed.
The case is scheduled for another hearing in July.Source: Cindy George, The Houston Chronicle, June 16, 2017.
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Post by catherine on Jul 7, 2017 19:46:09 GMT -5
You know how you sometimes just absolutely despise people? Well, that's the way I feel about David Temple. I hate that ugly, overgrown sonofabitch and there's nothing I'd like better than to see him get fried in the electric chair. Yes, I know Texas no longer uses the chair and he won't be sentenced to death, but that's what he deserves.
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Post by pat on Jul 8, 2017 1:54:21 GMT -5
You know how you sometimes just absolutely despise people? Well, that's the way I feel about David Temple. I hate that ugly, overgrown sonofabitch and there's nothing I'd like better than to see him get fried in the electric chair. Yes, I know Texas no longer uses the chair and he won't be sentenced to death, but that's what he deserves.
I just hope that the jury doesn't fall for his ridiculous defense that she was killed by the teenager next door. He needs to go back to prison and spend the rest of his life there.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jun 16, 2018 1:39:48 GMT -5
David Temple’s New Trial Date SetDavid Temple, the Alief Hastings High School football coach who is charged with killing his wife, Belinda Lucas Temple (above), is set to be tried again February 2, 2019. Mrs. Temple, who was eight months pregnant, died from a shotgun blast January 11, 1999, that almost took off her head. Though there is a trial date, it is still unclear whether he will be retried. District Judge Kelli Johnson granted a continuance in the case as special prosecutors in Austin go through files to decide whether they will retry Temple for the murder of his wife.
Temple’s attorney, Stanley Schneider, who was able to get the first conviction overturned, has simultaneously demanded a speedy trial for inaction while filing motions that force prosecutors to respond.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office prosecutors have protested that they alerted the court of a full schedule before they took on the case last year. They claim they have not been allotted enough time to evaluate the thousands of pages of reports in the file.Source: Brian Rogers, The Houston Chronicle, May 29, 2018.
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Post by catherine on Jun 16, 2018 4:36:51 GMT -5
This is one ugly son-of-a-bitch that I'd love to see die an agonizing death. He shot his pregnant wife and almost blew her head off because he was tired of her and was having an affair with another woman. Someone who does something like that is going to suffer before they die and the sooner, the better.
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Post by madeline on Jun 16, 2018 14:34:29 GMT -5
What bothers me is that there's a possibility that the SOB may not be retried. He could get away with murdering his wife.
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Post by pat on Jun 16, 2018 19:47:50 GMT -5
I hate David Temple even more than I hate Michael Peterson, who beat his wife to death on the staircase. As despicable as what Peterson did was, at least Kathleen Peterson wasn't pregnant with his child. What kind of man would shoot a woman about to give birth in the head with a shotgun? If there's a hell, then there's a special place in it for men like David Temple.
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Post by kitty on Aug 3, 2018 20:19:08 GMT -5
The last update said that his new trial was going to begin in February of next year, but have there been any new updates? I'm afraid that for some reason, the new DA will dismiss the charges and he'll get away with it.
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