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Post by pat on Aug 3, 2018 23:09:04 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. His lawyers are trying to blame the teenage kid who lived next door because Belinda had told his parents that he was skipping school. Middle class teenagers from good families may do something destructive, like slashing tires or keying someone's car, but they don't usually get a shotgun and blow a pregnant woman's head off. Besides, they couldn't have gotten in the house through the back door because of the vicious dog in the backyard.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jan 25, 2019 0:20:42 GMT -5
Trial in Temple Case Reset for June 20
The trial of David Temple, the Alief Hastings High School football coach whose murder conviction was overturned grounds of prosecutorial miscoduct, has been delayed again. It is now set to begin June 20, 2019. The trial was originally scheduled for February 1, which would have been just a little more than 20 years from January 11, 1999, the day Belinda Lucas Temple died of a shotgun blast to the head. However, neither the prosecution nor defense know for certain whether Temple will be tried again.
The criminal case against the former football coach was controversial from the beginning because Temple wasn’t charged until years after the murder occurred. Harris County prosecutors argued Temple, who was having an affair with co-worker Heather Scott, shot his pregnant wife because he no longer wanted to be married to her and did not want the responsibility of a second child. Belinda Temple was eight months pregnant when she was killed. Temple contrived to make the homicide appear to be a botched home invasion, the prosecution alleged. The defense claimed prosecutors failed to disclose other suspects in the slaying of Mrs. Temple. The attorneys also argued a timeline of Temple’s movements the day of the murder made it almost impossible for him ot have committed the crime.
Special prosecutors from the Texas Attorney General’s Office in Austin have been tasked with the decision of whether to retry Temple.
At the most recent hearing on the state’s motion for continuance, the defense offered no objection and Judge Kelli Johnson granted the motion and reset the trial. Neither prosecutors nor Temple’s attorney, Stanley Schneider, who was successful in having the first conviction overturned, spoke with reporters following the hearing. Source: Brian Rogers, The Houston Chronicle, January 22, 2019.
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Post by kitty on Jan 26, 2019 0:05:55 GMT -5
Does this mean that he might not be retried?
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Post by Graveyardbride on Apr 26, 2019 19:41:38 GMT -5
The Belinda Temple Case
On a warm winter day in a quite Katy suburb just west of Houston, Texas, Belinda Temple was brutally murdered in her upstairs bedroom closet. From outward appearances, she had taken refuge in her closet with her portable phone. Belinda and her unborn child died from a single gunshot blast to the back of her head, from close range. The murder weapon was a 12-gauge shotgun using a reloaded 00 buckshot cartridge.
When you have a shotgun wound from close range, you expect blood splatter and other matter being blown back toward the perpetrator. Unless the suspect took time to clean up, the blood splatter and other matter would transfer to objects later coming in contact with the suspect. In fact, many cases are solved due to blood transfer.
Notably in cases like this, the victim’s spouse is always a person of interest until investigators can determine the spouse’s whereabouts when the murder occurred. Belinda’s spouse was David Temple a local high school and gridiron football standout player. At the time of the murder, he was a high school football coach in the Katy area. It was important for investigators to know David’s location at the time of his wife’s death. From the very beginning investigators started piecing together the victim’s movements before death and establishing a timeline. Investigators learned Belinda was seen talking on her cell phone at her school to David on the afternoon of her death. Phone records and witness statements established this brief conversation occurred at 3:32 p.m.
From interviewing witnesses investigators learned Belinda left the school after talking to David and drove to her father-in-law Ken Temple’s home to pick up some soup. Mr. Temple believed she arrived at his home around 3:45 p.m. and they talked for about 10 minutes before she left with the soup. Belinda started driving to her home at approximately 3:55 p.m. Because of the known time of the phone call from the school and Belinda’s drive time to Mr. Temple’s home, his estimates of time appeared accurate. Factoring the drive time between Mr. Temple’s home and Belinda’s house, investigators could conclude the murder happened no sooner than 4:12 p.m.
While canvassing the neighborhood for anyone who might have heard the gunshot, investigators found three brothers who lived directly behind the Temple home. The brothers told investigators they heard a booming noise that sounded like a gunshot while watching a Dr. Doolittle video. They remembered the scene in the movie when they heard the suspected shot and through records it was established they heard what they believed to be a gunshot at approximately 4:30 p.m., which fit within the established timeline.
The Temple murder investigation was assigned to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO). Their investigation resulted in a police report containing 1,319 pages. Many years after this investigation was completed, new evidence was discovered indicating David may have been falsely convicted. Daniel Glasscock, a high school friend of Riley Joe Sanders came forward to report a conversation he overheard shortly after Belinda’s murder. Glasscock believed from the conversation, his high school friend might have been involved in Belinda’s death. The new witness claimed his conscience was bothering him and because of his silence David Temple was in prison. This witness struggled with what to do with this information and even talked with his pastor before taking the information to David’s lawyer, Dick DeGuerin.
On a day shortly after Belinda’s murder, Glasscock was at Sanders home with a group of mutual friends. Glasscock walked in while Sanders was having a conversation with Cody Ellis and Carlos Corro. From the best of Glasscock’s memory he overheard Sanders telling them, “No one was supposed to have been home, I had to shoot the dog and put it in the closet.” Glasscock was confused by this statement because he knew the Temple dog was not shot and he knew Belinda was found in the closet.
After video recording the new witness, Dick DeGuerin talked with me and John P. Denholm, an associate attorney with my firm, about what to do with the new evidence. John Denholm is an ex-HCSO lieutenant and he arranged a meeting with Chief Investigator Don McWilliams and Investigator Steven Clappart, a retired HPD Homicide detective who is currently the Chief Investigator for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office (HCDAO). After that meeting Steve’s supervisors assigned him to completely review the entire investigation and investigate the new evidence Mr. DeGuerin had provided.
There was no doubt this new information had to be evaluated and HCDAO made an excellent choice in choosing Steve for the assignment. Steve is an outstanding homicide investigator and his experience regarding criminal investigations places him in an elite group of Houston Homicide detectives. He has unquestioned integrity and has proven he will do the right thing, no matter how difficult it might be. The following is a quote from a fictional detective, “It has nothing to do with easy. It’s about doing what’s right because it’s right. That’s the only reason you need.” Batman created by Bob Kane.
After reviewing the entire investigation file, Steve praised the on-scene investigation and the gathering of crucial evidence by the sheriff’s deputies, but he also had serious questions and concerns about the case. Like any murder case, the investigators started out with what they knew about the scene. There was broken glass at the back door where entry could have been gained and Belinda’s body was found in the upstairs bedroom closet with her portable phone. Downstairs a television had been removed from a shelf and was on the floor still plugged in. Some of Belinda’s jewelry was missing and outward appearances indicated the possibility of a failed burglary. Furthermore, due to Belinda being found in the closet with her portable phone, it appears she was hiding. However, the Temple’s owned a very aggressive watch dog named Shaka. The dog’s aggressive tendencies seemed to throw some doubt on the burglary-by-a-stranger theory.
Even though the investigation would establish the type of weapon used, the weapon itself was never found. Also, there was no shell casing found at the scene. Absence of a shell casing at the scene might indicate the empty shell casing was never ejected or it was picked up by the shooter and removed from the scene. Ballistics showed a 12-gauge reloaded 00 buckshot shell was used to take Belinda’s life. However, no weapon or shell casing was found. Notably, even if a suspect weapon had been found, shotguns cannot usually be individually identified as the actual murder weapon. Investigators would need Belinda’s DNA on the gun or other ballistic evidence to wrap a shotgun to the murder. Although David was a person of interest, investigators were unable to establish he owned or had access to a 12-gauge shotgun. Investigators had no forensics, fingerprints or DNA that linked him to the murder of his wife. No hard evidence at all.
In most murder investigations motive is something investigators are always interested in. They want to know as much information as they can possibly learn about the victim and people associated with the victim. As mentioned earlier, the spouse is always a person of interest and this case was no different. Belinda had a three & a half year old son Evan and was seven months pregnant with a second child. Belinda was a Katy High School teacher and she was loved by her family and friends. On the outside, Belinda seemed to have the perfect life, a successful career, loving husband, a young son and had another child on the way. It was difficult for anyone to imagine someone might want to harm Belinda.
During their investigation, detectives learned David was involved in an extra-marital affair with a teacher. This affair was not only damaging, it could possibly be a motive for Belinda’s death. Another motive involved Belinda’s 16-year-old neighbor Riley Joe Sanders. Sanders hung out with a group of friends and associates who habitually skipped school, smoked marijuana and caused problems. These associates had a wild party while Sanders’ parents were out of town and the next morning Belinda found a bunch of broken beer bottles in her back yard. She talked with Sanders’ parents about the party and his frequently skipping school. Because of Belinda, Sanders’ truck was taken away. This is serious punishment for a 16-year-old. When investigators learned of this possible motive they started checking out Sanders.
Sanders was not the only person of interest with a possible motive, but investigators did develop a lot of evidence regarding Sanders. When Sanders was questioned he claimed to be in school at the time of the murder. After checking with the school, investigators learned Sanders was not in school; he had skipped the afternoon classes and was in the neighborhood with his friends, near the scene of the murder. He admitted to investigators he was driving down the street, with his friends, when he saw David leaving the house. He gave seven different statements to investigators and showed deception on three separate HCSO polygraphs.
Investigators continued their focus on Sanders and learned that four days prior to the murder he had taken his father’s 12-gauge, single-shot shotgun, without permission. Sanders gave the shotgun to Cody Ellis prior to Belinda’s murder and asked Cody to hide it for him. Cody took the shotgun home and hid it under his bed. The Sanders12-gauge shotgun, with a spent round in the chamber was recovered by HCSO, but no report was made. Investigators could not explain how it came into their possession. The spent round was from a reloaded 00 buck shot. Due to the absence of a recovery report, it is unclear how HCSO came to possess the weapon. Investigators also found that shortly after the murder, Sanders called his girlfriend crying because his neighbor had been shot. Even though police were on the scene when that call was made, it is unknown how Sanders would have known Belinda had been shot.
During the investigation of Sanders and his associates they learned of a revenge burglary committed by friends of Sanders in Fort Bend County. According to the report, the victim of that burglary was the boyfriend of the mother of Sander’s associate. Supposedly, Sander’s friends burglarized the home because of how this boyfriend was treating his friend’s mother. In that home burglary, entry was gained by breaking the glass on a back window. During the burglary, a tape player was moved from a shelf and left on the floor, still plugged into the electrical socket. Sander’s associates admitted they did the burglary and returned the victim’s property. No criminally charges were filed on the group. It was easy to see why Steve had some serious questions about the investigation he reviewed.
All of the evidence regarding Sanders and his associates is what the courts call exculpatory evidence. In a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court, the State is required to turn this type of evidence over to the defense in order that the accused receives a fair trial. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1983). Because of Brady, Steve was required to provide copies of the HCSO investigation to lawyers representing David Temple. Steve followed the orders of his superiors in the HCDAO and the law as he tried to investigate this very serious case. Even though Steve did the right thing during his investigation, there were members of the HCDAO and other friends that saw Steve’s involvement in this assignment as a portrayal. Steve was criticized and ostracized by people he felt were his friends. Very few individuals read the 1,319 pages of the police investigation. Unlike Steve, they didn’t investigate the validity of Glasscock’s claim of the overheard conversation. It should be noted Glasscock passed his polygraph regarding hearing the conversation.
A major problem in the State’s theory that David murdered Belinda involves the known time line. David and his young son Evan were captured on store security video, which was stamped at 4:32 p.m. If this time is correct, it would virtually be impossible for David to have committed the murder, cleaned up after the murder, staged a make-believe burglary and gotten rid of the shotgun before appearing on the security tape with his son.
David Temple’s murder conviction has been reversed by the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas. According to Justice Richardson, “... evidence would have supported the defensive theory that Applicant did not have time to commit the murder, clean up afterwards, ditch the murder weapon, and still be on a store surveillance camera with his son at 4:32 p.m.” In a concurring opinion Justice Yeary stated, “… had the jury heard and credited Kenneth’s original time estimate, it might more readily have concluded that Applicant could not have had time to kill Belinda, and it may therefore have given more credence to the alternative hypothesis – in some respects, better supported by the evidence – that RJS was the perpetrator.”
Attorney Stanley Schneider represented David Temple in the appellant process and praises Steve Clappart and John Denholm for doing the right thing. When the press gathered for questions John and Steve can be seen in the background behind David’s parents. At the time of the press conference, John was an associate at Musick & Musick, LLP. and Steve worked as a private investigator. Because of the treatment Steve received immediately after his investigation, he resigned his assignment with the HCDAO. However, under the new administration, Kim Ogg has asked Steve to be her Chief Investigator and John has gone to work for Kim as an assistant district attorney. I worked with both of them and can attest they both are men with the highest degree of integrity.
The Temple case has received a lot of publicity. Books have been written about the investigation and 48 Hours recently filmed a television documentary. This case is important because society and our system of justice rightfully place a lot of importance on our right to a fair trial. The conviction of an innocent person is a serious injustice and should always be prevented at any cost. “It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.” – Zadig Voltaire.
I will always respect Steve and John for doing the right thing when it was not easy or popular during this investigation. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading my presentation of the evidence in the Temple case as I see it.
Source: Earl Musick, Houston Police Officers’ Union, March 2017.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jun 29, 2019 16:56:43 GMT -5
David Temple’s Second Trial Begins July 8
HOUSTON – Jury selection has begun in the second murder trial of David Temple, a former Texas high school football coach accused of killing his pregnant wife two decades ago. Temple is being tried again for the 1999 murder of Belinda Temple, his wife who was eight months pregnant when she was killed by a shotgun blast to the head. Temple was the head football coach at Alief Hastings High School and Belinda taught at Katy High School.
A jury found Temple guilty in 2007 during a trial in which it was revealed he was having an affair with Heather Scott, another teacher at Alief, did not want another baby and wanted out of the marriage. Temple later married his mistress.
Temple claimed his wife was killed during a home invasion and his defense attorneys pointed to Riley Joe Sanders, a disgruntled student who lived next door, as the killer.
He served nine years in prison before an appeals court tossed his conviction, citing instances wherein prosecutor Kelly Siegler withheld evidence from the defense. Temple, now 50, has been out on bond since December 2016.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office hired a special prosecutor to reexamine the case and determine whether to bring charges against Temple again. District Attorney Kim Ogg recused herself because members of her administration had ties to Temple’s defense.
The trial will begin Monday, July 8.
Source: Matt Keyser, KHOU, June 20, 2019.
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Post by catherine on Jun 29, 2019 22:48:43 GMT -5
The sooner that ugly son-of-a-bitch goes back to prison the better. Prison is too good for him. The law in Texas needs to be changed because if anyone ever deserved death, it's that bastard.
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Post by jason on Jul 1, 2019 11:12:47 GMT -5
I disagree. The SOB himself said that his wife was home by 3:45 p.m. and I checked and it takes only around 12 minutes to drive from where they lived to Brookshire Brothers, which would have given him at least 30 minutes to kill his wife. He could have had everything done besides the actual shooting, such as the broken glass in the backdoor, the TV sitting on the floor, etc., before she got home. All that was left for him to do was cover himself with something like plastic from a dry cleaning bag, shoot her, put the bag and shotgun into a trash bag and get rid of it. He was seen that afternoon coming from a location where he hunted near his family's home, but he didn't go to their house, so what was he doing?
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Post by catherine on Jul 6, 2019 10:46:36 GMT -5
The son-of-a-bitch's trial starts Monday and I hope he gets what he deserves -- again.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jul 8, 2019 22:42:53 GMT -5
David Temple’s Retrial BeginsHOUSTON – The retrial of David Temple, a former Alief Hastings High School football coach accused of killing his pregnant wife and unborn baby 20 years ago, riveted a Harris County courthouse as it got underway Monday. Belinda Temple was eight months pregnant when she was shot in the back of the head in the couple’s Katy home at 22502 Round Valley Drive. The couple had a 3-year-old son, Evan.
“A lot of men have affairs on their wives, and wives on their husbands, and they don’t kill them,” said Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner as part of her opening statement. “But some do.” Temple has admitted he was having an affair with another teacher, Heather Scott, whom he married in 2001.
Defense attorney Stanley Schneider does not dispute the affair, but insists that alone does not prove his client murdered his wife. “What we will hear, from that chair, is a story that shows that David Temple could not, could not have killed his wife, even though he betrayed her,” said Schneider during his opening statement to the jury.
In 2007, Temple was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. However, nine years later, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal appellate court in Texas, threw out the conviction, concluding prosecutors hid or delayed revealing hundreds of pages of evidence to the defense. According to the decision, Temple’s attorney was not given evidence and information, including a detailed report about an alternate suspect, a teenage neighbor, one Riley Joe Sanders.
“It’s been a long journey. This is a portion of that journey that’s been completed,” Temple said after bonding out of jail in December 2016. “We’re waiting for justice to be served once and for all. And for the people that put me there, that lied and cheated, to be held accountable.”
In court Monday, prosecutors focused on Temple’s affair and attempted to poke holes in his alibi. The former coach is seen on video at a Brooks Brothers grocery store and a Home Depot the afternoon of January 11, 1999, the day his wife was killed. “There were 36 minutes between those two video recordings,” said Tanner. “What was he doing in between those two? What was he doing?”
Schneider said the timeline offered by prosecutors was impossible. Instead, he is trying to focus attention on Sanders, a troubled teen who skipped school and smoked pot. Schneider also cites the fact a shotgun was never recovered. Belinda Temple was killed by a .12 shotgun blast to the back of the head as she knelt on the floor of a walk-in closet. Her entire cranial cavity was shattered, with the shot exiting on the right side of her face, creating a 5-inch hole and totally destroying her right eye. In other words, her head was blown away, leaving her brain – what was left of it – on the floor. The unborn 6-pound, well-developed baby girl she was carrying died from lack of oxygen.
Following opening statements, prosecutors called four witnesses, primarily teachers who worked with Belinda Temple, to describe what was going on in her life prior to her death.
The trial is expected to last four weeks. It resumes on Tuesday at 9 a.m.Source: Miya Shay, KTRK, July 8, 2019.
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Post by catherine on Jul 8, 2019 23:14:04 GMT -5
Unless the jury is brain dead, that overgrown, neckless oaf will be guilty again.
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Post by JoannaL on Jul 9, 2019 17:34:54 GMT -5
Unauthorized Broadcast Could Lead to Mistrial
HOUSTON – An unauthorized broadcast of courtroom footage during the retrial of David Temple could lead to a mistrial being declared. David Temple is standing trial for the second time in connection with the 1999 slaying of his wife, Belinda Temple.
Judge Kellie Johnson announced Tuesday that KHOU-TV violated a court order by broadcasting audio from proceedings on the first day of trial. The footage included video from a recess that may have divulged conversations between David Temple and his attorney. Now, Temple’s attorneys say they may request a mistrial after reviewing what was broadcast.
Johnson gave both sides until Monday to review the footage and determine how they wished to proceed.
On Tuesday morning, Mike Ruggiero, a neighbor of the Temples’ at the time of the murder, took the stand and said David Temple ran to his home at 1207 Hidden Canyon Road the afternoon of the deadly shooting, banged on his door and claimed someone had broken into his house.
Temple was found guilty of shooting and killing his wife and unborn child in 2007 and spent nine years in prison before his conviction was eventually overturned on appeal.
Source: Cathy Hernandez, KPRC, July 9, 2019.
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Post by catherine on Jul 9, 2019 21:01:31 GMT -5
I hope the judge has better sense than to declare a mistrial because of something some stupid TV reporter did. If that oaf and his lawyer didn't want people to hear what they were saying, they shouldn't have been talking about it in public. This is 100% the fault of the defense.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jul 12, 2019 1:27:41 GMT -5
Trial Continues, Heather Scott Temple Files for Divorce
Among those who testified in the trial of David Mark Temple Thursday, July 11, was Sgt. Dean Holtke of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, who investigated the crime scene and identified and collected evidence. It appeared the defense team believes the crime scene was contaminated and during one exchange, Holtke was questioned about the fact he wasn’t wearing gloves:
Defense: “In all the pictures I have seen, you are not wearing gloves.” Holtke: “Those are outside pictures.” Defense: “This appears to be you. Does it appear you are wearing gloves?” Holtke: “No.” Defense: “Are you inside the house?” Holtke: “Yes, Sir.”
Detective Chuck Leitner, one of two principal homicide investigators in charge of the Belinda Temple homicide, also testified. He was asked several questions concerning minute details that, after two decades, he could not recall. However, he had in his possession portions of his original reports, to which he did not appear to refer while on the stand. Leitner said he worked on the Temple case for two to three months, during which time he interviewed David Temple twice and that Temple was much more agitated during the second interview than he was in the first.
At this time, only the prosecution knows who will be called to testify Friday. The defense team has a list of possible witnesses who could be called to testify for the prosecution, but the defense team is not privy to the order in which they will testify and neither is the public. Heather Scott Temple files for divorce. Nothing that happened in the courtroom Thursday was as interesting as what David Temple’s wife was doing as he sat listening to testimony in the trial that would decide his fate. On Thursday morning, Heather Scott – the “other woman,” whom Temple married in 2001, – filed for divorce.
A spokesperson for the Lucas family (Belinda’s family) said, “We are hopeful that by filing for divorce, Heather will be more candid and factual as to what she knows about Belinda’s murder.”
Sources: Joel Eisenbaum and Debbie Strauss, KPRC, July 11, 2019.
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Post by catherine on Jul 12, 2019 20:55:01 GMT -5
She had to have been really pissed off to file for divorce while her oaf of a husband was on trial for murder. I'm sure they will try to keep it from the jury, but if she testifies and she's asked, she'll have to tell the truth. I hope the prosecution figures out some way for the jury to know that she's dumped his ass.
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Post by kitty on Jul 13, 2019 15:37:49 GMT -5
She had to have been really pissed off to file for divorce while her oaf of a husband was on trial for murder. I'm sure they will try to keep it from the jury, but if she testifies and she's asked, she'll have to tell the truth. I hope the prosecution figures out some way for the jury to know that she's dumped his ass. The trial is supposed to last 4 weeks. For her not to wait that long to file, something serious must have happened. I can't help wondering if after all these years, she somehow found out that he murdered his wife.
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