#26: The Temple Family Tragedy - A Football Dynasty's Darkest Hour

In January 1999, a 911 call shattered the quiet of a Texas suburb. A high school football coach returned home to find his pregnant wife shot dead in what appeared to be a burglary gone wrong. The victim was eight months pregnant, beloved by her students as a special education teacher, and preparing excitedly for the birth of her daughter.

The husband was local royalty—a former star linebacker turned respected coach from a football dynasty family. The community rallied around him in his darkest hour, supporting a man they saw as the embodiment of their values: tough, dedicated, and homegrown.

But as investigators dug deeper into the seemingly perfect family's life, cracks began to appear. What they discovered would challenge everything the community believed about their hometown hero. The case would drag on for years, dividing families and friends, as questions mounted about what really happened that January afternoon.

Was this truly a random crime that destroyed an innocent family? Or was something far more sinister hiding beneath the surface of this all-American story?

Some secrets are worth killing for. Others are worth dying to protect. In this case, the line between victim and perpetrator would prove far more complicated than anyone imagined.

Join us as we examine a case that asks: How well do we really know the people we trust most?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
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(00:26):
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Every supporter makes a real difference. Now let's get into
today's case. At five thirty six pm on January eleventh,
nineteen ninety nine, a nine call came into Harris County
Emergency Services. Somebody's broken into my house and my wife
has been shot. The caller's voice was breaking with emotion.

(01:09):
Oh my God, Oh Jesus, her brain is on the floor.
I think she's already dead. The man on the phone
was David Temple, a thirty year old high school football
coach from Katy, Texas. His wife, Belinda, eight months pregnant
with their second child, had been found shot in the
head in their family home. When police arrived at twenty
two five oh two Round Valley Drive, they found David

(01:33):
Temple standing outside his home devastated. Inside, they discovered a
scene that appeared to tell a tragic but clear story.
The back door window was shattered, drawers had been pulled open,
a television lay on the floor, and in a bedroom closet,
thirty year old Belinda Temple lay dead from a shotgun
blast to the head, her unborn daughter, Aaron, dying with her.

(01:56):
It looked like a burglary gone horribly wrong, a pregnant
woman who had simply been in the wrong place at
the wrong time when an intruder broke into her home.
For David Temple, it was every husband's worst nightmare. He
had returned home with his three year old son, Evan,
to find his wife murdered and his family destroyed. David
was much more than just a grieving widower. He was

(02:18):
Katie Royalty, a former star linebacker who had helped bring
the town its first district championship in over two decades.
He was known throughout the community as the Temple of
Doom for his fierce playing style. Now a respected high
school football coach carrying on the family tradition of excellence,
David represented everything the football obsessed town valued, toughness, dedication,

(02:42):
and hometown pride. The community of Katy, Texas rallied around
their fallen hero. The investigation began immediately, with detectives working
to find whoever had committed this senseless crime. But this
case would not unfold the way anyone expected, and six
years later, Ristian wouldn't be who killed Belinda Temple. It

(03:02):
would be why it had taken so long to uncover
the truth. Thomas Tom Eaton Lucas met Carol Maxine Morrison

(03:42):
when he was working as an assistant manager at a
dime store and she was a credit manager at a
nearby dress shop. Tom, originally from West Virginia, and Carol
from Port Huron, Michigan, married on July twenty second, nineteen
sixty two and settled in Martin's Ferry, Ohio, where Tom
found word in a steel mill. By nineteen sixty eight,

(04:03):
the couple already had three sons Brian, Barry, and Brent.
When Carol became pregnant again, they expected to welcome one
baby girl to complete their family. However, on December thirtieth,
nineteen sixty eight, they received an unexpected surprise. In an
era before routine ultrasounds, the birth of twins came as
a complete shock. Brenda Thereys was born first, weighing eight

(04:26):
pounds one ounce. Eight minutes later, Belinda Tracy entered the
world at six pounds one ounce. Tom was so overjoyed
at having two daughters that he whooped and hollered at
the news. As the last of five children, Belinda would
later give herself the nickname Number five. Her five year
old brother Brian struggled to pronounce her name and called

(04:48):
her Katy Doodoo. Though Carol sewed matching dresses for the girls,
the fraternal twins quickly showed their distinct personalities. Belinda, despite
being smaller at birth, soon grew to be the larger twin,
developing an athletic build with curly, light brown hair and
impish green eyes. She overflowed with energy and always wanted
to be first in line, earning a reputation for having

(05:11):
spunk and being in the middle of everything. While other
girls played with dolls, Belinda preferred climbing trees with her brothers.
She was a natural leader who learned to ride a
bike before her twin and then taught Brenda how to
do the same. She also taught Brenda how to tie
her shoes. Despite being younger by eight minutes. She took

(05:32):
on a motherly roll, and if something needed to be done,
Belinda was the one to do it. She affectionately called
her older twin Shrimpy, a nickname that would stick for life.
From an early age, Belinda demonstrated fierce protectiveness toward her family.
When she learned that her brother, Barry, was deaf, she
taught herself sign language to communicate with him. If other

(05:55):
children made fun of Barry, Belinda would confront them, regardless
of their size. She showed the same protective instinct toward Brenda,
never allowing anyone to pick on her twin sister. In
the mid nineteen seventies, after Tom suffered an accident at
the steel mill, the Lucas family relocated to Nacagdocious, Texas,

(06:15):
the state's oldest town. They moved to be closer to
relatives and seek better opportunities. However, this period brought new
family tensions. Some relatives felt that Tom became more demanding
after the move, and Belinda would later confide to friends
that she found her father overwhelming and at times suffocating.

(06:36):
Despite these family challenges, both twins threw themselves into school activities.
They joined the Future Farmers of America, where Belinda approached
her responsibilities with characteristic dedication. She raised chickens and worked
with steers, and her conscientious efforts paid off when her
broiler won grand champion at the Piney Woods Fair, earning

(06:57):
her twenty one hundred dollars for college. Sports became Belinda's
true passion, particularly basketball. She wasn't a natural athlete, but
she transformed herself into a stand out player through relentless
hard work. She spent summers lifting weights and running, determined
to excel through effort rather than raw talent. Even after

(07:19):
leaving the cheerleading squad to focus entirely on basketball, she
continued leading cheers at pep rallies, demonstrating her unwavering team spirit.
By her senior year at Nacagdoci's High School in nineteen
eighty seven, Belinda had become a beloved figure on campus.
Her classmates voted her most school spirit, and her basketball

(07:39):
team achieved all district status. Those who knew her described
her as being so in love with life, she just
radiated happiness. Initially considering nursing as a career path, Belinda
eventually decided she wanted to become a teacher and coach
for special needs children, inspired by her experiences with her
deaf brother Barry. How However, above all career aspirations, family

(08:03):
remained paramount to Belinda. She told friends her ultimate goal
was to find the right husband and raise a team
of little athletes. After graduating high school, Belinda enrolled at
Angelina College in nearby Lufkin while living at home. The
arrangement quickly became a source of conflict as she clashed
with her father over his strict rules and curfews. Determined

(08:25):
to experience the freedom of a typical college student, she
took a job at Brookshire Brother's grocery store and became
an aerobics instructor to pay for school and gain independence. Eventually,
she moved into an apartment with her friend Stacy Rios
and another roommate. During this time, Belinda became engaged to
a high school boyfriend. However, when she discovered he had

(08:48):
been unfaithful, she ended the relationship without hesitation. As her
family and friends would later recall, once trust was broken,
Belinda was not the type to hold on to a
dying relationship. The following year, she transferred to Stephen F.
Austin University to pursue her teaching degree, majoring in physical
education and special education. Belinda proved herself a remarkably hard worker,

(09:12):
juggling three jobs at the grocery store, the jim and
the s FA farm while maintaining her class schedule. At nineteen,
Belinda embraced her new found independence and enjoyed being single.
In college, She and Stacy would go out dancing at
local clubs after work. Those who knew her during this
time described her as beautiful, with a perfectly toned body,

(09:34):
sparkling green eyes, and an infectious charisma. As one friend noted,
you couldn't be around Belinda and not feel good. She
dated casually, including a brief relationship with a fellow worker
from the grocery store, but nothing serious developed. She also
became a little sister for the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity,

(09:55):
further expanding her social circle. Despite her active social life,
Belinda remained laser focused on her educational and career goals,
not actively seeking a serious romantic relationship at this stage
of her life. Quick break ads keep the show running,

(10:22):
but if you want to skip them, the ad free
versions on Patreon for just three bucks a month, links
in the show notes and we're back. Thanks for sticking
through that. Let's get back to it. The Temple family
had deep roots in Katie, Texas, with David's maternal lineage

(10:45):
tracing back to the late eighteen hundreds. His mother, Maureen Evans,
came from a family that lived on lots carved out
of her uncle Albert's rice fields along Katie Hockley Road.
His father, Ken Temple, was born in Louisiana, worked in computers,
and served as an ordained Baptist minister. David Mark Temple
was born on July nineteenth, nineteen sixty eight, the middle

(11:07):
of three sons. His older brother, Darren had been born
in nineteen sixty five, and his younger brother Kevin would
follow in nineteen seventy one. The Temple family was well
known throughout the community, and at the first Baptist Church
of Katie, they were described as a close knit salt
of the earth family that valued appearances and refused to

(11:27):
air their dirty laundry. Every Sunday, the extended family would
gather for coffee at one of the family homes, maintaining
their tight bonds. Growing up, the Temple brothers spent considerable
time dove hunting in the rice fields behind their home.
Their maternal grandfather, a Houston police officer, taught them to shoot,

(11:47):
and their parents bought them shotguns for Christmas, establishing an
early familiarity with firearms. From a young age, David was
treated as special by his parents. He became the family
entertained a charmer who loved making people laugh. However, a
family cousin observed that his parents rarely held him accountable
for his actions, making him seem untouchable. When someone accused

(12:12):
David of wrongdoing, his parents would simply ask David directly,
and if he denied it, they considered the matter closed.
This lack of accountability became apparent to those who knew
David well. Friends and classmates described him as having a
dual personality. While he could be funny and charismatic, there
was absolutely a dark side. This darker aspect manifested as

(12:35):
egotistical behavior coupled with a bad temper that made other
children walk on pins and needles around him. He was
known to fight battles for his friends within his elite
circle of jocks, but many classmates outside this group considered
him a bully. The severity of David's temperament became evident
in a disturbing incident involving his older brother, Darren. Family

(12:58):
cousin Cindy Thompson recues Darren arriving at her house shaking
and visibly upset. During an argument. David had grabbed a
shotgun and held it directly in Darren's face, backing him
into a corner while their mother begged David to put
the weapon down. Darren described David's demeanor during the confrontation
as having changed completely, with a blank look in his eyes.

(13:21):
Football became central to David's identity and his family status
within Katy. He was a standout player from youth football onward,
known for his toughness and fearlessness. At Katie High School,
he played middle linebacker, wearing number eighty three, and was
considered one of the meanest and most intense players his
coach had ever encountered. In nineteen eighty six, his team

(13:45):
won the district championship for the first time in twenty
two years, establishing David as a hometown hero. During his
sophomore year, David suffered a severe knee injury, requiring two surgeries.
He rehabilitated with intense determination and returned to the field
stronger than before. Around this time, rumors began circulating that

(14:06):
he was using anabolic steroids. A fellow player later claimed
that his steroid supplier also sold to David. David's behavior
toward romantic relationships revealed his capacity for cruelty. In high school,
he dated a girl named Hillary Brooks, but was unfaithful
with another girl. When Hillary ended the relationship, David was

(14:26):
seen crying, a rare display of vulnerability. However, his emotional
response quickly turned vindictive. He began jeering at Hillary, calling
her horsehead, and encouraging others to join in the harassment.
A classmate later informed Hillary that David had wrung the
necks of her pet rabbits. In February nineteen eighty seven,

(14:47):
David's behavior escalated to criminal activity when he was arrested
for a series of car burglaries. Targeting radar detectors. His
accomplice told police that the money was intended for purchasing steroids.
David ultimately pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of
attempted burglary and received a sentence of three days in

(15:07):
jail and one hundred dollar fine. Despite his success on
the high school football field, David faced disappointment during college recruitment.
Major universities, including the University of Oklahoma, lost interest after
evaluating him in person. At five feet eleven inches, he
was deemed too short to be an effective linebacker at

(15:27):
the top collegiate level. This rejection was a significant blow
to his aspirations. He ultimately accepted a five year scholarship
to Stephen F. Austin University At s f A. David
continued his football career with the Lumberjacks, earning the nickname
Temple of Doom for his fierce playing style. In nineteen

(15:48):
eighty nine, his team achieved a milestone by winning the
Southland Conference title for the first time. The following year,
David was featured on the cover of the team's football guide,
cementing his status as a state and out player. However,
his aggressive behavior extended well beyond the football field. David
frequently engaged in bar fights, and his teammates noted his

(16:10):
hair trigger temper. They learned to be careful not to
provoke him, understanding the potential consequences. In one incident, he
allegedly attacked a bowling alley attendant who had simply informed
him that the facility was closing. During his second year
at SFA, David met Pam Engelkirk, an elementary education major,

(16:30):
and they began a serious relationship. Initially, he was charming
and affectionate, and Pam became very close with his family. However,
the relationship was marked by David's increasing jealousy and need
for control. As the relationship progressed, David's violent tendencies began
to surface. During arguments. He would punch walls and kick

(16:52):
Pam's car door when angry. The relationship reached a terrifying
climax during an incident at a Dallas hotel room in
January nineteen ninety. Following an argument, David burst into Pam's
room and chased her into the bathroom. He screamed at
her and pushed her against the wall as she cried
out In fear. Despite the severity of this assault, Pam

(17:13):
ultimately forgave him and remained in the relationship. In November
nineteen ninety, David's girlfriend, Pam Engelkirk, called in sick to
her job at the Californian restaurant. Later that evening, a

(17:36):
friend contacted Pam with troubling news. David had been seen
at the restaurant's lounge slow dancing with another woman. That
woman was Belinda Lucas. At the time, Belinda was in
her third year at Stephen F. Austin University and thriving
in every aspect of her life. She remained focused on
her studies to become a special education teacher and coach,

(17:58):
juggled multiple jobs to support her, and was content being single.
She was not actively seeking a serious relationship. The following day,
Pam confronted David about what she had witnessed. In response,
David broke down, crying, dropped to his knees, and professed
his undying love for her. While Pam was still at

(18:18):
his apartment processing this emotional display, Belinda unexpectedly arrived. She
looked at both David and Pam, asked for one of
David's roommates and then left without further comment. Despite his
tearful proclamation of love, David called Pam the next evening
with a different message. He told her he needed a
break from their relationship, effectively ending their two year romance.

(18:42):
Two nights later, a mutual friend spotted David out dancing
with Belinda. His roommate, Reno Moore, observed that once David
and Belinda became involved, he immediately broke up with Pam.
From that point forward, David was rarely seen without Belinda
by his side. To David's teammate and friends, the new
couple appeared to be a natural fit. Both were accomplished

(19:05):
athletes who shared a genuine love of sports. As he
had been initially with Pam, David was affectionate and gentle
with Belinda during the early stages of their relationship. Belinda's
friend Stacy Rios recalled that David treated her like a princess.
While Stacy personally disliked David, finding him cruel and egotistical,
she admitted that he behaved as a gentleman around Belinda. However,

(19:29):
those closest to Belinda quickly noticed a significant change in
her personality. The strong feisty woman they knew began to
transform in David's presence. Stacy observed that around David, Belinda
became noticeably less opinionated and self assured. When David became angry,
he would fall silent and simply stare at Belinda. In response,

(19:50):
she would back down and comply with whatever he wanted,
behavior that was completely uncharacteristic of the confident woman her
friends knew. Belinda's twin sister, Brenda, noticed similar changes. She
observed that Belinda consistently took a back seat to David
in their relationship. Whenever he disagreed with her, Belinda would
go silent rather than defend her position. Brenda sensed that

(20:14):
for Belinda to maintain her relationship with David, everything had
to be his way. The Temple family, however, viewed Belinda's
influence on David in an entirely different light. They felt
she had a positive effect on him, making him more
mature and helping to tame his wild tendencies. Ken and
Maureen Temple believed Belinda brought out the good in him

(20:36):
and that their son was finally growing up. Ken and
Maureen first met Belinda at a Stephen f Austin football game.
Ken was immediately captivated, later saying he saw her hair
and green eyes dancing in the sun. The Temples quickly
adopted the nickname b for Belinda and showed no regret
about David's break up with Pam. They embraced Belinda from

(20:58):
the start, and she easily integrated into their family dynamic.
She shared their interest in visiting flea markets and faithfully
attended all their family gatherings. The reception from Belinda's family
proved more mixed. Tom Lucas was initially impressed with David,
who had achieved local hero status as a nacagdocious football star. However,

(21:20):
other family members harbored reservations. Belinda's uncle, Chuck Lucas, felt
that David never seemed to fit into the family and
noted his lack of affection toward the Lucas relatives. Brenda
was struck by how every conversation with David inevitably centered
on football. Most troubling, Stacy Rios overheard David referring to
the Lucas family as rednecks and white trash when speaking

(21:43):
behind their backs. In the fall of nineteen ninety one,
David and Belinda acquired a chow puppy they named Shaka.
The dog grew into an extremely protective animal that would
growl at anyone who approached either David or Belinda. David's
capacity for violence surfaced again in March nineteen ninety one
during a co ed intramural basketball game, when an opposing

(22:06):
player named Eric Buck said good call to a referee
after a foul was called on David. David's response was
swift and brutal. Seconds later, he clubbed Buck on the
head from behind, knocking him unconscious. David agreed to pay
Buck's medical expenses, and no criminal charges were filed. The
fall of nineteen ninety one marked David's final football season

(22:28):
with the Lumberjacks. He was featured in the team's television
commercials and received Honorable Mention recognition as an All American linebacker.
During this period, he also made the decision to pursue
coaching rather than attempt a professional football career. In November
nineteen ninety one, David took the traditional step of visiting

(22:49):
Tom and Carol Lucas to formally request their permission to
marry their daughter, a gesture that impressed Belinda's parents. The
proposal itself took place in octiomcober after a football game
and was characteristically theatrical. David walked Belinda out to the
fifty yard line of the football field, where friends had

(23:09):
positioned their cars in a circle and turned on their
headlights to illuminate the scene. He then dropped to one
knee and presented her with a diamond ring. Their engagement
was officially announced in the local newspaper on November third,
nineteen ninety one. That winter, David's college football career concluded
with him holding three all time lumberjack records for tackles,

(23:32):
cementing his legacy at Stephen F. Austin University. After graduating
from Stephen F. Austin University in May nineteen ninety two

(23:54):
with degrees in physical education, David and Belinda decided to
remain in Acacdotis for an additional year to pursue master's
degrees in education. They moved into SFA's married student housing
and began their graduate studies together. During this period, concerning
patterns began to emerge in their relationship dynamics. Belinda confided
in her twin sister Brenda, that David was struggling with

(24:17):
his graduate school papers. She revealed that she was completing
most of his academic work while he was occupied with
coaching responsibilities. Their relationship with Belinda's family also showed signs
of strain. David and Belinda saw Tom and Carol Lucas
infrequently during this time. After attending a small New Year's
Eve party at the Lucas house, David never entered their

(24:39):
home again. From that point forward, Belinda always visited her
family alone. Other Lucas family members continued to harbor doubts
about David. Belinda's uncle Chuck, felt that David struggled to
relax and never seemed to integrate well with their family dynamic.
Her brother Brian went dear hunt with David and found

(25:01):
him to be boastful, with David claiming he had once
bagged his dove hunting limit using only a single box
of shotgun shells. Despite these tensions, Belinda's desire to start
a family remained evident. During a visit to her brother Barry,
when his son was born, she held the infant and
spoke wistfully about wanting a baby of her own. In

(25:22):
nineteen ninety three, after Belinda completed her master's degree and
David neared completion of his they received a career opportunity.
Don Clayton, one of David's former coaches from Katie High School,
offered him a position as an assistant coach at Livingston
High School. David and Belinda relocated to the nearby town
of Goodrich, where they rented a home that Belinda furnished

(25:45):
with flea market antiques she personally refinished. David began his
coaching career working with inside linebackers and track, while Belinda
took a position as a special education teacher at a
local middle school. However, signed of marital strains soon became
apparent to those close to Belinda. She complained to friends

(26:05):
that David was rarely home, particularly during football season, often
not returning until well after dark. More troubling, she confided
in her college roommate Stacy Rios, that she wondered if
David was having an affair, while she had no concrete evidence,
and quickly contradicted herself by saying he was simply busy
with work. Stacy sensed that Belinda wouldn't admit David's faults,

(26:28):
even to herself. Belinda's family observed that she was determined
to project a happy image of her marriage and home life,
which prevented her from confiding in them about any problems
she might have been experiencing. They rented a one story
bage brick house on Comstock Springs Drive, just fifteen minutes
from where David had grown up. The couple began attending

(26:51):
First Baptist Church with David's parents and participated in the
regular Sunday afternoon Temple family gatherings. A family member would
life later recall that they seemed happy initially, but noted
that over time that changed. In late nineteen ninety four,
Belinda discovered she was pregnant. Both she and David were
delighted about the coming baby, deciding to name their son Evan,

(27:14):
after David's maternal grandfather. They worked together in the garage,
sanding and refinishing flea market furniture to prepare the nursery.
On the evening of April thirteenth, nineteen ninety five, Belinda
went into labor. David was not home at the time,
so his parents transported her to the hospital. He arrived
an hour later. Evan Brett Temple was born at two

(27:36):
a m. The proud parents sent out a birth announcement
referring to their son as their first draft pick and
little linebacker. Belinda was overjoyed and excited about motherhood. She
sent photographs of the new baby to her brother Brian
and his wife Jill, inviting them to visit. However, the
dynamics within the household began to shift in concerning ways.

(27:59):
When Brenda visited, she observed that while Belinda appeared happy
with the baby, David behaved oddly and kept his distance,
making Brenda feel unwelcome in their home. More troubling, Belinda
began confiding in neighbors about problems in her marriage. She
told Jackie Saram that David did not want her or
Evan to be around her family. She shared the same

(28:21):
concern with another neighbor, Sharif Wornerat, who noticed that Belinda's
affection for the Temple family was waning. She had begun
referring to David's mother as Mother Temple in a tone
that wasn't always affectionate. David's controlling behavior became increasingly apparent
to those around them. Belinda began inline skating with Evan's

(28:43):
stroller to regain her pre pregnancy fitness, confiding in Sharie
that David doesn't like heavy women. Neighbor Jackie Saramy witnessed
David yelling at Belinda from inside the house, ordering her
to come inside when she was on the driveway or
in the garage. Belinda would immediately comply without argument. Shari
heard David mock Belinda and observed the cold, stern look

(29:05):
in David's eyes that left Belinda visibly furious but silent.
The family dog, Shaka, had become well known in the
neighborhood for aggressive behavior. One afternoon, the dog attacked a
neighbor's friendly lab mix while David stood by and watched.
He only intervened to pull Shaka away after neighbors shouted
at him to act. During the Christmas break, David attended

(29:28):
a coaching camp, leaving Belinda and Evan at home. She
used his absence as an opportunity to drive to knack
Agdocius and spend one night with her parents in Evan.
This was a rare visit, as her contact with her
family had become increasingly infrequent. Quick break ads keep the

(29:56):
show running, but if you want to skip them, the
ad free versions on pay Preon for just three bucks
a month. Links in the show notes and we're back.
Thanks for sticking through that. Let's get back to it.
In the spring of nineteen ninety six, Belinda left her

(30:17):
position in the Ali School District and was hired as
a content mastery teacher at Katie High School, David's alma mater.
The teachers who interviewed her were blown away by her
energy and confidence that the students would love her. Despite
knowing David as a bully with a bad reputation during
his high school years, they hired her assuming he had

(30:38):
matured since then. Belinda quickly established herself as a beloved
faculty member, becoming known for her enthusiasm at PEP rally's,
her daily motivational emails as head of the Sunshine Club,
and her role as the unofficial four Corners Lady directing
students through the hallways. During the summer of nineteen ninety six,

(30:58):
David and Belinda met another young coaching couple, Quinton and
Tammy Harlan. The two families quickly developed a close friendship,
sharing regular dinners, taking their children to the park together,
and playing cards on weekends. However, Tammy Harlan soon began
to observe troubling aspects of David's personality. He insisted on

(31:19):
planning every detail of their social gatherings, demanded that their
house remain spotless, and required that both he and Evan
wear only matching name brand clothing. David frequently complained about
his nineteen ninety one Chevrolet pickup truck and expressed his
desire for a new vehicle, but Belinda would remind him
they were saving money to purchase their first home. More

(31:43):
concerning was David's continued disparagement of Belinda's family. Tammy heard
him refer to the Lucas family as fat rednecks and
white trash behind Belinda's back. During the holiday season, Belinda
complained to Tammy that David would not permit her to
take Evan to say visit her parents. In November nineteen

(32:03):
ninety six, after their landlord refused to sell them their
rental property, David and Belinda purchased a larger, two story,
red brick colonial home at twenty two five zero two
Round Valley Drive in the Creekstone subdivision. Needing assistance with
the down payment, Belinda borrowed money from her twin sister Brenda,
which they quickly repaid. Belinda was thrilled with their new

(32:25):
home and enthusiastically decorated it, paying particular attention to Evans's bedroom.
By the spring of nineteen ninety seven, the cracks in
David and Belinda's marriage had become more apparent to their
closest friends. Tammy began hearing rumors from other coaches wives
that David was being unfaithful. When Tammy cautiously broached the subject,

(32:47):
Belinda confided that she sometimes wondered if he was fooling around,
but would quickly dismiss her own suspicions. David's aggressive behavior
continued to manifest in various situations. He got into a
physical confrontation with Quinton for attempting to leave a bar,
ripping his shirt collar during the altercation. He also engaged

(33:08):
in a prolonged conflict with another coach, Billy Kramer, whom
he had been ridiculing for over a year. Their eventual
fight was so intense that Quinton had to physically restrain
David by jumping on his back. Kramer left the school
district at the end of that year. During David's ten
year high school reunion that summer, his behavior toward Belinda

(33:30):
became particularly humiliating. He attended a pre party alone and
openly flirted with an old girlfriend. The following night, Belinda
accompanied him to the main reunion event and was left
in tears, telling Tammy she felt humiliated watching him flirt
with other women throughout the evening. That same summer marked

(33:50):
the last time Belinda's brother, Brian and his wife Jill
would see her. David and Belinda were supposed to meet
them for dinner, but stood them up, choosing instead to
die at the same restaurant with David's family. After this incident,
Belinda stopped returning Brian's phone calls. David's emotional and verbal
abuse of Belinda escalated during this period. Tammy witnessed him

(34:13):
ridicule Belinda's weight, making comments about her big butt and
unfavorably comparing her post pregnancy body to how she had
looked in college. He also began undermining her parenting, insisting
that only he had the right to discipline Evan. Tammy
observed Belinda becoming increasingly quiet and submissive, walking on eggshells

(34:34):
around David. In August nineteen ninety eight, the new Hastings
Ninth Grade Center opened, and David and Quinton were transferred
there along with a new single English teacher named Heather
Scott Quinton began flirting with Heather, and David, being intensely
competitive with his friend, was also drawn to her. David

(34:55):
began attending Thursday night happy hours with other teachers, while
lying to Belinda that he he was at junior varsity games.
During these gatherings, he and Heather started pairing up, sitting
by themselves and engaging in quiet, intimate conversations. The relationship
quickly became physical. Heather's roommate, Tara Hall, began finding David's

(35:16):
truck parked at their townhouse late on Friday nights. She
would often discover them together upstairs in Heather's bedroom. David
started bringing Heather gifts of flowers and perfume. The affair
became an open secret among the faculty at the ninth
Grade Center. David and Heather exchanged dozens of flirtatious emails
during school hours, communications that would later be recovered by investigators. Meanwhile,

(35:41):
Belinda's suspicions about David's infidelity were growing. In the spring
of nineteen ninety eight, she discovered David's credit card receipts
from bars and strip clubs. She was seen crying at
her desk one morning by a fellow teacher, confiding about
problems at home, but begging him not to intervene, fearing
it would only make it worse. Over the summer, the

(36:04):
marital tension reached a breaking point. David and Belinda went
for weeks without speaking to each other. She confided in
Tammy that she had begun refusing to spend every weekend
with David's family. The standoff only ended after David first
told Belinda he didn't know if he loved her, then
reversed himself the following night, claiming that he did. Shortly

(36:26):
after their reconciliation, Belinda became pregnant with their second child. Initially,
David appeared pleased with the news, and his parents were
thrilled to learn the baby would be a girl. However,
as the fall progressed and his affair with Heather intensified,
David's enthusiasm about the baby disappeared entirely. Belinda confided in

(36:47):
multiple friends that she was no longer certain David even
wanted their daughter. December nineteen ninety eight brought a series
of troubling incidents that would prove to be the final
month of Belinda's life. David forbade Brenda from visiting for Christmas,
telling Belinda they would be too busy with his family's celebrations.

(37:08):
David failed to purchase a Christmas gift for Belinda and
began discussing getting a vasectomy, which deeply upset her. When
Brenda finally arrived for a visit on December twenty seventh,
the tension in the household was palpable. David repeatedly made
cruel remarks about Belinda's pregnancy weight, prompting her to confront
him directly, you're not happy about having this baby girl.

(37:32):
On their shared thirtieth birthday, December thirtieth, David announced during
dinner that he was going hunting on New Year's Eve
and would be absent for two nights. Belinda appeared surprised
by this sudden announcement. On New Year's Eve, David left
the house, taking the family's only cell phone and providing
no details about his destination or companions. He had lied

(37:54):
to Belinda about his plans. Instead of hunting, he spent
the next two days with Heather Scott at her townhouse,
even bragging about his deception to other guests at her
new Year's Eve party. He had kept his guns and

(38:45):
hunting gear in his truck to maintain the deception should
Belinda discover his true whereabouts. On New Year's Day, David
and Heather spent a leisurely day lounging on her couch
watching football, before he spent another night in her bedroom.
Over the entire three day period he was with Heather,
David called Belinda only once on Sunday afternoon, as he

(39:06):
was driving home. While David was with his mistress, Belinda
was dealing with family obligations in her own emotional turmoil.
On the morning of New Year's Day, she drove her
twin sister, Brenda, and Evan to the airport for Brenda's
early flight back to Kansas. Belinda appeared weary and depressed
during this farewell, and Brenda experienced a strong premonition that

(39:29):
she would never see her sister again. After dropping Brenda
at the airport, Belinda returned home with Evan, where she
spent the remainder of the day, likely worrying about David's
unexplained absence. On Sunday evening, January third, David and Belinda
took Evan to dinner at Los Cucos restaurant. Their meal
was observed by fellow coach Bill Norwood and his wife

(39:52):
Mary Anne, who were dining at the same establishment. Mary
Anne thought Belinda looked incredibly sad and was struck by
how the couple sat silently across from each other without speaking.
When Belinda briefly joined the Norwood's table, she spoke about
saving her sick days to use after the baby was born.
During the first week of school in January nineteen ninety nine,

(40:15):
a disturbing rumor began circulating at Hastings High School. David
Temple was allegedly telling people that his wife, Belinda, was
the teacher responsible for reporting the rule violation that had
disqualified the Katie High School football team from the state championship.
This claim was entirely false, leading some to wonder if

(40:36):
David's motive was to make people in the football obsessed
town really mad at Belinda. At Katie High School, teachers
who encountered Belinda during this week thought she appeared well,
though tired from her pregnancy, She continued her duties as normal,
unaware of the false rumors her husband was spreading about her.

(40:56):
On Friday, January eighth, David's relationship with heathersid Scott reached
a new level of intensity. He told Heather, you know,
I think I have fallen totally in love with you.
Heather reciprocated, telling him she felt the same way. Saturday,
January ninth found Belinda still working to complete the nursery
for baby Erin. A primary source of frustration was a

(41:18):
decorative shelf she wanted David to install, but he had
not done the work earlier in the week. She had
received a high estimate from a handyman and decided she
would have to complete the installation herself. On Sunday, January tenth,
Belinda drove to the home depot on Interstate ten and
purchased a set of replacement brackets for the shelf. These

(41:40):
items would later be found in her asuzu following her murder.
That afternoon, her neighbor Natalie Scott, observed Belinda in the
garage working on the shelves. Natalie was amazed that Belinda,
so far along in her pregnancy, was still performing such
physical labor. Belinda invited Natalie inside to see the nursery

(42:01):
she had been preparing. When they entered the house, Natalie
saw David sprawled on the couch watching television while his
pregnant wife worked alone on the baby preparations. Belinda confided
in Natalie that David had done little to help get
ready for the baby's arrival, citing the uninstalled wall shelf
as a prime example of his lack of involvement. Despite

(42:24):
her obvious frustration with David's indifference, when Belinda spoke about
Erin's impending birth, she looked really happy and excited. Her
love for her unborn daughter remained undimmed by her husband's
neglect and the deteriorating state of their marriage. Monday, January eleventh,
nineteen ninety nine, began with chaos in the Temple household

(42:47):
on Round Valley Drive. Three year old Evan had fallen
ill during the night with a low grade fever, and
had crawled into his parents bed, sleeping between David and Belinda.
Around six a m David's mother, Maureen called to offer
some homemade soup she had prepared. She suggested Belinda stop
by after school to collect it. Despite feeling exhausted from

(43:08):
the disrupted night, Belinda gave Evan motrin for his fever.
She made the difficult decision to send him to daycare anyway,
as she was carefully saving her sick days for after
the baby's birth. David left for his coaching position at
Hastings Ninth Grade Center before Belinda departed with Evan. At
Tigerland Daycare, Belinda arrived with Evan riding on her back,

(43:30):
prompting teacher Ida Sivilly to joke, girl, you better put
that boy down, or you'll have that baby right now.
Belinda laughed and replied, no, he's my baby too. She
informed Evan's teachers about his rough night and fever, asking
them to call if his condition worsened. She mentioned that
David had agreed to pick Evan up later so she

(43:51):
could complete her work day. Belinda arrived at Katy High
School just after seven a m. With noticeably swollen ankles.
Her colleagues By Burgher and Cindy O'Brien brought her a
chair to help with her discomfort. She spoke about Evan's
illness and expressed guilt about sleeping through his distress during
the night. When she mentioned having little appetite, Debby joked

(44:13):
that it might be a sign the baby was coming soon.
Despite the morning's challenges, Belinda maintained her routine sending out
her daily motivational email to the staff. The message contained
a joke about a boy whose mother could predict the
future by looking at his report card. She signed it cheerfully,
have a great Monday, Belinda. Around eleven forty a m.

(44:38):
Tiger Land called the school to report that Evan's temperature
had risen above one hundred point six degrees and he
needed to be collected immediately. Belinda was in the teacher's
lunch room when she received the notification. Returning to her classroom,
she became increasingly frustrated as she tried repeatedly to reach
David at Hastings, calling both his school phone and sell

(45:00):
phone multiple times without success. I can never find David
when I need him, she complained to Debby. I ought
to get him a beeper. She expressed concern to another colleague,
Stacy Nissley, that she might end up missing the rest
of her work day. Belinda left school, assuring an administrator
she would return in time for a two p m

(45:20):
parent conference. At tiger Land, she encountered another pregnant teacher,
Eileen Lang, and they compared baby bumps. While Belinda said
Erin will be here any day. Now, Evan's teacher brought
him out wrapped in a blanket, explaining he had been
lethargic all morning. Belinda took her sleeping son and left
the day care. At some point, Belinda managed to reach David,

(45:43):
who left Hastings around noon to meet her at their house.
A post it note later found on the kitchen counter
recorded that Evan received one and a half teaspoons of
motrin at twelve fifteen p m. Belinda returned to Katy
High just after one p m. At two thirty p m,
after her last student departed, she walked out with Debbi,

(46:05):
leaving detailed instructions in case the baby arrived that night.
On her way to the parent conference, she encountered Stacy
Nisley again. When asked about Evan, Belinda appeared frustrated and
said David's home. I'll tell you about it later, ending
with an exasperated men. The parent conference with administrator Margaret

(46:25):
Christian proceeded smoothly and concluded around three twenty p m,
with the women briefly sharing childbirth stories. Belinda left the
meeting in a rush, and a security guard noticed her
struggling to carry her purse, keys, and new baby. Pillows,
offering assistance. She appeared exhausted and was dragging, but explained

(46:45):
once again that she was saving her sick days for
when Erin was born. According to David's father, Ken Temple,
Belinda then drove to his and Maureen's house to collect
the promised soup. Ken stated they spoke briefly about Evans
condition and the baby's impending arrival, before Belinda hurriedly left.
At three thirty two pm, Belinda made a brief thirty

(47:08):
second cell phone call to the house on Round Valley Drive.
David would later tell investigators she called to inform him
she was on her way home, estimating her arrival time
as three forty five pm. According to David's subsequent statement
to Detective Leithner, after Belinda arrived home and was resting,
he took Evan to a local park, then to Brookshire

(47:30):
Brother's grocery store and home depot. At four thirty eight pm,
Brenda called the house from Kansas with urgent news their
grandfather had been critically injured. When no one answered, she
left a message. Approximately forty five minutes later, Ken Temple
also called to check on Evans's condition, leaving another message.
When the phone went unanswered. Just before five twenty five pm,

(47:54):
neighbor Angela Vielma was walking on the street adjacent to
the Temple House when she observed David's blue Tree pulling
into the garage. She noticed what appeared to be a
young child in the passenger seat, though she didn't see
a car seat. As the garage door closed, she heard
a truck door open and glimpsed a man's legs. Minutes later,

(48:15):
David began pounding frantically on his neighbor Mike Ruggiero's front door,
shouting for him to open up. When Ruggiero responded, David
thrust Evan toward him and yelled, someone has broken into
my house. Take Evan, before turning and sprinting back toward
his property. At five thirty six p m, the first
nine O one call was placed. David's voice, breaking with emotion,

(48:38):
told the operator, somebody's broken into my house and my
wife has been shot. Oh my God, Oh Jesus, her
brain is on the floor. I think she's already dead.
He continued, informing the dispatcher that his wife was eight
months pregnant. Despatcher Shannon Tutuomando Buel urged him to check
if Belinda was breathing, but David insisted she's dead. He

(49:01):
claimed he had found her in the closet with part
of her brain exposed. Throughout the call, David's emotional state
fluctuated between sobbing and periods of relative calm. He repeatedly
emphasized that the back window was broken and the door
was open. When the despatcher pressed him to attempt c
PR to potentially save the baby, David initially agreed, but

(49:21):
then refused, saying I can't. Her head is just gone.
There's she's there's just no way. At five forty nine
p m, Sergeant Sam Gonsulin and Deputy Kathleen Johnson arrived
at the scene. Neighbor Rougieiro was struggling to prevent the
family's aggressive chow shaka from breaking through the back yard gate.
The officers prepared to shoot the animal to gain entry

(49:44):
when David emerged from the house and, following their commands,
secured the dog in the garage. David informed the officers,
my wife's dead. Despite the horrific circumstances, he appeared unusually
calm and was not observed shedding tears. Paramedic Maria Meijida
entered the house and confirmed that both Belinda and her

(50:05):
unborn daughter Aaron were deceased. She noted that the blood
had already begun to congeal, suggesting a significant amount of
time had elapsed since the incident occurred. Crime scene investigators
Dean Holtke and David Rossi arrived shortly thereafter. Holtke observed
that David, who was placed in a squad car, was

(50:25):
not crying. An atomic absorption test for gunshot residue was
performed on David's hands as part of standard procedure. Homicide
detectives Chuck Leithner and Mark Schmidt took control of the investigation.
Leithner interviewed Riguiero about his observations and noted the arrival
of Ken and Maureen Temple, who rushed to embrace their

(50:46):
son in his moment of apparent grief. Inside the house,
detectives encountered a scene that raised immediate questions. Shards of
glass from the back door were scattered in a pattern
suggesting the door had been opened when the window was broken.
A television lay on the floor but remained plugged into
the wall, and dining room drawers had been pulled open,

(51:08):
but their contents appeared undisturbed. Jewelry and other valuables, including
David's championship ring, remained in plain sight throughout the house.
When crime scene investigator Holtkey leaned over Belinda's body and
carefully parted her hair, he discovered a gaping, bloody contact
wound at the back of her head. This finding definitively

(51:30):
ruled out any possibility of suicide and confirmed they were
investigating a murder. The weapon used was determined to be
a twelve gage shotgun. The investigation into who had taken
the life of Belinda Temple and her unborn daughter was
about to begin. Quick break ads keep the show running,

(51:59):
but if you want a skin, hip them the ad
free versions on Patreon for just three bucks a month
links in the show notes and we're back. Thanks for
sticking through that. Let's get back to it. On the
day following the murder, David's demeanor struck investigators as unusual.

(52:23):
He appeared calm, with clear eyes, showing no evidence of
having shed tears. He quickly retained defense attorney Paul Looney,
who immediately advised him against taking a polygraph test. The
autopsy on Belinda and Aaron was performed on January twelfth,
confirming that the cause of death was a contact wound
to the back of the head from a twelve gage shotgun,

(52:44):
with the manner of death classified as homicide. DNA tests
later confirmed David was Erin's father. Detectives began interviewing faculty
members at both Hastings and Katie High Schools. Belinda's closest colleagues,
Debbie Burger and Cindio Brian, revealed that the marriage had
been troubled and that Belinda suspected David of having an affair.

(53:06):
Detective Tracy Shipley interviewed Belinda's parents, who initially defended their
son in law. However, when Brenda spoke to Shipley separately,
she recounted the marital tension, David's New Year's lie about
the hunting trip, and his apparent lack of excitement about
the baby girl. On January thirteenth, while Belinda's co workers

(53:26):
waited outside the Temple house, the men of the family
held a private meeting inside. During this gathering, David confessed
to his father and brothers that he had been unfaithful
to his wife. He later made the same confession to
his mother. The investigation took a significant turn when detectives
received a tip from an a Leaf Independent School District

(53:48):
officer about David's relationship with Heather Scott. In her initial interview,
Heather downplayed the relationship's significance. Her roommate, Tara Hall, also
initially with head during her first statement. However, Tara later
provided a second, more detailed account that proved crucial to
the investigation. She revealed that the affair was serious, that

(54:11):
David had spent the New Year's holiday with Heather rather
than hunting, and most importantly, that three days before the murder,
David had told Heather he had totally fallen in love
with her. The visitation in funeral services for Belinda and
Aaron took place on January fourteenth and fifteenth. At the visitation,
Ken Temple told attendees that David didn't own a shotgun.

(54:34):
David confessed to Brenda that he hadn't actually been hunting
on New Year's Eve, but had attended a party where
he kissed a girl. During the funeral service, many observers
noted that David appeared unemotional, even whispering and laughing with
his brother at the Graveside. On January sixteenth, three year
old Evan was interviewed by two psychiatrists. The session yielded

(54:58):
no indication that the todd had witnessed his mother's murder.
As the investigation expanded, detectives explored alternative suspects. They focused
on a teenage neighbor named Joe Sanders, who had been
truant from school and had lied about his whereabouts on
the day of the murder. Sanders and his friends had
access to twelve Gage shotguns and reloaded double ought buckshot

(55:21):
shells similar to the type used in the murder. However,
after extensive interviews and polygraph examinations, none of the teenager's
weapons or shells matched the physical evidence. Prosecutors ultimately concluded
they were not involved in the crime. Just over a
month after the murder, on Valentine's Day, David sent Heather

(55:42):
an expensive bouquet of roses. He was subsequently observed picking
Evan up from daycare with Heather in his new truck.
Tammy Harlan, enraged by this development, began following David and
confirmed he was regularly visiting Heather's townhouse. In March nineteen
ninety nine, prosecutors presented the case to a grand jury,
primarily to preserve witness testimony. Key figures, including the Temple

(56:08):
family and Heather Scott, testified before the panel. David appeared,
but invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. The
grand jury ultimately described the case as weak and no
indictment was issued. Following their briefing by detectives on the evidence,
including details of the affair, Tom and Carol Lucas ceased

(56:28):
defending David and became convinced of his guilt. This marked
a significant shift in family dynamics, creating a divide between
the Lucas and Temple families. The Harlans experienced their own
troubles when a man was seen running from their home
and their alarm censors were discovered broken. Fearing David might
be responsible for the intrusion, they relocated to Fort Worth

(56:51):
in the fall of two thousand. Before leaving, Quintin provided
a second statement to police, now corroborating Tammy's account of
the troubled marriage and revealing he had seen a box
of shotgun shells when helping David move. Brenda began secretly
recording phone conversations with David and Maureen Temple. In these calls,

(57:12):
David lied about his actions and claimed Belinda would want
them to leave it alone. He became angry when Brenda
questioned him directly. Maureen denied the affair and hung up
when pressed for details. David's sister in law, Becky, who
had been very close to Belinda, confided to both Tammy
and Brenda that she was deathly afraid of David and

(57:33):
was beginning to think he did it. The investigation faced
several setbacks. A search of David's storage unit in February
two thousand failed to locate the shotgun shells Quinton had
previously observed. The case was removed from the active homicide
board in January two thousand, though Detective Mark Schmidt refused

(57:54):
to abandon it entirely, continuing to work on it during
his spare time the September eleven in two thousand one,
terrorist attacks created massive backlogs at the FBI laboratory, further
delaying the analysis of evidence from the Temple case. Tom
Lucas grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress, pressuring

(58:14):
Schmidt and writing to the governor requesting Texas Ranger's involvement
without success. He and Carol found support through the organization
Parents of Murdered Children. Meanwhile, David moved forward with his life.
He and Heather married on June ninth, two thousand one,
though very few of David's fellow coaches attended the wedding.

(58:35):
Heather began raising Evan, who called her mom. The Lacy
Peterson murder case in late two thousand two brought renewed
media attention to the Temple case due to striking similarities
between the two crimes. In April two thousand three, the
investigation received a major breakthrough. The FBI Laboratory issued a
report that investigators considered a smoking gun. The analysis found

(58:59):
gunshot residues on David's warm up jacket, shirt and one
of his tennis shoes. The report concluded that the GSR
on David's clothing was consistent with the gunshot primer residue
on the victim's clothing. By the fifth anniversary of the murder,
in January two thousand four, Tom Lucas publicly stated his
belief that there was sufficient evidence against a particular suspect.

(59:24):
Following the guilty verdict in the Scott Peterson trial in
November two thousand four, Tom Lucas emailed Harris County District
Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, threatening to go public with what he
viewed as a botched investigation. In response to this pressure,
District Attorney Rosenthal assigned the cold case to star prosecutor
Kelly Siegler for review. After examining the case files, which

(59:47):
now included the crucial FBI gunshot residue report, Siegler consulted
with her co counsul Craig Goodheart and determined there was
sufficient evidence to proceed with prosecution. On November twenty nine,
two tho thousand and four, nearly six years after the murder,
Siegler wrote an arrest warrant for David Temple. The following morning,

(01:00:08):
detectives arrested David after he dropped Evan off at school.
When informed that the arrest was for Belinda's murder, David
appeared stunned and responded dismissively, You've got to be shitting me.
That was like six years ago. He was released on
thirty thousand dollars bond later that day and retained prominent
defense attorney Dick Degerin to represent him in the upcoming trial.

(01:00:51):
Following his arrest, David Temple's family replaced his initial attorney
with Dick de Guerin, widely considered the top criminal defense
attorney in Texas. This decision set the stage for what
observers would call a clash of the legal titans. As
de Guerin had a contentious history with lead prosecutor Kelly Siegler.
De Guerin made what would prove to be a critical

(01:01:12):
strategic error early in the proceedings. He pushed aggressively for
an evidentiary hearing to examine the prosecution's case, despite Siegler's
warning that this would trigger the district attorney's policy of
closing the case file to the defense. De Geran insisted
on proceeding, but Siegler then secured a grand jury indictment,
which under Texas law, negated his right to the hearing.

(01:01:36):
As a result, de Gueran lost the opportunity to examine
the full evidence against his client. The prosecution faced a
significant setback regarding their key forensic evidence. The FBI's original
report had found gunshot residue on David's clothing that was
consistent with the GSR on Belinda's clothing. However, The FBI

(01:01:57):
later abandoned the specific metallurgy testing US used, acknowledging the
science was deeply flawed. The original analyst was desertified, and
a new analyst, Diana Wright, retested the evidence with weaker results.
In a major blow to the prosecution, Judge Douglas Shaver
ruled all GSR evidence inadmissible, citing widespread contamination problems at

(01:02:18):
the FBI laboratory. The prosecution had lost its only scientific evidence.
Two weeks before trial, Siegler conducted a mock trial to
prepare her detective witnesses for de Guerin's aggressive cross examination style.
A police lieutenant played the role of de guerin identifying
potential weaknesses in the case, particularly regarding the alternate suspect,

(01:02:41):
teenage neighbor Joe Sanders. On October sixteen, two thousand seven,
the trial began. The Lucas and Temple family sat on
the same courtroom bench, separated by an isle, but refusing
to acknowledge each other's presence. Siegler opened with the theme
the truth is always in the darts. She portrayed David

(01:03:02):
as a controlling man who always demanded his way and
possessed a clear motive. He had fallen in love with
Heather Scott and wanted to eliminate his perfect wife, whom
even his own parents adored. She argued that David had
meticulously staged the burglary scene to conceal his crime. De
Guerin made a stunning opening claim that would define the
defense strategy. David and Belinda Temple were deeply in love

(01:03:27):
with each other. David and Belinda Temple were happy in
their marriage. Many legal observers considered this a risky tactic
that ignored the powerful evidence of the affair. He introduced
Joe Sanders as an alternate suspect and played the nine
O one call, during which David wept openly. At the
defense table. The prosecution's case began with law enforcement testimony.

(01:03:51):
Detectives testified that the crime scene appeared staged. Dean Holtke
demonstrated in court that the back door could not have
struck the hutch in the manner de gern claimed, disproving
the defense's theory for the glass pattern. They noted that
valuable jewelry belonging to both David and Belinda remained untouched
in plain sight, inconsistent with a burglary officers described David's

(01:04:14):
demeanor on the night of the murder as calm, unemotional,
and uncooperative. Detective Chuck Leathner testified that David never made
eye contact with him. Quinton and Tammy Harlan provided damaging
testimony about David's treatment of Belinda. Quinton testified that David
was verbally abusive, had asked him whether he would leave

(01:04:35):
his own wife for Heather, and when questioned about Belinda's murder,
had responded dismissively, what difference is it going to make?
It isn't going to bring Belinda back. He confirmed seeing
a box of shotgun shells in David's house during the
post murder move Tammy delivered emotional testimony about David's cruelty,

(01:04:56):
describing how he called Belinda's family fat, rednecks and white
trash and ridiculed Belinda's weight. She insisted that Belinda would
never have allowed a sick Evan to be taken to
a park or ride in a truck without a car seat.
When called by the prosecution, Heather Scott Temple proved to
be a hostile witness. She argued with Siegler and minimized

(01:05:17):
her relationship with David, describing their intimacy as not memorable.
She claimed police had forced her to include David's profession
of love in her statement, despite having signed it and
repeated it before a grand jury. Heather's former roommate, Tara Hall,
directly contradicted this testimony. Hall confirmed that just over a

(01:05:38):
month after the murder, David had sent Heather Valentine's Day flowers,
and that spring he was at their townhouse planting flowers,
demonstrating the relationship had resumed almost immediately. In a crucial
blow to the defense, family friend Clint stock Dick refuted
the Temple family's claim that David only owned a twenty
gage Shotgunact testified that he had hunted with the Temple

(01:06:02):
brothers and that all of them, including David, used twelve
gage shotguns. He also testified they used to reload their
own shells, like the one used in the murder. The
defense presented the Roberts Boys, three brothers, who testified that
as children, they had heard a bang around four thirty
p m. On the day of the murder, a time

(01:06:23):
when surveillance video proved David was at a grocery store.
The Temple family testified collectively that David and Belinda's marriage
was happy, and that David owned only a twenty gage shotgun. However,
their testimony crumbled under cross examination. Darren was exposed for
lying to the grand jury when he denied knowledge of

(01:06:43):
David's affair. Maureen minimized the affair as a two day
week end and denied it had happened, contradicting her son's
earlier confession. Becky was confronted with recorded conversations in which
she had told Brenda she was deathly afraid of David
and believed he was guilty. When David took the stand,

(01:07:04):
he insisted he loved Belinda and characterized his relationship with
Heather as merely a casual, romantic relationship. He changed key
details from his original statement, including the time of Belinda's
arrival home. Under cross examination, he was forced to admit
he had lied in recorded conversations with Brenda. He effectively

(01:07:25):
claimed that nearly every prosecution witness, including Heather, the Harlans,
and Brenda, was either lying or mistaken, while maintaining that
Joe Sanders could have been the killer. In closing arguments
to Geron argued there was more evidence against Joe Sanders
than David, and that David had been at the grocery
store when the Roberts boys reported hearing the gunshot. Siegler

(01:07:48):
delivered a powerful closing statement, declaring that the Temple family
had lied to insult the jury's intelligence because that family
knows him, because that family knows what happened, walked through
the timeline, the lies, and the staged crime scene, arguing
that only David possessed both motive and opportunity. On November fifteenth,

(01:08:11):
two thousand and seven, after deliberating for just over eight hours,
the jury returned their verdict guilty of murder. Quick break
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(01:08:33):
three bucks a month, links in the show notes and
we're back. Thanks for sticking through that. Let's get back
to it. Upon hearing the verdict, David's knees buckled, He
looked toward the ceiling, began crying, then mouthed oh shit.

(01:08:54):
As he was led away. His mother Marine collapsed on
the courtroom bench. The jury quickly returned with a sentence
of life in prison. During victim impact statements, Belinda's brother
Brian looked directly at David and delivered words that would
resonate long after the trial concluded. Divorce was an option.

(01:09:16):
He said simply. These four words captured the senseless tragedy
of what had occurred. Belinda Temple had been a beloved teacher,
a devoted mother, and a woman preparing joyfully for the
birth of her daughter. She had trusted the man who
ultimately took not only her life but also that of
their unborn child, Erin. Her brother's statement served as a

(01:09:39):
final reminder that there had been alternatives to murder, that
the path David Temple chose was not inevitable, but a
deliberate act of violence against a woman who had loved
him and deserved so much better. The case of Belinda
Temple shows how domestic violence can escalate to its most
tragic conclusion, and how the pursuit of justice, though sometimes

(01:09:59):
long and difficult, can ultimately prevail. Belinda's memory lives on
through those who knew and loved her, and through the
recognition that her life and that of baby Erin mattered
far more than the selfish desires of the man who
destroyed their family.