The Evidence Room, Episode 27

HOUSTON – Belinda Temple used to be not up to a month clear of giving start to her child woman. But her existence used to be lower quick, and her daughter by no means had an opportunity.

Their deaths ended in a heartbreaking finish for the circle of relatives, and the heartbreaker used to be Belinda’s husband, David Temple, a well known trainer in Alief Hastings ISD.

The horrific tale would take 24 years and 3 legal trials to convey Belinda’s circle of relatives justice within the type of a existence sentence in jail.

The tale of David Temple is tested some way you’ve by no means observed prior to on this episode of the KPRC 2 Investigates true crime docuseries The Evidence Room.

A determined name to 911

After taking the couple’s son to the park, David Temple claims he discovered his spouse useless on January 11, 1999.

“Somebody had broken into my, and my wife has been shot,” Temple says to a 911 dispatcher.

Harris County Sergeant Mark Schmidt vividly recalls that night time and the times after.

“I’ll never get rid of that, and the autopsy the next morning, I’ll never forget that,” Schmidt says. (*27*)

Temple used to be discovered sitting on a bench within the yard and advised deputies that whoever killed his spouse were given in by way of breaking a again door window to get within.

“I think one of the things that jumped out walking up to that back door was the glass,” Schmidt says. “The glass was going in the wrong direction. That was pretty obvious.”

The investigation persevered to result in unsettling revelations.

The circle of relatives canine, Shaka, turns into a key piece of proof

“The people that lived in that neighborhood, pretty much they were like, you don’t get near that fence when that dog is in the backyard,” says Schmidt. “Everyone that we spoke with, the dog, was very protective of her, of the family, [and] of his territory.”

The subsequent set of clues used to be within the house. Drawers had been opened however no longer ransacked. A TV used to be pulled off the wall however remained plugged in. Jewelry and watches had been undisturbed.

All of this, in step with Schmidt, steered a staged break-in.

“It wasn’t messy,” Schmidt says. “A burglar is going to ransack, [be] sloppy,”

Schmidt says after the homicide the Temple circle of relatives despatched a letter claiming pieces had been taken from the house. HCSO’s housebreaking department investigated and regarded thru pawn stores however by no means discovered the pieces the letter claimed had been taken from the house.

Schmidt stated the pieces indexed within the letter had been “non-descript.”

Who killed Belinda Temple?

Temple stated his spouse requested him to return house early to deal with their in poor health three-year-old son as a result of she had to go back to paintings.

He claimed their son used to be feeling higher, so he took him to run errands and play at a park after Belinda were given house.

“I think what kind of struck us as odd is that he’d go to a park that’s seven or eight miles from home,” says Schmidt.

Surveillance video at the day of Belinda’s homicide displays Temple at Brookshire Bros. grocery retailer and Home Depot. Defense legal professionals argued the time those movies captured Temple proved he didn’t have sufficient time to kill his spouse and go back house.

“How much time does it take to commit this offense and then stage what I believe, my opinion, stage this burglary?” says Sgt. Schmidt. “We’re not talking about something that took several minutes. This was very quickly staged.”

An acquaintance of David Temple reported seeing him using in a space inconsistent with the course he gave investigators at the day of the homicide. Temple promptly sought felony recommend and stopped cooperating with investigators, Schmidt stated.

A secret affair published

As investigators struggled to ascertain the Temple’s alibi, an affair with a co-worker, Heather Scott, got here to gentle.

“I had attended the autopsy that morning, and when I got back to the office, I got a phone call from an officer in Alief ISD,” says Schmidt. “He basically said, ‘Hey, I can’t confirm any of this at this point, but rumors [are] going around that he may be involved with somebody else.’”

Court testimony published Temple lied to Belinda about occurring a looking travel over the New Year’s Eve weekend so he may just spend the time with Scott.

Over the weekend Scott professed her love for David Temple, in step with Schmidt.

“Brenda had confided that she had conversations with Belinda, and Belinda was sharing her thoughts on David, and her thoughts were this, quote, so-called perfect marriage was not perfect at all, and she had suspected him of having an affair,” says Andy Kahan, the Director of Victim Services for Houston Crimestoppers.

“And then ten days later she’s murdered,” Kahan tells us. “Someone asked him at the funeral, ‘Well, don’t you want to know who killed your wife?’ And he responded, ‘Would it matter? She’s dead.’ That’s an actual quote.”

Kahan says Temple additionally despatched Scott roses on Valentine’s Day, “a little over a month after your wife and unborn child are murdered.”

Two years later, Temple and Scott married. The marriage would ultimate 18 years. In 2019, Scott divorced Temple all over his retiral. Scott testified they by no means talked in regards to the homicide all over their marriage.

The David Temple trials

A grand jury declined to indict Temple in 1999. The absence of a homicide weapon and circumstantial proof not on time his indictment till 2005. He used to be discovered responsible in 2007 of murdering Belinda and sentenced to existence in jail.

In 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Temple’s conviction because of proof being withheld from the protection. The protection steered {that a} neighbor, Riley Joe Sanders III, had get right of entry to to his father’s shotgun and a grudge in opposition to Belinda. Defense legal professionals claimed he had a vendetta as a result of Belinda advised his folks he used to be skipping faculty and a couple of birthday celebration he threw once they had been out of the town.

“So you’re telling me a 16-year-old kid managed to elude an attack dog, go upstairs with a shotgun, shoot Belinda in the back of the head, and then leave without taking anything,” says Kahan. “Come on, none of that made a lick of sense.”

Sanders testified he had no involvement in Belinda’s dying.

Schmidt stated Sanders used to be investigated however they discovered no proof linking him to the homicide.

After Temple’s first conviction used to be overturned, The Harris County District Attorney’s Office recused itself from dealing with the case.

Special prosecutors with the Texas Attorney General’s Office reviewed the case and determined there used to be sufficient proof to retry David Temple.

“There was no one else who had the means, David Temple, the motive, David Temple, and a desire to see Belinda Temple and his unborn daughter dead,” stated Kahan. “It all led to David Temple.”

The case in the end returned to the courts, resulting in Temple’s 2d conviction in 2019.

The jury used to be not able to succeed in a unanimous choice all over the punishment segment and a mistrial used to be declared.

In April 2023, Temple used to be passed a existence sentence all over a brand new punishment trial, last a harrowing bankruptcy of puzzle, betrayal, and tragedy.

Dive deep into gripping circumstances that when ruled headlines, immersing your self in an up-close and private revel in with confession tapes, crime scene images, and the very homicide guns themselves by way of streaming past episodes of ‘The Evidence Room’ on demand here.

Plus, don’t fail to spot the most recent episodes, premiering every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., solely at the KPRC 2+ livestream.

Four tactics to look at KPRC 2+ anytime

• Search for the KPRC 2+ app to your sensible TV or streaming instrument – together with Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Google TV.

• Get the brand new KPRC 2+ cellular app – which is loose to obtain within the App Store or on Google Play.

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