Husband’s Fatal Betrayal Shocks Investigators!
hi everyone my name is Mark and today we’re going to take a look at another horrible case with you the temple family healing from KY Texas was well known and respected in their Town particularly David an exceptional athlete who captained the KD high school football team through an undefeated season in 1986 as the star linebacker and heart of the defense David’s skills earned him recognition far beyond the confines of the football field David was a local celebrity in Katie everyone wanted to be his friend as David’s success continued
he decided to further his academic and athletic Pursuits by enrolling in Steven F Austin State University in the fall of 1990 the university offered him a full scholarship to play football football and David eagerly accepted the offer during his time at Steven F Austin State University David’s skills on the field were nothing short of extraordinary his physical presence and Relentless aggression earned him the nickname the Temple of Doom during his time at the University David crossed paths with Belinda Lucas Belinda was a physical
education major who worked as an assistant with the football program David and Belinda’s connection was instantaneous and quickly blossomed into a true love Belinda was a Charming blonde and David couldn’t help but be captivated by her beauty from the moment they began dating David was eager to spend every moment with her to show his affection he would leave heartfelt notes on her windshield whenever he saw her car on campus and would surprise her with roses after 11 months of dating David decided it was time to take their
relationship to the next level with great care and consideration he asked Belinda’s parents for their hand in marriage Belinda’s parents impressed by David’s genuine character and respectful demeanor happily said yes David was determined to propose to Belinda in the most romantic way possible in order to create a perfect memory he decided to take her out onto the football field field as they walked towards the 50 yd line anticipation filled the air David got down on one knee and asked Belinda to be his wife Belinda couldn’t contain
her excitement as she happily agreed to be David’s wife in the fall of 1992 David and Belinda married in an intimate ceremony surrounded by their closest friends and family after their marriage David and Belinda decided to settle in Katie Texas Belinda pursued her passion for Education by becoming a teacher at David’s alma mater KD high school David found his calling as a coach and teacher at aaf Hastings High School as time went on David and Belinda’s desire for a family grew stronger 3 years after their marriage Belinda gave birth to their son
Evan becoming a parent was a moment of immense joy for both of them according to David’s loved ones he was an exemplary husband he supported Belinda in every aspect of their life ensuring she had everything she needed however other people who knew the couple painted a different picture of their marriage some friends of the couple witnessed their interactions and felt David controlled Belinda they heard him make derogatory comments about her body and the way she took care of their son and upkeep their house according to Belinda
twin who spent time with David and Belinda during the holidays David made frequent jokes at the expense of Belinda’s big butt additionally multiple individuals reported that David referred to Belinda as fat and ugly and verbally attacked her family he made derogatory comments about them referring to them as crazy white trash and he actively hindered Belinda and their son Evan from spending time with Belinda’s family David appeared visibly upset with Belinda’s inability to shed the weight she had gained during her pregnancy with
their son Evan his frustration seemed to stem from his dissatisfaction with having a spouse who let herself go physically however despite David’s less than ideal Behavior it was generally agreed that he genuinely adored their son and was a doting loving father over time David started to dis himself from his wife Belinda one day David attended a high school reunion where he found himself reacquainted with an old flame the following day he informed a friend that he had hooked up with an ex-girlfriend during the reunion David
started to spend more and more time away from home he told Belinda he was at happy hour with his fellow football coaches however in reality David was frequenting exotic dance clubs where he would engage in casual encounters with other women Belinda sat at home feeling a sense of unease in her marriage as she played with her son she couldn’t help but wonder if something was a Miss Belinda confided in her friends expressing her suspicions that David might be cheating however she hesitated to believe these thoughts knowing there
had to be a reasonable explanation for David’s increasing absence from home however when Belinda examined their credit Card statements she became concerned she noticed a high number of charges from exotic nightclubs which raised questions about David’s activities when she confronted him about these outings he presented feeble excuses which Belinda reluctantly decided to accept in the aftermath of this incident David told Belinda that he no longer wanted to share an account with her and instead opened his credit
card this development further heightened Belinda’s concerns and left her isolated from her husband by the summer of 1998 Belinda and David’s relationship was strained and the couple were fighting a lot they went long periods without talking to one another which added further stress to their relationship one night Belinda decided to confront David about their problems she asked him if he still loved her to which David responded with a vague answer stating that he did didn’t know however by the next morning everything had changed David had had a
change of heart he told Belinda he did love her when Belinda heard David’s words she was overjoyed by January 1999 David and Belinda had seemingly repaired their relationship Belinda discovered that she was pregnant with their second child and to their Joy they found out they were expecting a baby girl this news filled the cup with excitement and joy on January 11th 1999 Belinda was 8 months pregnant with her and David’s baby girl and Evan their son was 4 years old the day began normally Belinda was teaching
at Katie High School when she got called to the front office to take a phone call Evan’s daycare center was on the phone informing Belinda that he had a fever and needed to be picked up around lunchtime Belinda drove to evans’s daycare center and brought him home David arrived home about half an hour later as Belinda needed to return to work because she had a meeting later that afternoon that she could not afford to miss Belinda’s meeting lasted until around 3:30 p.m.
and she arrived home approximately 15 minutes later when Pinda came home she appeared to be extremely tired at that time Evan’s fever had subsided and David decided to take him out to do something to give Belinda some rest David and Evan left the house at 400 p.m. and drove to a park located a few minutes away however they didn’t remain there for long David decided to continue driving to a larger Park several miles away before heading to the larger Park David stopped at a Brookshire brother’s grocery store to purchase a drink for a son in cat food
however by the time he arrived at the store it was already after 4:30 p.m. and David changed his mind about taking Evan to the larger park instead he decided to head back home while driving home David decided to make a quick stop at Home Depot to purchase brackets for shelving for the baby’s nursery the store’s CCTV footage captured David and his son entering the store David arrived home with Evan at 5:30 p.m.
when David walked up to the back door he noticed it was partially open and glass was everywhere that site immediately raised red flags and David had a feeling that the house had been robbed thinking quickly David picked up his son and ran to the neighbor’s house banging on their front door and shouting let me in the neighbor hearing the commotion quickly ran to the front door David handed his son over to the neighbor and asked him to call 911 urgently he explained that it looked as if his house had been burglarized worried about his pregnant wife David
left his son in the neighbor’s care and rushed back to his home as he rushed inside he shouted Belinda’s name his voice filled with concern he ran up the stairs and made his way to the master bedroom in the master bedroom closet David found Belinda lying in a closet she was covered in blood after finding Belinda’s body David called the police two officers from the Harris County Constable’s office responded to 911 calls regarding a shooting as they made their way to the scene they were informed that a person had been shot
upon arrival the officers encountered a barrier in the form of David and Belinda’s dog Shaka the dog known for being vicious and protective was barking and growling preventing their entry the officers quickly realized that they needed to find a way to gain access to the house as someone inside had indeed been shot however shaka’s aggressive behavior was proving to be a challenging obstacle they considered shooting the dog as a last resort as they believed it would be their only means of gaining entry just as the officers were about to
take action David unexpectedly stepped out of the backyard calmly and firmly he informed the officers that his wife Belinda had been shot and was dead inside the officers ordered David to take control of his dog before they could enter the premises David complied with the officer’s request and placed the dog inside the garage David was placed in a patrol vehicle as medical personnel and additional officers arrived however while in the patrol car David started to act agitated the officers explained that they needed to
take him to the police station for questioning regarding his wife Belinda’s death during the interview David talked about the moments leading up to when he discovered his wife dead in the closet however David acted irritated and aggressive according to the detectives David refused to look them in the eye and he shook his body and bounced in the chair as he spoke after 3 and 1 half hours of questioning the detectives still had no idea if David was a suspect in his wife’s murder his answers were inconclusive and he was not Cooperative
making it impossible for them to eliminate him as a suspect when crime scene investigators arrived at David and Belinda’s house they were confronted with a gruesome sight Belinda was found lying face down in the master bedroom closet with a gunshot wound to the back of her head the injury to Belinda’s head was not immediately apparent as her long hair covered that part of the wound to one of the detectives at the scene it looked as if Belinda had been kneeling when she was shot the clothes hanging in the closet were covered in Belinda’s
blood and brain matter Belinda was fully dressed in jeans and a sweater with her shoes still on she also wore a watch bracelet necklace and rings on January 12th 1999 a medical examiner conducted an autopsy on Belinda confirming that she had been shot by a 12 gauge shotgun which fractured her go the medical examiner determined that Belinda had been killed sometime on January 11th but was unable to identify a specific time of death due to the body’s state of lividity after the Medics removed it from the crime scene furthermore the
medical examiner noted that Belinda’s unborn daughter would have died as a result of her gunshot wound to the head but stated the death would not have been instantaneous crime scene investigators search David and Belinda’s house the examination of their home revealed evidence indicating that the individual who committed the shooting had entered through the back patio door by breaking a panel of glass however as the investigator closely examined the broken glass on the floor he noticed that the pattern was consistent with the window
being broken while the back door was a jar this finding raised suspicions about the circumstances surrounding the breaking in the investigator’s analysis LED them to the conclusion that if the back door had been closed when the glass was broken he would have expected to see the glass scattered closer to the couch However the fact that the glass fragments were found in the living room suggested an alternative scenario if the Intruder intended to gain entry into David and Belinda’s home why would they choose to break the glass of an already
unlocked and Open Door even though drawers were pulled out and some items were turned over in David and Belinda’s home after a thorough investigation nothing of value was missing Belinda was found to have all her jewelry on indicating that she was not targeted for her possessions furthermore David’s gold Championship High School football ring was in plain sight on the dresser in the bedroom Additionally the television was left behind and still plugged in contradicting the notion of a robbery given these observations the detectives
initially believed that whoever murdered Belinda had staged the crime scene to appear to be a robbery however upon further investigation they realized that the motive behind the commission of this heinous crime was none other than the targeted killing of Belinda and her unborn child the person who broke in did so solely to execute Belinda and her unborn daughter the detec Ives examined David’s Alibi and reviewed security camera footage from Brookshire and Home Depot this footage confirmed his presence at both locations at the time
they believed Belinda was killed as a result the detectives temporarily placed David on the back burner while they turned their attention to other suspects in his wife’s murder when police first interviewed David on the night of Belinda’s murder he insisted that he had no knowledge of anyone who could have wanted to harm his wife however a few days into the investigation after careful consideration David shared with the detectives that he thought of someone who might have possessed a motive to harm Belinda this person was
their 16-year-old neighbor Riley Sanders Riley was not only Belinda and David’s neighbor but also Belinda’s student at ktie high school due to his consistent absence from her class Belinda had approached his parents several weeks before her murder to discuss the issue as a result they grounded him another time Belinda confronted Riley’s mother and father after he left beer cans in her backyard the detectives learned that Riley had access to his father’s 12 gauge shotgun the weapon used to murder Belinda they also discovered that a
group of Riley’s friends had been involved in a robbery several weeks earlier where several shotguns were stolen during Riley’s interviews with the detectives regarding Belinda’s murder he gave them an account of his day and stated that he had been in school however when the detectives checked his attendance records They revealed that he had skipped class in the middle of the day this discrepancy raised suspicions and led the detectives to investigate Riley’s involvement in Belinda’s murder once confronted with
this evidence Riley agreed to take a polygraph test which he failed despite this Riley maintained his innocence and denied feeling hatred towards Belinda instead he claimed that what happened on the day of Belinda’s murder was that he had skipped school with his friend they spent the day smoking cannabis and then visited a few friends houses Riley said he ended his day by falling asleep on his couch and waking up around 6:00 p.m.
to find the crime scene tape outside Belinda and dve home despite David’s theory that his neighbor Riley murdered his wife the detectives were unable to find any conclusive evidence linking Riley to Belinda’s murder furthermore they verified Riley’s Alibi by speaking to his friends which cast doubt upon David’s Theory while the detectives entertained the possibility that Riley might have murdered Belinda and her unborn daughter they maintained their focus on David Belinda’s husband band during the investigation into Belinda’s
murder the detectives learned that David had a close relationship with another teacher at the high school where he worked her name was Heather Scott David informed the detectives that he and Heather had engaged in flirtatious Behavior through emails and during outings to happy hour however he insisted that their relationship was limited to this and nothing more the detectives proceeded to question Heather on several occasions during their first interview Heather admitted that she and Dave had never been alone together
however she described their interactions as a casual romantic relationship this statement raised several red flags for the detectives however after Heather consulted with an attorney she gave the detectives a second statement in this statement Heather revealed that her relationship with David was more significant than she had initi claimed she said they had spent New Year’s Eve together and engaged in intimate relations at her house when the detectives questioned David about his alleged New Year’s Eve encounter with
Heather his co-worker rather than his heavily pregnant wife Belinda David admitted that he did however David insisted Heather meant nothing to him he stated that their connection was purely physical and that he enjoyed the attention he received from her according to David he genuinely loved Belinda and would have laid his life down for her David admitted hurting Belinda by having an affair but denied ever physically harming her 3 months after Belinda’s murder a grand Jerry convened and decided not to indict either Riley
Sanders or David Temple for Belinda’s murder however the detectives remained convinced that David was responsible although they lacked sufficient evidence to connect him to the crime over the following years the investigation of Belinda’s murder went cold and the case remained unsolved David moved on with his life and remarried his new wife was Heather Scott even though David had never been charged with a crime related to Belinda’s murder her family was convinced that he was responsible they did everything they could to keep
Belinda’s name in the spotlight Belinda’s loved ones PID for a giant billboard to be erected over a busy highway and took news crews to her grave site to bring awareness to her case however despite their efforts nothing seemed to change the tip lines remained silent and leads dried up everyone thought Belinda’s murder would remain unsolved but as it turned out in November 2004 everything changed when more than 5 years after Belinda’s death Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Lacy in California this conviction sparked
renewed interest in Belinda’s case as the prosecutors in Katie Texas believed there were numerous similarities between Lacy Peterson’s murder and Belinda temples Additionally the state secured a guilty verdict against Scott without any forensic evidence and although prosecutors in Texas believed David was the person responsible for Belinda’s death they lacked any physical evidence linking him to the crime utilizing Scott’s conviction as a precedent the prosecutors in Texas Revisited Belinda’s case to determine if there was
sufficient evidence to charge David with murder the prosecution formulated a theory that Belinda arrived home on January 11th 1999 and her husband David was lying in wait for her with a 12 gauge shotgun they believed that David confronted Linda and coerced her upstairs into a closet where he fatally shot her in the head following the homicide the prosecution believes that David staged the scene to resemble a botched burglary took his son and proceeded to drive around town in order to establish an alibi ensuring he was
captured on two security cameras on November 30th 2004 6 years after Belinda’s murder David Temple was arrested in charged with her murder however due to various delays the case took an additional 3 years to reach Court during that period Heather was never charged with any crime related to Belinda’s murder and no evidence was found to suggest that she had prior knowledge of David’s involvement in Belinda’s murder in 2007 when David faced trial for the murder of his wife his defense focused on proving that his
neighbor 16-year-old Riley Sanders committed the crime rather than himself after just 8 hours of deliberation the jury returned with a guilty verdict sentencing David to life in prison however in 2016 the courts overturned his conviction citing the prosecution’s failure to disclose crucial evidence this reversal set the stage for another trial in 2019 where David was once again convicted of murdering Belinda despite the guilty verdict the judge declared a mistrial as the jury was unable to agree on a sentence in the
years that followed David’s resentencing hearing was delayed due to the covid-19 pandemic finally in 20123 the hearing commenced once again it took the jury just a few hours to find David guilty and sentence him to life
