HOUSTON — David Temple's ex-wife, Heather Scott, is expected to testify at his sentencing trial on Monday.
Temple, a former Alief Hastings High School coach who has been convicted twice of killing his wife in 1999, is facing anything from probation to life in prison. Eventually, he could be released because when he committed the crime, there was no legal option for life without parole.
On Aug. 6, 2019, a jury convicted Temple, now 54, for a second time for the murder of Belinda Lucas Temple, a teacher at Katy High School. His sentencing had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that a jury couldn't agree on his punishment.
Temple's crime
Belinda was eight months pregnant when she was shot and killed in the couple's Katy home in 1999. She died from a shotgun blast to the back of her head.
Prosecutors said Temple, who was 30 at the time, wanted his wife dead because he was having an affair.
Less than two years after his wife's murder, Temple married his mistress Heather Scott. Scott filed for divorce after Temple's second murder trial began.
Temple was originally convicted of murder in 2007 and served nine years in prison before a judge tossed out his conviction in 2016. The judge said prosecutor Kelly Siegler withheld favorable evidence from the defense.
Temple was never charged with the death of his unborn daughter who had already been named Erin. Laws regarding such charges have since changed.