HOUSTON — Closing arguments are scheduled in David Temple's sentencing on Friday, but on Thursday, the defense's star witness took the stand.
The twice-convicted murderer's son, Evan Temple, told jurors that his father was his role model.
"I want my dad out of prison. I lost my dad once, I don't want to lose him again," he said.
David Temple has twice been convicted for the 1999 murder of his pregnant wife in their Katy home. Prosecutors said the high school football coach wanted Belinda Temple dead because he was having an affair.
Two years after the murder, David Temple married the mistress. She's the one who raised Evan Temple while his father served nine years in prison. When a new trial was ordered, David Temple spent about three years out of prison. The couple divorced after 18 years of marriage.
David Temple was convicted a second time but the jurors couldn't decide on a sentence, which is what led to the current sentencing trial.
Evan took the stand and spoke highly of his father.
"My father was a big influence even when he wasn't present. He got to write letters, calls maybe three to four times a week," Evan Temple said.
After Evan took the stand on Thursday, prosecutors questioned a Temple family friend about shotguns used by the Temple family for hunting. Belinda was shot and killed with a shotgun.
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.