HOUSTON – The twin sister of a pregnant woman shot to death in her home took the stand Monday as one of the final witnesses before the prosecution rested in the case of a coach on trial for murder, KPRC Local 2 reported.
David Temple, 39, was charged with murder in 2004 for the killing of his wife, Belinda Temple, 30. She was eight months pregnant when she was shot as she knelt in a bedroom closet in her home in the 22500 block of Round Valley Drive on Jan. 11, 1999.
Recommended Videos
On the stand for more than an hour, Belinda Temple's twin sister, Brenda Lucas, portrayed her sister's marriage as rocky and she described David Temple as having a controlling personality.
She said he did not want her to visit the family during Christmas of 1998, so she came a few days later.
During that visit, Lucas said David Temple belittled Belinda for being overweight. Belinda Temple was eight months pregnant at the time.
The next day, New Year's Eve, David Temple left on a two-day hunting trip. Lucas testified he later admitted to her he had not gone hunting, but had gotten drunk and been with another woman.
Prosecutors questioned Lucas, a dog breeder, about David Temple's pet dog, Shaka, a large chow mix-breed that neighbors described as aggressive.
"I didn't trust Shaka," Lucas testified.
Neighbors who took the stand Monday also said they feared the dog because he would often charge the backyard fence whenever anyone walked by.
Prosecutors question how an intruder could have gotten past Shaka to enter the house and murder Belinda Temple.
The defense contends Shaka was kept in the garage while whomever killed Belinda Temple broke into the house through the back door.
But Belinda's sister testified she never saw the dog in the garage.
If convicted of murder, David Temple could face from five years to 99 years in prison.