HOUSTON – Defense attorneys continued to lay out their case Monday in the hearing of a former coach convicted in the shooting death of his pregnant wife in 1999. Kelly Siegler, who lead the prosecution in 2007 during David Temple's trial, took the stand as defense attorneys fired questions at her regarding the state's methods of investigating the Belinda Temple case.
The defense asked Siegler questions about three polygraph tests taken by the Temple's teen-aged neighbor at the time of the murder, Riley Joe Sanders . The defense said Riley failed the polygraph tests, but Siegler said it is because Sanders was high at the time, so the results are inconclusive. During the first trial, the judge ruled the polygraph tests results not be presented to the jury.
Siegler was also asked about her sentiments about David Temple's defense attorney at the time, Dick DeGuerin. She said he was one of the best attorneys she knows, but also said this about DeGuerin and his defense team.
"I don't trust them, I've seen what they do, they will do anything to win," she said.
Seigler also went on to say she seen the DeGuerin defense team "misleading witnesses, misrepresenting the facts and tricking the witnesses into saying things."
Last year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the murder conviction against David Temple, but defense attorneys say they have new evidence that will prove someone else is responsible for the killing.
Prosecutors said Temple executed his wife, Belinda Temple, in the bedroom closet of their Katy home on Jan. 11, 1999. Belinda Temple, 30, was 8 months pregnant with a baby girl she planned to name Erin.
Prosecutors said Temple killed his wife so he could be with his mistress, Heather Scott. David Temple married Scott about two years after his wife's death.
In closing arguments of the murder trial, prosecutor Kelly Siegler insisted David Temple is the only person who had both the motive and opportunity to kill Belinda Temple.
She told jurors that the only way he could be with Heather Scott was to get rid of his wife.
"He married his mistake," Siegler said. "The only difference was after Belinda was killed, he hid the relationship a little bit better."
Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin continued to proclaim his client's innocence even after the verdict.
"Kelly Siegler has finally done what Richard Haynes predicted she would do. She's convicted an innocent man. David Temple did not kill Belinda Temple. This is a tragedy. It's a tragedy for David. It's a tragedy for his family and it's a tragedy for David and Belinda's son, Evan," DeGuerin said.
DeGuerin argued the love affair was casual and that David Temple had already decided to end it.
DeGuerin portrayed David Temple as a loving husband and father. He insisted the circumstantial evidence presented over the five weeks of trial did not make him a killer. The 20-gauge shotgun used to kill Belinda Temple was never found.
The panel deliberated six and a half hours before reaching the guilty verdict. David Temple was sentenced to life in prison and fined $10,000.
The new hearing is expected to last into January of 2015.