HOUSTON – Two people who were close to David Temple testified for the prosecution Friday, wrapping up the second week of his murder retrial.
What we know
Temple, 51, is accused of killing his then-pregnant wife, Belinda Temple, at the couple's home in Katy in January 1999.
David Temple maintains his innocence.
On Friday, jurors heard from Heather Scott Temple, David Temple's soon-to-be ex-wife. As KPRC2 reported, Heather Scott-Temple filed for divorce last week.
Affair reason enough to kill Belinda Temple?
In the fall of 1998, Heather Scott and David Temple began an extramarital affair.
Scott was a teacher at a school where Temple coached football, and email exchanges admitted into evidence pieced together what prosecutors argued was a courtship, starting with happy hours, although the two would soon become intimate.
In a case about competing timelines, Scott-Temple's testimony is key for the prosecution: It's their way of confirming David Temple was unfaithful to a pregnant Belinda Temple in the months leading to her murder.
Thus, for jurors, they're establishing cause: Maybe Temple killed his wife because he no longer wanted to be married and didn't want a second child.
"Did you notice that he kind of came and went as he wanted?" asked the prosecution.
"I mean, I guess," Scott-Temple said, continuing, "I can't really speak to that relationship," referring to Temple's marriage.
Temple's defense begs to differ.
Temple's defense team argued Temple did not kill his wife and his affair with Scott wouldn't have been the reason to kill, anyway, because their relationship wasn't serious.
The defense pointed to another person, Quinton Harlan, Temple's friend, who also coached football. Harlan testified Friday, as well.
"When you started your relationship with David in fall of 1998, did you ask about his marriage?" asked the defense.
"No," Scott Temple replied, continuing: "I knew he had brothers. I didn't ask about his wife."
Scott-Temple also testified that Temple didn't talk much about his son, Evan Temple.
What’s next?
The trial resumes Monday morning. Coincidentally, Heather Scott Temple filed for divorce last week. While the timing may seem curious, what does it mean since it was filed in the middle of the murder retrial? Cathy Adibe, Scott Temple's attorney, said, "I understand the timing is in question, but right now I'm not getting into the merits of the case."