Jury selection underway for retrial of David Temple

HOUSTON – Jury selection began Thursday in the retrial of David Temple, the former high school football coach accused of killing his pregnant wife two decades ago.

Prosecutors and attorneys began the process of whittling a jury pool of 120 people down to the 12 people who, this time, will decide his fate in the 1999 slaying of Belinda Temple.

Temple spent nine years in prison after a jury convicted him in 2007. After a lengthy appeals process, his conviction was overturned in 2016 for prosecutorial misconduct. He was released on bond while he awaited a new trial.

Special prosecutors were appointed by a judge in 2017 to review the case and decide whether Temple would be tried again.

Temple has maintained his innocence, and his attorneys have tried to have the murder charge against him dismissed.

Jury selection is expected to take several days to complete. The trial is expected to begin in July.