David Temple found guilty of murder in 1999 slaying of wife

HOUSTON – A jury Tuesday found David Temple guilty of murder -- for the second time -- in the slaying of his wife 20 years ago.

Temple stood and looked at the bench as the judge read the unanimous verdict. 

“We the jury find the defendant, David Mark Temple, guilty of murder as charged in the indictment,” Judge Kellie Johnson read.

There was a gasp from someone in the gallery as the verdict was read, and Temple plopped into a chair and covered his mouth before he began crying. Temple's family also broke down after the verdict was announced.

Temple rested his head on a wall as he was being led out of the courtroom by officers.

David Temple rests his head against a wall Aug. 6, 2019, while leaving a Houston courtroom after he was found guilty of killing his wife in 1999.

Brian Lucas, the brother of Temple's wife, Belinda Temple, said that was the most emotion that David Temple has shown in the past 20 years.

Lucas said justice was served, but the journey to it has been long.

"This day is about Belinda, it has nothing to do with David Temple," Lucas said. "Twenty and a half years -- think about that. A little over two decades I've fought, behind the scenes, to get justice for Belinda. Baby Belinda can finally rest."

Sentencing was scheduled to begin at approximately 4 p.m.

A second conviction

This is the second time David Temple has heard this type of news. He was originally convicted in 2007 of killing his pregnant wife in January 1999 at the couple’s Katy home. That conviction was overturned in 2016 on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.

Temple was originally sentenced to life in prison but was released from jail after his conviction was overturned.


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