Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Killers Amongst Us: David Temple beloved coach, murderer? (part 2)

Episode Date: June 30, 2020

David Temple spent a decade in prison after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife, Belinda Lucas Temple. She was 8 months pregnant when killed by a shotgun blast in her Katy, Texas, home in 1999. Prosecutors argued her husband wanted to get rid of her so he could marry his mistress. The conviction was tossed when an appeals court ruled prosecutor misconduct denied Temple a fair trial. When did the marriage fall apart? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. Welcome back to Killers Amongst Us, a production of iHeartMedia and Crime Online. To the world around them, David and Belinda Temple were the golden couple. It seems like it's a picture-perfect life. So it's not long until they discover they're going to have a baby to really complete that perfect picture. It wasn't long after that that she finds out she's pregnant again.

But for Belinda, it was bittersweet. When David tells Belinda he's not sure if he still loves her, she's completely devastated. I'm Nancy Grace, and this is Killers Amongst Us. I'm Nancy Grace, Killers Amongst Us. Thank you for being with us. You know, joining me right now is we're now a defense attorney family law specialist randall kessler forensics expert professor of forensics at jacksonville state university and author of blood beneath my feet on amazon joseph scott

morgan forensic psychiatrist joining me out of the florida, Dr. Daniel Bober. But right now, I want to go to KD Times owner in KD, Texas, Brandy Chiazzini with me. It seemed like a dream, the perfect job, a beautiful wife, a baby boy, a happy home. Belinda Temple then finds out she's pregnant with a baby girl, and things seem to be on the right track. But when David tells Belinda he's not sure if he still loves her, she's completely devastated. But then the very next day, David's mood changes. Suddenly, he breathes new life into the marriage.

David came up behind Belinda, wrapped his arms around her and said, I do love you. To Randy Kessler, a renowned family law specialist, why is it that so often people think having a baby can fix the marriage? Man, that is a great question. You know, if you already have problems, then maybe you shouldn't have children. You know, having children doesn't fix problems. I mean, we all know it makes life harder. You get more complications, but it's just a terrible thing. Kids don't fix marriages. Marriages and people helped kids. I mean, they're not a solution. They're not a problem solver. They're a gift. To Joseph Scott Morgan, author of Blood Beneath My Feet,

and you have investigated literally thousands of death scenes, but I guarantee you if you went home and told your beautiful wife you don't know if you still loved her, I'm pretty sure I would be investigating the crime scene myself. Yeah, you'd probably have to dislodge the ax that would be buried in the back of my skull. So yeah, you'd be correct in that, Nancy. Well, it's not just Dr. Daniel Bober getting your feelings hurt, that somebody may not love you. It's, it's not just about love. It's not just about romance. By the time you're married, and you have one child, another on the way, or in my case, two children at once,

you are side by side, shoulder to shoulder, creating something bigger than yourself, a family. And love is really not about flowers and a box of chocolate and romantic getaways, in my mind, it's about someone you can rely on that will be there for you and with you. I mean, look, you know, when you're having your special latte at Starbucks in the morning with a little twist of cinnamon or whatever it is you have, Bober. At quarter to seven, I'm cleaning the guinea pig cage. We have a cat, a dog, and two guinea pigs, twins, and my 88-year-old mother. And you know what? You know who's there to help me? David Lynch. He is there. When the S-H-I-T hits the fan, he is there. And in my mind, that's what love really is. A real love. I mean, when I need help, I don't want some, you know, pretty boy running across the street for a cigarette.

I need somebody, what I call a real man, that steps up to the plate and will hit a home run when necessary. For somebody to say, I don't know if I love you, that sounds like high school talk to me, like junior high. If you love me, circle yes. If not, circle no. I mean, the note passed in class. That sounds so silly to me and unrealistic, Dr. Bober. Yes, Nancy, you're totally correct.

I actually tell my patients all the time and I tell them, don't think of love as a feeling. Think of love as an action. And love is about being there. Love is about stability and reliability. And, you know, knowing that when you wake up the next day, it's going to be the same as the day before. So you're absolutely right. You know, I'm just that hurts me for her with me, Brandy Chiancini, the owner of the Katie Times. She's already had one baby. Now another one is on the way. And he jumps up and says he doesn't know if he loves her.

What? Yes, it was a very difficult time for Belinda. After Evan was born, she had gained some weight and was having trouble losing it. And considering they were both kinesiology majors while they were at SFA and she had been an aerobics instructor while she lived in Nacogdoches, they were both very, very fit. And this was a hard thing for David to get past. And so their marriage did hit some rocky times.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Brandy, Brandy, Brandy, you're telling me because she gained weight when she had the baby, it was a hard thing for him to get past? It was. Oh, I'm in big trouble. I am in big trouble if that's the truth. Take a listen to this. But over the next few months, things change for David. Belinda hasn't lost the weight she's gained in pregnancy. David won't settle for anything but the perfect wife, and he lets her know it. David had complained about Belinda's weight in front of other people, including their friends,

and he'd been really pretty brutal about it. Belinda's face would fall. She would almost start crying. And she was a very proud, independent, spirited lady. So for her to be that beaten down by a man she still loved and worshiped, it was just terribly sad to hear all those girlfriends know that information. To David, he didn't want a wife that had a few extra pounds.

She was breaking a deal. The deal he had with Belinda in his own mind was that she was to be an extension of him. And when she showed this flaw, it was unacceptable to him. He began to lose interest in Belinda some people said that he was upset with her for in his words letting herself go nothing could make David happy in my opinion he always wanted more I would not say that he was happily married and in love, but Belinda was. Wow, okay, I'm in big trouble. You know what's interesting? You know, Joseph Scott Morgan, Randy Kessler, Dr. Bober, you all know my husband one way or the other. When I look at him, to me, he looks just like he did

the first time I ever met him. Now, I don't know what that means. Maybe I need glasses. But to me, he's even better than the person I married or the person I met. And it just, it hurts me to think that her feelings are being hurt. You're hearing our friends over at SCORN. That was Nicole Blackman and Katherine Casey Kelly Siegler. But that is just the beginning. David drifts further and further away from Belinda. He begins to spend many nights away from home at strip clubs and topless bars. As a football coach, his long hours provide the perfect cover, but soon looking and flirting isn't enough to satisfy David. When many of the coaches went home to their wives and families,

Temple was often known to go out to local haunts and try and recruit female companionship. He was very open about men. And then the following Monday, he sometimes would say to the other teachers when one of the other teachers would say, well, how did you do on Friday night? And David would say, I scored. He was a cheater. When many of the coaches went home to their wives and families, Temple

was often known to go out to local haunts and try and recruit female companionship. He was very open about men. And then the following Monday, he sometimes would say to the other teachers, when one of the other teachers would say, well, how did you do on Friday night? And David would say, well, how did you do on Friday night? And David would say, I scored. He was a cheater. So he really felt that he should be able to be with whoever he wanted. He didn't put boundaries around his relationship. He wasn't a monogamous kind of guy. He's what a lot of people would call a player. Okay, I don't like that at all. You're hearing our friends over at Scorned. Okay, Dr. Daniel Bober. Uh-uh. No. N-O. I am not going to work all day. Feed the guinea pigs,

feed the cat, feed the dog, feed my mom, feed the twins, get their clothes ready for school, and make dinner. And uh-uh, N-O, if David Lynch does not come home for dinner after I have made it what I believe to be a gourmet meal, of course. But no, that is like the ultimate diss at the end of a workday, not to bother to come home. Oh no. Mm-mm. No, Bober. Well, that's because, Nancy, you're in, you know, a healthy, stable relationship not to bother to come home? Oh, no. No, Boba. Well, that's because, Nancy, you're in, you know, a healthy, stable relationship. But when you're, you know, with someone and you disrespect your partner, that's how you act.

So, you know, obviously the way you're doing it is the way it's supposed to be done. Well, you know, Joe Scott Morgan, if he is not there to sit with me and the twins and my mom typically, to have his Captain Morton's fish filet and his carrots and green beans and uh-uh, no. Or the traditional broggle. I've served broccoli so many times, the twins now have a nickname for it.

It's broggle. N-O. He has got to come home, Joe Scott. Can you even imagine? Your beautiful wife. She makes your dinner and your son is sitting there at the table and you don't show up. H-E-L-L would break loose at that house. Yeah, it really would. And that's what we call a clue when we begin to dig into cases

involving, when we, you know, when we dig into cases involving infidelity that actually wind up leading to horrible circumstances in the end. So, yeah, I mean, that's that thread that we look through in all of these cases to find out what actually happened. In other words, what was the genesis of of the just absolute destruction that follows? I mean, Randy Kessler, you're the family law specialist. You have represented more divorcees than you can probably count. One of the happiest sights in my life is when I see David pull up and in each arm, he's got a grocery bag full of broccoli. Okay, forget red roses, bring on the broggle. So I guess what we're saying is if you don't show up for dinner, there's going to be a murder. I guess that's what we're saying. But you know, all joking aside,

Randy Kessler, have you read all of those studies that show, depending on the number of nights that you sit down with your family to eat dinner, regardless of the scenario, the more nights a week you are together as a family at suppertime, the more likely your children are going to be stable. They're going to have less problems at school. They're going to more likely than not go to college and be successful. Now, I don't know what the broccoli, the broggle has to do with them getting into college, but the studies, the statistics are not lying, Randy. This is a major diss for him not to show up at dinner.

It is. And look, a lot of people think that stuff doesn't make sense and it's silly, but it's not silly. And, you know, on another level, we talk about reconciliation. Your marriage isn't good and you get back and you jump in bed for one night. And, you know, we talked earlier about that as being, you know, reconciliation. But the truth of the matter is what everyone finds in family law is reconciliation is doing those things together, going to the grocery store together, holding hands, talking about day's events.

You know, what breaks up marriage is not the sex with somebody else. It's having the emotional attachment to someone else and not having it at home. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What breaks up a marriage is not the sex with somebody else, because now hold on, I'd be looking for my hatchet right there. But it wasn't all about not showing up for dinner. Belinda knows that something is not right with her marriage, and she's afraid of what it might be. She did say she suspected that maybe something was going on

about him seeing someone, but I don't think Belinda wanted to admit to this. I think she was hoping that it was for good reasons that he wasn't coming home on time. But all that changes when she discovers his credit card receipts from the strip clubs. Belinda immediately confronts David, and he has a shallow excuse. He says it's friends, consoling a friend.

She was upset by it, but she just kind of said, you know, he's helping friends out. He's trying to be a good friend, trying to listen. And I just let it go. Trying to listen. That's Nicole Blackman over at Scorn. Trying to be a good friend to who? A stripper? Well, she knows something is wrong, but she doesn't know quite what. And then here is the icing on top of the cake. David turns the tables on Belinda and decides to put an end to her snooping. He said that he wanted his own checking account, that he didn't want her seeing his bills any longer. The finances in a relationship reveal a truth about what's going on between a couple. And David made a very clear message when he said, I'm going to open up my own checking account so I

can basically lie and do whatever I want without you noticing. Wow. Our friends at SCORN and Dr. Robbie Ludwig. You know, I tried one time. Brandi Chiancini with me, the owner of the KD Times. I tried to snoop on David. I got into his computer and started reading his emails. They were so boring. I thought my head was going to blow off. It was one business deal after the next, after the next.

Then I tried to look at his text. Same thing. I don't even want to look at his credit card or his checking account. Just the thought of it. But can you imagine Belinda snooping, I guess you could call it, looking through his credit cards and his checking out, trying to figure out what's happening. That's a horrible way to live when you feel that you have to go through somebody's credit card and checks to find out what they're doing. By all accounts, Belinda absolutely loved David completely and thoroughly.

And I'm sure that it was a very difficult thing for her to be faced with the idea that he might have been somewhere that it would not be expected for a married man. And a lot of times women just don't want to, and so they want to believe what their spouse tells them. And we'll go along with it until it's either right in their face and they have no choice but to deal with it, or they're ready to deal with it on their own. And she loved him so much that she wanted to believe him, and so apparently she did. Belinda Temple sees her marriage falling apart. By the end of 1998, David starts taking serious risks in his marriage.

He announces to Belinda that he won't be spending the New Year's holiday with her. Belinda had said that she wanted to spend New Year's Eve with him, but he decided to go hunting. And we thought that was odd because Belinda was due with her baby within a month or so, and sometimes you come early. Belinda and David argue over his planned trip. She's very upset they get into a little argument about it because she didn't want him to go,

and he just told her, I'm going hunting. So he packed up his guns and left on New Year's Eve to go off hunting. Didn't give her any details. But David's story about a hunting trip is just another layer of deception. When your husband announces that he's not going to be with you and you're seven, eight, nine months pregnant, over New Year's, you have a problem. Warning, red bell of alarm. Warning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Nancy Grace, and this is Killers Amongst Us. What exactly was going wrong with the Temple marriage? Now, we know that Belinda suspected David Temple was having affairs,

but I'll tell you, when real trouble hit town, it was that fall. Listen. Then, in late August of 1998, David begins a new year at Hastings High School. And the teacher's lounge is livened up by a stunning new addition to the faculty. An English teacher named Heather. Heather was a beautiful lady. Probably a lot of the guys talked about how pretty she was. It doesn't take long for the new teacher to fit right in with the school's all boys club. Heather was known around Hastings amongst the parents and the staff as being sort of a football coach groupie.

She liked hanging around with those guys and spending time with them. I think Heather was flirtatious with a lot of the coaches, a lot of the men, male teachers out there. She did a good job of dangling a few of them at the same time for quite a while. But David Temple is used to coming out on top in every situation, and winning Heather's attention is the perfect challenge. I don't think David Temple ever lost anything or any girl or any game or anything in his whole life. David's very competitive.

And if there was a prize, he wanted to get it. And Heather, this time, was the prize. Wow, you are hearing scorned love kills. That was Nicole Blackmon along with Kelly Siegler and Dr. Robbie Ludwig. Joining me right now, Randy Kessler, defense lawyer, family law specialist. Brandy Chiancini, Katie Times owner, detective, author of Outside Your Door, Steve Lampley at stevenlampley.com, psychotherapist and author of Till Death Do Us Part. And you can see her on Talking Live with Dr. Robbie Ludwig on Facebook Watch.

Also, death investigator, forensics expert, Joseph Scott Morgan, author of Blood Beneath My Feet, and very special guest, the author of Shattered on Amazon, Catherine Casey. Catherine Casey, the marriage of Belinda and David Temple was already in trouble. Many people believe that when you have a baby, you can fix the marriage. What do you think was the turning point in their relationship when it was beyond repair? You know, I think that summer had been really bad, Nancy. They hadn't talked for about six weeks. And at one point, Belinda asked David, do you still love me? And he said,

I don't know. And then that fall, when he walked into school and met Heather and got into kind of a tete-a-tete with her, along with one of the other coaches, and it was kind of this flirtatious triangle going on. And his, you know, just the whole competitive thing got going, things very quickly spun out of control. You know, it kind of feels, Dr. Robbie Ludwig, like it was a powder keg and this new teacher, Heather, just really lit the fuse. That's just all it took was a new woman. I mean, I'm convinced there have been many, many other women, but for some reason, that was the tipping point, Dr. Robbie. Yes. And sometimes there's a quiet desperation that can go on within long-term relationships

or marriages. And the thought process isn't quite concretized. And then there's this new person that arrives and it triggers all these chemicals and it's almost like a high and the other person becomes like a drug. And this appears to be the answer to a better life or to the life that this husband, in this case, David felt he really deserved to live. But Randy Kessler, you're the family law specialist. You've probably handled more divorces than you can count. I mean, in my mind, Heather was just one of many. She was just one in the hit parade for him. Right.

So, I mean, if you want to check the box and say he's a bad guy, he checks that box. Well, that box is definitely checked. You know, to Steve Lampley, you're the detective author of Outside Your Door. I mean, I would bet that in addition to major felonies, a large part of your detective work are spouses that are suspicious their husband or wife's having an affair. And really, all you have to do is look at the cell phone, unless they've got a burner phone or a secret cell phone like Scott Peterson did. If David Lynch walked in the house and I found out there was another cell phone,

oh, there would be H-E-L-L to pay. Long story short, a secret cell phone. Or look at credit card records or bank withdrawals. If you're that suspicious, I mean, I told you what happened, Steve Lampley, when I tried to surreptitiously read David's emails. My head nearly blew off. They were so boring. I mean, ugh. So I never did that again. I don't even know why I started in the first place. But Steve Lampley, there are a lot of ways to figure out. I don't want you to give away trade secrets. So Brandi Kiancini, she had to know Belinda that he was having an affair. And then Heather just ignites the flame. Well, by all accounts, Belinda had made comments to several friends that she thought that David might be having an affair.

Then she would go back and say, no, everything's fine. So it is possible that she absolutely did know, but she didn't want to believe it and wasn't quite ready to deal with it. She was pregnant. And when you are pregnant, you are thinking towards the future, not necessarily thinking that your husband might be having an affair. Wow. And Robbie Ludwig, you've been through it so many times, of course, not in your own marriage, but dealing with it as a psychotherapist, there are so many red flags. There are red flags and then there's denial. And sometimes couples feel that they can get through it and sometimes they actually can. So there are a lot of different factors. I mean, there are a lot of different reasons why people choose to stay with a partner. But it sounds like on some level,

you know, this woman knew that she was losing her husband in some way. I don't know if I would really call it losing because, you know, I couldn't ditch him fast enough based on the way he was acting. But, and I don't want to come down on her because a lot of times, as Brandi Caransini, the owner of the Katie Times, pointed out, sometimes you don't want to know. You put on blinders and you don't want to know. A baby's coming. You've already got one son.

But there's no doubt about it. Listen. Soon, Heather becomes a regular at the coach's weekly happy hour at the local bar. David spends more and more time talking to her alone. They were spending a lot of time kind of segwaying off on their own, separate from the group, and people started to look at them like they were kind of a couple. There were a lot of people who didn't actually know that David was married. The romance escalates.

Heather invites David over to her apartment and the relationship goes from exciting flirtation to a full-blown erotic affair behind david's pregnant wife's back when I learned he was having an affair I was not surprised at all David is completely caught up in the exciting and beautiful English teacher and she feels the same way they were both lusting after each other almost addicted to one another they couldn't stay. They didn't want to stay away. They were each other's drug. David Temple, cheating, and even worse,

cheating openly with a new hot teacher at his own school where he's a chief football coach. No one could foresee what happened next. Nancy Grace, Killers Amongst Us, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.