YouTube/Facebook Heather Temple and David Temple.
Heather Scott was a Texas teacher when she began a relationship with a married high school football coach named David Temple.
Temple was later convicted – twice – of murdering his wife, Belinda Temple. Scott stuck by his side and married him after Belinda’s death, although she filed for divorce in July 2019. Belinda Temple was pregnant, the mother of a young son, and a teacher at Katy high school in Texas when she was shot to death in 1999 inside her home’s closet.
You can see photos of Heather Scott throughout this article; she frequently posts photos on Facebook showing her with Evan, the now adult son David and Belinda Temple had together. Heather admitted on the witness stand that she knew David had a pregnant wife and young child when she started seeing him.
Heather testified the relationship was “inappropriate” and she felt guilty about it.
Belinda’s husband (and later Heather’s), David Temple, a high school football coach in small town Katy, Texas, claimed the murder was caused by a home invasion. The murder of Belinda Temple will be featured on 20/20 on November 1, 2019.
In August 2019, he was convicted of murder again, but there was a mistrial in the punishment phase. According to KHOU-TV, Temple spent nine years in prison for a 2007 conviction in the death but his conviction was then tossed out because the judge “said prosecutor Kelly Siegler withheld favorable evidence from the defense.” (You can read the appeals court case on that here.) He’s expected to be sentenced again in spring 2020.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Authorities Discovered That David Temple Had Spent the Weekend With Heather Scott
TONIGHT: The love triangle that turned deadly. The football legend, his wife and the other woman. Now, stunning new details and the major twist in this true crime case. WATCH the new 20/20 event ‘Texas Love Triangle’ – Tonight at 9|8c on @ABC.
According to court records, not everyone thought the marriage between David Temple and Belinda was perfect. Belinda’s twin sister, Brenda Lucas, thought Temple was controlling. He would sometimes make fun of his wife’s weight.
Quinton Harlan, a friend and fellow coach at Alief Hastings High School stated that he believed David Temple was controlling, volatile and “meticulous in his planning.”
The court records state that after Belinda’s murder, authorities discovered that Heather Scott “might be a potential witness in the murder investigation. Testimony revealed that it was a poorly kept secret at Alief Hastings High School that (David Temple) was involved with Heather, another teacher at the school, and the detectives began investigating that lead.”
David Temple
In the fall of 1998, the teachers and coaches of Alief Hastings High School “met each week for happy hour. (David Temple) testified that he attended four or five happy hours. Quinton Harlan, Appellant’s friend and fellow coach at Alief Hastings High School, testified that Appellant would chide him for not attending many of the happy hours.”
When Temple “socialized with the other coaches, (Temple) would think of stories for them to tell their wives about their whereabouts,” the records say.
“Early in the 1998–1999 school year, (Temple) and Quinton met Heather Scott. Both men began a flirtatious relationship with Heather and occasionally saw her after school,” the records say.
“Heather knew that both men were married. Quinton testified that he sent flirty e-mails to Heather and went to her house on four occasions. He stated that they kissed but did not have sex. Appellant testified that he went to several happy hours with Heather, and afterwards, he drove her home and kissed her goodnight.”
Quinton testified that in November 1998, David Temple “asked him to come over to his house. When he arrived, (Temple) got into Quinton’s truck, and they drove around the neighborhood and discussed their intentions with Heather. Quinton stated that (Temple) asked him if he would leave his wife for Heather, and Quinton responded, ‘No.’”
But Temple said “I don’t know” when Quinton asked whether Temple would leave Belinda for Heather. Heather’s roommate testified that Temple and Heather started seeing more of each other around Christmas and Temple “gave Heather several gifts including flowers and perfume as well as a simple gold necklace for Christmas.” She said he was “very polite” and affectionate to Heather Scott.
Heather invited Temple to a New Year’s Eve Party at her townhouse and Temple stated to Belinda that he was going on a hunting trip with friends. However, he spent two nights with Heather Scott instead.
2. Heather Scott Eventually Told Police That Temple Had Told Her He Loved Her & They Had Sex
Heather and Tara Hall, Scott’s roommate, each gave statements to police. Scott stated first that she had seen Temple occasionally for three months and would see him at happy hour but denied dating him and said the relationship was “casual and romantic.” She had a discussion with Temple about “not continuing their romantic relationship.”
In a second statement, Heather stated that Temple spent the weekend with her and they had sex. She also added that on January 8, 1999, Temple “told Heather that he loved her and that she responded that she felt the same way.”
Testimony revealed that Temple and “Heather engaged in sexual intercourse together on at least two or three occasions” and Temple “testified that their relationship was casual and romantic, but he denied having told Heather that he loved her.”
3. The Relationship Between David Temple & Heather Scott Escalated After Belinda’s Death
FacebookDavid Temple with his wife, Belinda Temple, and their son, Evan Temple.
The court records added that Temple “resumed his relationship with Heather Scott shortly after Belinda’s murder. Heather’s roommate, Tara Hall, testified that Heather received flowers from Appellant on Valentine’s Day of 1999. Heather testified that she and Appellant began seeing each other again in March of 1999.”
Hall stated that Temple “visited Heather several times that spring, and that he and Heather planted flowers on the patio. Natalie Scott, Appellant’s neighbor, testified that she saw Appellant at a steakhouse in September 1999, and he had his arm around a thin, blonde woman in a red dress.”
Kenneth Temple testified that, about “six months after Belinda’s death, he learned that his son was dating Heather. Appellant’s brother, Kevin, and sister-in-law testified that they were very upset when they learned Appellant was dating Heather and did not speak to him for several months. Appellant and Heather became engaged in January of 2001 and married on June 9, 2001.”
4. Heather Scott Testified at David’s Second Trial
Heather Scott, then estranged from David, testified at his retrial in July 2019. According to ABC 13, an attorney who watched the testimony stated, “…she is clearly not trying to hurt David Temple’s case. She’s going out of her way to include responses not asked in the questions. It’s clear she’s still trying to help him.”
Jurors heard about emails between Heather and David. “(They were) some bad choices,” Scott testified. “Emailing seemed fun at the time, I know it’s wrong.”
Her lawyer told ABC 13, “It has been a long process but she’s holding her head up, she’s testifying now, she’s doing good today.”
Her attorney told KHOU of the divorce filing, “We are aware that her divorce filing is contemporaneous with the David Temple trial; however, we simply ask the media to please respect her privacy at this time.”
Heather Scott Temple has filled her Facebook page showing her with David and Belinda’s son Evan.
5. Belinda’s Death Was Horrific, Court Records Say
20/20David and Belinda Temple.
The death scene was horrific. “Belinda’s body was found upstairs, laying face down in the master bedroom’s closet,” court records state.
“She had been shot in the back of the head, and the front of her face and brain were blown away.” A detective “testified that it appeared that Belinda had been kneeling when she was shot. All of the brain matter was low in the closet (i.e., on the first row of clothes). The hanging clothes near Belinda’s body had been pushed to the side at some point after Belinda was shot. Those clothes had a significant amount of blood and brain matter, and they appeared to have shielded the back wall of the closet.”
The autopsy showed, according to court records, that Belinda “had received a shotgun wound to the back of the head and that her skull had been fractured as a result. The exit wound was at Belinda’s right eye, and there was additional tearing across most of her face. There was no stippling around the entrance wound, but there was gunpowder residue or soot within the wound itself, as well as lead buckshot fragments. Consequently, Dr. Wolfe opined that the shotgun was fired while the end of the gun was touching or contacting Belinda’s head. He also stated that Belinda’s unborn child would have died quickly but not instantly.”
The experts had a difficult time determining a time of death. However, the coroner believed “that she died sometime the day before.”
According to an appellate court record in the case, David Temple and Belinda “met and married while they were students at Stephen F. Austin University.”
Later, they bought “a corner-lot home in the Cimmaron subdivision located south of I–10 in Katy, Texas,” which was near David’s childhood home. David Temple “worked as a teacher and coach at Alief Hastings High School, and Belinda was a teacher at Katy High School,” the court records say.
“At the time of Belinda’s death, their son Evan was approaching four years of age, and Belinda was eight months pregnant.”
The court records say that witnesses testified that the marriage between Belinda and Temple seemed “good,” “loving,” and “caring.” They were described by family and friends as a “compatible couple” in an “equal partnership.”
People also testified that they felt David was a good father to his son Evan and was so excited that Belinda was due to have a daughter that he helped prepare the nursery.
The court records say that David Temple returned home to find the house burglarized and his wife’s body in the closet. Authorities felt the burglary seemed staged.
The records continued that Belinda “was fully clothed and still wearing her shoes. She was also wearing a watch, a bracelet, a necklace, and rings on both hands. Her glasses were found broken on the ground near her. A cordless telephone was in or near Belinda’s hand. The base of the telephone was on a dresser in the bedroom, and when Detective Schmidt pushed redial, he discovered that the last call had been made to Michael Ruggiero (the neighbor). The last number of the corded phone in the bedroom was 9–1–1, which had been called by Appellant (David Temple) upon discovering Belinda’s body.”
The records further added, “Shotgun pellets and shotgun wadding were recovered from the closet near where Belinda had been shot. Some of the shotgun pellet fragments were consistent with being double-ought size buckshot. The wadding was consistent with being from a 12–gauge shotgun. Two rifles, a 30.06 and a .22, were found in the corner of the closet.”