HOUSTON – The retrial of David Temple in connection with the 1999 slaying of his wife entered its second week Monday.
The judge ruled Monday that there would be no mistrial after a request by the defense.
The request came after KHOU-TV violated a court order last week by livestreaming audio of testimony and possibly confidential attorney conversations.
KPRC 2 legal analyst Brian Wice said he didn't expect the judge to declare a mistrial, saying the jury likely didn’t hear the livestream.
Background
Temple is charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of his wife, Belinda Temple.
Monday's proceedings started with the reading of old testimony from three brothers who were considered witnesses at the time of the shooting. The testimony is controversial because the defense is trying to narrow the time frame that their client could have committed a crime and tried to cover it up.
Who was on the stand Monday?
Another neighbor of the Temples took the stand Monday and testified that he heard two gunshots at the same time the brothers claimed to have heard a shot. Prosecutors said there is no proof that the sound the brothers said they heard while watching a cartoon was indeed a gunshot.
Another witness testified Monday that she saw a box of shotgun shells while helping the Temples move some boxes. The testimony is key to the state's case because David Temple has long denied owning a shotgun, and a weapon has never been recovered.
The lead detective in the case, Mark Schmidt, testified and talked about how the crime scene seemed staged, based on his investigation. He said the Temple family purchased a 12-gauge shotgun in 1958. He also said the murder weapon used in Belinda Temple's death was a 12-gauge shotgun.
Current wife files for divorce
Just days into the retrial, David Temple’s second wife, Heather Temple, filed for divorce. The two were having an affair at the time of Belinda Temple’s murder.
Heather Temple is expected to testify sometime this week.
What's next
Court will resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
More testimony from Schmidt is expected and once he is done testifying he will be cross-examined by the defense.