HOUSTON – Jurors in David Temple's retrial Monday heard attorneys sum up four weeks of testimony in four hours of final arguments.
The case hinges on competing timelines put forward by the prosecution and defense that either did or did not allow Temple enough time to murder his wife Belinda Temple and then attempt to cover it up.
Prosecutors said David Temple had the means, method and motive to kill his wife. They also say he carefully crafted an alibi to try to deflect suspicion.
During final arguments, prosecutors described the Temple marriage as "on the rocks."
David Temple was carrying on an affair with another woman. On the afternoon of Jan. 11, 1999, prosecutors say David Temple confronted his pregnant wife as she cowered in their bedroom closet and killed her with a shotgun.
"A non-intruder is responsible for the murder, and that is David Temple.” prosecutor Bill Turner said to jurors.
Prosecutors said they believe Temple then broke out a backdoor window to give the impression of a break-in and left the house with his 3-year-old son, who was ill, in order to build an alibi by going shopping and visiting a park.
“David Temple was done. He was done with Belinda, he was done with the marriage, he was done with his life,” prosecutor Linda Tanner said.
Temple’s defense team says the prosecution's timeline doesn’t add up, and someone else murdered Belinda Temple.
“Reasonable doubt exists here,” defense attorney Romy Kaplan said.
The defense contends David Temple couldn’t have had time to murder his wife, then take his son to run errands and arrive back home in time to find Belinda’s body just after 5 p.m.
The defense offered an alternative scenario during the trial, that a 16-year-old neighbor, a boy Belinda Temple feared, a boy with a grudge, broke into the house and killed her.
“Given the timeline, David Temple could not have killed (Belinda). The only smoking gun belonged to the kid Belinda Temple was afraid of,” defense attorney Stanley Schnieder said.
Jurors will deliberate until 7 p.m. Monday. If they’ve reached no verdict by then, they’ll be sequestered overnight at a hotel and resume deliberations in the morning.