HOUSTON – The judge presiding over the murder trial of David Temple declared a mistrial Friday for the sentencing phase because of a hung jury.
Temple was convicted Tuesday of killing his pregnant wife, Belinda Temple, at the couple’s Katy home in January 1999.
Jurors had been deliberating David Temple’s sentence ever since his conviction
On Friday, the judge read the jury the Allen charge, which encourages jurors to resolve their differences and come to a consensus. Later in the day, the judge read a note in court from the jury indicating that two jurors were unwilling to change their positions.
"When two jurors are not willing to budge at all there is nothing more we can do," Judge Kellie Johnson read.
VIDEO: Jury note read in court
While the guilty verdict still stands, a new jury will have to be convened to determine David Temple’s sentence after hearing from both prosecutors and the defense. That will most likely happen in the spring.
“Both sides will be able to put on as much or as little evidence as they want to give that new jury a flavor, a sense, of what punishment is appropriate," said KPRC 2 legal analyst Brian Wice. "That’s a difficult task because you can’t expect 12 folks who may not know anything about the case except what aired on Channel 2 to come in and assess a punishment that’s reasonable, fair and just with a thumbnail sketch of the evidence. That’s why any punishment hearing is likely going to be David Temple: round three.”
Temple will remain in custody for the time being. No bond was set, but Temple's defense team said they plan to meet with the judge soon in order to schedule a bond hearing.
Editor’s note: The date of Belinda Temple’s murder has been corrected.