A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that homicide was the leading cause of death in pregnant women and new mothers, followed by cancer. This story confirms the study.
Shattered (2010) is a true, detailed and meticulously researched account of a horrific murder which occurred fourteen years ago in Katy, a prairie town half an hour west of Houston, Texas. Some of the following are taken from the paperback blurb.
Family, faith and football was king in this small, quiet suburb of Houston.
David Temple, a former high school and college gridiron star-turned-coach, had a fairy-tale marriage to bright, vivacious Belinda Lucas, a teacher at the local high school who was so warm and popular her colleagues called her "The Sunshine Girl."
The fairy tale ended savagely on 11 January 1999 when Belinda's lifeless body was discovered in the master bedroom's walk-in closet. Her skull had been shattered by a 20-gauge shotgun blast at close range. She was eight months pregnant.
There was no damning evidence - no murder weapon, no ballistics evidence, no DNA evidence, no incriminating fingerprints and no witnesses - directly linking the brutal murder to husband David, who stood by emotionless and dry-eyed as police searched the crime scene.
But a dogged eight-year investigation - pushed by the victim's parents who were not satisfied with the slow progress of the Temple murder case - would expose a shocking history of cruelty and domination, infidelity and rage, as the scandalous truth was revealed about love betrayed and innocent lives shattered.
In 2007, after an epic courtroom battle and a 90-minute jury deliberation, David Temple was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment - to be eligible for parole in 2037, when Temple will be sixty-nine years old - and also fined $10, 000 for the murder of his wife and unborn baby.
In September 2012, his attorneys filed a motion that pointed to a new witness, who heard another suspect admitting to burglarizing the Temples' home and firing a shotgun.
However, this is the end of the road for David Temple for the judge dismissed the motion and there will be no new trial for him.
About the author: Kathryn Casey is a Houston-based journalist who has written for Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Reader's Digest, Texas Monthly and many other publications. She is the author of six other true crime books and three fiction books. Shattered was awarded True Crime Book Reviews' Readers Choice Awards in 2010 and remains one of the Top 100 bestseller list on Amazon.com. Visit the author's website for more information and updates.
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