SHATTERED is the true story of a fairy tale marriage that
went horribly wrong, resulting in one of the worst tragedies
the state of Texas has ever seen. This a true story of such
horrific proportions that it will make you shake your head
in disbelief.
David Temple was king of the football field in Katy, Texas.
He was big and handsome, and from Katy's "royal" family. But
there were other adjectives that applied to David. He was so
mean on the football team that he was nicknamed the "Temple
of Doom." No player liked to see David bearing down on him.
While David was king on the football field, he was also
known as a bully. If he didn't like someone, that person
knew it. Still, David was always able to get any girl he
wanted. When he went off to college, he met Belinda Lucas.
Belinda was beautiful, bubbly, and athletic; everything
David wanted in a woman. They fell in love even though David
was in a relationship with another girl. However, it didn't
take him long to end the other relationship. After an
impossibly romantic proposal, they were married.
At first the Temples seemed happy. They both went on to get
jobs at a school; Belinda as a teacher and David as a
football coach. From the outside, everything looked perfect.
Gradually, though, Belinda's friends and family started
noticing changes in Belinda when she was around David. Her
normally spunky and outgoing nature turned quiet and watchful.
Gradually, David started cutting Belinda off from her
parents, brother, and twin sister. He insisted that
all holidays be spent with his parents and brothers. He
called the Lucases such degrading names as "fat,"
"rednecks," and "white trash." However, when Belinda became
pregnant and they had a son, things seemed better for a while.
It wasn't long, though, before David started showing his
true colors in front of others. Even though the marriage was
obviously in trouble, Belinda became pregnant again. This
time, it was a little girl they named Erin. Things continued
downhill for David and Belinda. Finally, on January 11,
1999, eight-months-pregnant Belinda was found shot in the
head, face down in the closet of the Temples' master
bedroom. Baby Erin was also dead.
During the investigation, it was consistently evident that
David was unemotional and disinterested in the murders of
his wife and baby. Evidence pointed to David as being the
sick, twisted killer of his own wife and child. It took
eight long years to find justice for beautiful Belinda Lucas
Temple and her baby Erin.
Even though I love true crime novels, this was my first
experience with Kathryn Casey's writing. She takes you by
the hand and pulls you along through her story. You're
allowed to get acquainted with the main players in the tale
and care about them, or detest them.
SHATTERED is a book that will stay with you for a very long
time after you've read the last page. It's both a
painful read and a satisfying one. All the questions
are answered by the end, but you'll never forget what
happened to Belinda and baby Erin. You may cry for them more
than once. Kathryn Casey's an amazing writer, and even
better story teller. Do yourself a favor and dive headfirst
into SHATTERED at your earliest opportunity.
In Creekstone, Texas, a small, quiet suburb of Houston,
football was king . . . and David Temple was a prince. A
former high school and college gridiron star-turned-coach,
he 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 January 11, 1999, when
Belinda's lifeless body was discovered in a closet. Her
skull had been shattered by a shotgun blast at close range.
She was eight months pregnant.
There was no damning evidence 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 would expose a shocking history of
cruelty and domination, infidelity and rage—ultimately
resulting in an epic courtroom battle for the ages—as the
scandalous truth was revealed about love betrayed and
innocent lives . . . shattered.
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