Shattered: The True Story of a Mother's Love, a Husband's Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Texas Murder by Kathryn Casey Read Free Book Online
Authors: Kathryn Casey
police were near with radar guns, monitoring speed and writing tickets. The burglaries were sporadic, taking place in unlocked cars. In early 1987, the frequency intensified, and the thieves began breaking car windows.
In early February 1987, a little more than a month after football season ended, a detective from the Katy Police Department went to the high school to talk to the group of boys he’d heard about, the ones who called themselves the Rebels. “They were known to have caused some trouble,” says then Katy police captain Robert Frazier.
Afterward, David and his friends laughed about the detective’s questions. “It was like the police showed up and made threats, and after the detective left, the car thefts increased,” says one of the Rebels. “It was like the guys involved were showing the police they could do it. There was this mentality that this was our school. This was our town. We could do what we wanted. Most of us, but especially David, felt invincible.”
With complaints piling up from the victims, a source led the investigating detective to the fence buying the stolen goods. The man cooperated, saying he bought the radar detectors from two Katy football players. One was David Temple.
Captain Frazier had already heard plenty of gossip about the high school’s star middle linebacker. Although Frazier had never been able to confirm them, rumors circulated that Temple had once hit a man with his car and then beat the guy up. Another report recounted an afternoon David was supposed to have been driving with a girlfriend, when he spotted an elderly couple walking along the road. That day, as the story went, David swerved toward the couple, who had to jump into a ditch to avoid being mowed down. The girl in the car with him told friends that David stared straight ahead, as if in a trance, eerily reminiscent of the way Darren described his brother to Cindi Thompson, on the evening he told her that David threatened him with the shotgun.
“There were a lot of folks in Katy afraid of David Temple,” says Frazier.
For a family like the Temples, one with such a pristine image, it must have been more than embarrassing when their middle son’s name appeared in an article in the Katy Times on February 22, 1987. This time instead of lauding David’s football accomplishments, the headline read, T WO KHS A THLETES A RRESTED , and the article detailed burglary charges pending against David and another Katy High player. Next to their son’s name, Maureen and Kenny’s home address was listed, all on the front page in plain view, for the entire town, all of the Temples’ family and friends, to read.
Yet not everything had been revealed in the newspaper. One thing that didn’t make the article was that the other player arrested told police the radar detectors were being stolen to make money for steroids.
“We were a small town and the arrest of the star football player was big news,” says David’s friend, Mike Fleener.
After his arrest, David gave a voluntary statement. At first he only admitted being involved in one burglary, but his fingerprints matched those taken in another smash-and-grab theft. Before long others came forward who tied David to at least six and perhaps as many as eight car burglaries. Although David was legally an adult, police consulted his father. The investigating officer wrote in his report that this was done because Ken Temple was “known to be a reputable man and a long-term resident of Katy.”
In the end, David and his friend were given deals; although police had a confession and witnesses, his charges were plea-bargained down to a single charge. That February, David pleaded to a single Class A misdemeanor, attempted burglary of a vehicle. He was sentenced to three days in jail and a $100 fine.
Two months later, David Temple graduated from Katy High. Nowhere in 1987’s Tiger Echo was there a mention of the February arrest. But as befitting his football accomplishments,
In early February 1987, a little more than a month after football season ended, a detective from the Katy Police Department went to the high school to talk to the group of boys he’d heard about, the ones who called themselves the Rebels. “They were known to have caused some trouble,” says then Katy police captain Robert Frazier.
Afterward, David and his friends laughed about the detective’s questions. “It was like the police showed up and made threats, and after the detective left, the car thefts increased,” says one of the Rebels. “It was like the guys involved were showing the police they could do it. There was this mentality that this was our school. This was our town. We could do what we wanted. Most of us, but especially David, felt invincible.”
With complaints piling up from the victims, a source led the investigating detective to the fence buying the stolen goods. The man cooperated, saying he bought the radar detectors from two Katy football players. One was David Temple.
Captain Frazier had already heard plenty of gossip about the high school’s star middle linebacker. Although Frazier had never been able to confirm them, rumors circulated that Temple had once hit a man with his car and then beat the guy up. Another report recounted an afternoon David was supposed to have been driving with a girlfriend, when he spotted an elderly couple walking along the road. That day, as the story went, David swerved toward the couple, who had to jump into a ditch to avoid being mowed down. The girl in the car with him told friends that David stared straight ahead, as if in a trance, eerily reminiscent of the way Darren described his brother to Cindi Thompson, on the evening he told her that David threatened him with the shotgun.
“There were a lot of folks in Katy afraid of David Temple,” says Frazier.
For a family like the Temples, one with such a pristine image, it must have been more than embarrassing when their middle son’s name appeared in an article in the Katy Times on February 22, 1987. This time instead of lauding David’s football accomplishments, the headline read, T WO KHS A THLETES A RRESTED , and the article detailed burglary charges pending against David and another Katy High player. Next to their son’s name, Maureen and Kenny’s home address was listed, all on the front page in plain view, for the entire town, all of the Temples’ family and friends, to read.
Yet not everything had been revealed in the newspaper. One thing that didn’t make the article was that the other player arrested told police the radar detectors were being stolen to make money for steroids.
“We were a small town and the arrest of the star football player was big news,” says David’s friend, Mike Fleener.
After his arrest, David gave a voluntary statement. At first he only admitted being involved in one burglary, but his fingerprints matched those taken in another smash-and-grab theft. Before long others came forward who tied David to at least six and perhaps as many as eight car burglaries. Although David was legally an adult, police consulted his father. The investigating officer wrote in his report that this was done because Ken Temple was “known to be a reputable man and a long-term resident of Katy.”
In the end, David and his friend were given deals; although police had a confession and witnesses, his charges were plea-bargained down to a single charge. That February, David pleaded to a single Class A misdemeanor, attempted burglary of a vehicle. He was sentenced to three days in jail and a $100 fine.
Two months later, David Temple graduated from Katy High. Nowhere in 1987’s Tiger Echo was there a mention of the February arrest. But as befitting his football accomplishments,
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