Shattered by Kathryn Casey

E-Book
Pub. Date: June 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Non-Fiction, True Crime
4 stars

The True Story of a Mother’s Love, a Husband’s Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Texas Murder

Synopsis
Hero, Husband, Father . . . Monster?
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.

After a brief review of the crime, including mentioning how, despite the suspicions of many involved, the case was not “solved” for 8 years, she then gives us a history of David Temple and his family, Brenda and her family and David and Brenda’s life together. She details the investigation including some things the police did that some considered mistakes.

During the time the case grew cold, she reports on something that happened to change peoples perception about whether or not a man would kill his pregnant wife. How the numbers of pregnant women to die by their partners hand is quite high. Those of us familiar with domestic violence know that the violence often escalates when the woman is pregnant. But I digress.

When the case finally goes to the trial, Kathryn takes us through it step by step. Helping us understand the personality of the lawyers and their strategy. And lastly she reports on the aftermath of everything.

Another quality book by Ms. Casey, I give this book 4 stars and recommend it.