Shattered: The True Story of a Mother's Love, a Husband's Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Texas Murder by Kathryn Casey
Authors: Kathryn Casey
Tags: Fiction, General, True Crime, Texas, Murder, Case studies, Trials (Murder) - Texas, Creekstone, Murder - Investigation - Texas, Murder - Texas, Murder - Investigation - Texas - Creekstone, Murder - Texas - Creekstone, Temple; David
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had to match, down to his socks and tennis shoes. Perhaps most remarkable, his personal hygiene was more than fastidious. David Temple was so meticulous, he sometimes showered three or four times a day.
At the beginning of his second year, David was put on the Lumberjacks’ roster as a starter, and the coaches groomed him for special teams and middle linebacker, a position Graves called “the hub of the defense.” Few doubted that he deserved the slot. On the football field, David was always 100 percent, fighting tough. And beginning on Sunday mornings, David studied the coming week’s opponents, committing to memory new plays tailored to thwart them. “He read them over and over,” says a friend. “David was obsessive about planning. He had to have everything lined up, everything ready. He didn’t leave anything to chance.”
As they had since he’d first played football as a youngster, Maureen and Kenny Temple attended nearly every game. At times that meant beginning the three-hour drive from Katy to Nacogdoches early in the morning and returning late at night. For evening games, they sometimes pulled into their driveway at two in the morning. Instead of Tiger red, the Temples now wore SFA Lumberjack purple-and-white sweatshirts. They weren’t disappointed during the games. Playing special teams and defense, David got a lot of time on the field. His parents had always been David’s biggest supporters, and to those Maureen and Kenny Temple met at SFA, that didn’t appear to have changed.
The team played well in the fall of 1988, David’s first season as an SFA starter. They won their homecoming game against Nicholls State, 30 to 7, the first win against that Louisiana team since 1983. David was a big part of the Jacks’ improving fortunes. “He loved playing, and he carried that mental attitude to the game,” says Graves. “David had good speed and strength. He prepared, and on the field, he was a leader.”
Still, Graves would later wonder if he should have seen more, something dangerous in David Temple. “You don’t look back and see signs about what someone can do, because on the football field, you’re looking for that aggression. It’s a good thing,” says Graves. “But there’s another side to that equation. Because of the degree of violence in football, it’s not far-fetched for a player to go too far off the field.”
In August of his second year at SFA, David met Pam Engelkirk, an elementary education major. Slim and pretty, with cascading blond curls, Pam had a wide, engaging smile. She was smart and fun loving. David, as he often did with women, poured on the charm.
At the time, Pam wore a pink shirt with a black bow tie and shorts as her uniform at Nacogdoches’s nicest restaurant, the Californian. Her parents had recently divorced, and Pam was feeling a little lost, a little less connected to family. David was affectionate and thoughtful. He sent her flowers, most often red roses, even when there wasn’t an occasion. There were those times he got in fights in bars, but Pam wrote them off. “Everybody on the football team liked David. His friends were his friends and everyone else stayed clear of David,” she says, with a shrug. “That’s just the way it was.”
It never seemed like a burden to stand close to him in the clubs, never venturing away from him. She would say later that she instinctively understood that he wanted her there, and that she wasn’t to leave his side. “It was like we were joined at the hip,” she says. “David required that. And I never minded.”
Besides, it was exciting dating one of the Lumberjacks’ star players. In the stands, she sat with the other players’ girlfriends, cheering their boyfriends on. After the games, the girls were allowed on the field with their boyfriends. Even outside the university, with the team winning, David was something of a celebrity in Nacogdoches. “It was a big deal on campus and around town,” says Jeremy.
At the beginning of his second year, David was put on the Lumberjacks’ roster as a starter, and the coaches groomed him for special teams and middle linebacker, a position Graves called “the hub of the defense.” Few doubted that he deserved the slot. On the football field, David was always 100 percent, fighting tough. And beginning on Sunday mornings, David studied the coming week’s opponents, committing to memory new plays tailored to thwart them. “He read them over and over,” says a friend. “David was obsessive about planning. He had to have everything lined up, everything ready. He didn’t leave anything to chance.”
As they had since he’d first played football as a youngster, Maureen and Kenny Temple attended nearly every game. At times that meant beginning the three-hour drive from Katy to Nacogdoches early in the morning and returning late at night. For evening games, they sometimes pulled into their driveway at two in the morning. Instead of Tiger red, the Temples now wore SFA Lumberjack purple-and-white sweatshirts. They weren’t disappointed during the games. Playing special teams and defense, David got a lot of time on the field. His parents had always been David’s biggest supporters, and to those Maureen and Kenny Temple met at SFA, that didn’t appear to have changed.
The team played well in the fall of 1988, David’s first season as an SFA starter. They won their homecoming game against Nicholls State, 30 to 7, the first win against that Louisiana team since 1983. David was a big part of the Jacks’ improving fortunes. “He loved playing, and he carried that mental attitude to the game,” says Graves. “David had good speed and strength. He prepared, and on the field, he was a leader.”
Still, Graves would later wonder if he should have seen more, something dangerous in David Temple. “You don’t look back and see signs about what someone can do, because on the football field, you’re looking for that aggression. It’s a good thing,” says Graves. “But there’s another side to that equation. Because of the degree of violence in football, it’s not far-fetched for a player to go too far off the field.”
In August of his second year at SFA, David met Pam Engelkirk, an elementary education major. Slim and pretty, with cascading blond curls, Pam had a wide, engaging smile. She was smart and fun loving. David, as he often did with women, poured on the charm.
At the time, Pam wore a pink shirt with a black bow tie and shorts as her uniform at Nacogdoches’s nicest restaurant, the Californian. Her parents had recently divorced, and Pam was feeling a little lost, a little less connected to family. David was affectionate and thoughtful. He sent her flowers, most often red roses, even when there wasn’t an occasion. There were those times he got in fights in bars, but Pam wrote them off. “Everybody on the football team liked David. His friends were his friends and everyone else stayed clear of David,” she says, with a shrug. “That’s just the way it was.”
It never seemed like a burden to stand close to him in the clubs, never venturing away from him. She would say later that she instinctively understood that he wanted her there, and that she wasn’t to leave his side. “It was like we were joined at the hip,” she says. “David required that. And I never minded.”
Besides, it was exciting dating one of the Lumberjacks’ star players. In the stands, she sat with the other players’ girlfriends, cheering their boyfriends on. After the games, the girls were allowed on the field with their boyfriends. Even outside the university, with the team winning, David was something of a celebrity in Nacogdoches. “It was a big deal on campus and around town,” says Jeremy.
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