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Husband Denies Killing Wife In 1999

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By MARK DOUGLAS

News Channel 8

Published: November 14, 2008

Hours after arriving in Florida following his extradition from California, Robert Glenn Temple, who is accused of murder, said he didn't kill his wife, Rosemary Christensen, nine years ago and tried to shift responsibility to his former girlfriend, Leslie Stewart.

"I did not kill Rose and at the time, I swear to God, I did not believe Leslie killed Rose either, I didn't. I really thought it was an accident," Temple said.

During a rambling 35-minute interview from the Pinellas County Jail, Temple denied killing his wife but admitted lying about his wife's disappearance. He said Stewart manipulated him into the cover-up after convincing him no one would believe Christensen's death was an accident.

Temple's story differs markedly from what Stewart has been telling authorities.

Stewart told police and prosecutors she helped Temple clean up the crime scene and bury his wife's body in a Rubbermaid container after Temple killed Christensen. Last month, Stewart led Pinellas County sheriff's detectives and prosecutors to a wooded area on the Suwannee River, where Christensen's body was found.

Temple said his only guilt is in helping Stewart cover up his wife's "accidental" death from a knife wound after the two women struggled in Temple's condominium while he was out shopping for beer and flowers in September 1999.

Temple has been in custody in Shasta County, Calif., since early September after police arrested him for threatening Stewart with a knife. They dropped that charge when a first-degree murder warrant arrived from Pinellas County in connection with Christensen's death.

Temple says he is in failing health and spent two days in a hospital in San Francisco during his transport back to Florida because he was having an attack of angina.

He arrived at the Pinellas County Jail just before midnight Wednesday and on Thursday pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

The judge ordered Temple held without bail pending trial.

Mark Douglas can be reached at (727) 536-9603 or mdouglas@wfla.com

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