GATESVILLE, TX — A Central Texas murder will be detailed in a documentary on Investigation Discovery.
The documentary, which is a part of "The Lies that Bind" series, will air Thursday night at 9 p.m.
Central Texas news now covered the March 22, 2011 murder of Paula Allen.
The 55-year-old was married to David Allen who was a pastor in Gatesville at the time.
On the night of March 22, 2011, fire officials were called to the double-wide trailer where they found Allen trapped inside. Autopsy reports later revealed she died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns.
An investigation later revealed the fire was started by 49-year-old David Allen.
Mike Stidham, the associate pastor at the time of the murder said he knew something was off the moment he got to the scene.
"You know, people say I got a feeling, I got a feeling, and I just had sort of a real sick feeling in my stomach that something was wrong, and the situation and my fears were found out almost a year later when he was arrested for it,” Stidham said. "I kind of hate to say it, but when I pulled up to the scene after talking to David, I felt like he had something to do with it right then and there. I would say David was emotional, but the emotions that he portrayed to me were not realistic, to me it felt like an act."
David Allen was indicted by a Grand Jury in 2012. He pleaded guilty to Capital murder following the indictment and is now serving out a 30-year sentence at a state prison in Huntsville.
A documentary about the murder will air on Thursday.
"This documentary, I think more than anything, it's for us to actually get to speak out and say what we want to say for the first time. So there is a lot of emotions riding on this for me, a lot,” Stidham said.
