A year later: The Ed Thomas tragedy

This is the story written in The Gazette by Scott Dochterman the day after Ed Thomas was shot, June 24, 2009.

PARKERSBURG -- Law enforcement officials are trying to determine why the man accused of killing legendary high school football coach Ed Thomas was set free from a hospital when he was wanted on multiple charges for an incident last weekend.

At the same time, family and friends wonder why a former football player would attack his coach.

"God always has a reason," said his son, Aaron, 30. "At this time, it's very tough for us to understand that."

Mark Becker, 24, of Parkersburg, who was wanted on felony charges, left Waterloo's Covenant Medical Center on Tuesday night without hospital officials notifying law enforcement.

About 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said, Becker walked into a makeshift weightlifting facility at Aplington-Parkersburg High School and shot Thomas multiple times.

Police would not confirm the number of shots fired or the location of Thomas' wounds.

Between 20 and 30 student-athletes were working out at the time. None was injured.

Thomas, 58, also of Parkersburg, died a short time later at Covenant Medical Center. Becker left the scene in a car and was apprehended without incident a short time later by Butler County Sheriff Jason Johnson at his parents' home in rural Parkersburg.

Becker made an initial appearance on a first-degree murder charge Wednesday afternoon in the Butler County Jail. Associate District Court Judge Peter Newell set a $1 million cash bail.

Becker was transferred to the Cerro Gordo County Jail in Mason City last night.

The murder shocked a close-knit town that is recovering from an EF-5 tornado that leveled it 13 months ago. Thomas was a pillar in the community and helped raise more than $250,000 in tornado recovery funds, much of it from National Football League teams and players. Thomas spent 34 years in the school district as a social studies teacher, athletics director and football coach. Four of his former athletes play in the NFL.

"I think most people around the state who know Ed and know of Aplington-Parkersburg think of football and what Coach Thomas has done in that respect," Superintendent Jon Thompson said. "But I'm here to tell you ... he was a better man, a better dad, (and) a better grandpa."

Law enforcement officials are trying to understand how Becker was freed from Covenant Medical Center without them being notified. Becker is accused of ramming a Cedar Falls residence with his car Saturday night, then leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase spanning Black Hawk and Butler counties. He suffered injuries when his car hit a deer during the chase. He was taken to the hospital but had a warrant waiting for him on felony eluding and criminal mischief charges and other traffic offenses.

Law enforcement had asked for notification of Becker's release from the hospital, said DCI Assistant Director Kevin Winker.

Notification never came.

"All I can tell you is the request was made," Winker said. "I can't speak to the protocols or the procedures as to how that's being taken care of. All I can tell you is that the request was made."

Winker would not say how Becker left the hospital -- on his own or with family or friends. He declined to reveal a possible motive for the murder.

"We're still investigating the exact sequence of events," Butler County attorney Greg Lievens said.

There's no standard protocol for release after evaluations, Lievens said.

"Really, there isn't one way those happen," he said. "Often the circumstances around why a person went in dictates how they come out."

Becker never appeared in court on the eluding charge, Lievens confirmed.

A spokeswoman for Covenant had no comment about Becker's release from the hospital, citing confidentiality laws and saying information would have to come from law enforcement.

Sheriff Johnson confirmed that Becker did not have a gun permit. Investigators said only "it was a gun he had access to" but provided no details about where it came from or its caliber.

Attempts to reach Becker's parents at their residence and via telephone were unsuccessful.

Becker has a criminal history with arrests for drunken driving, assault and drug paraphernalia. Acquaintances said Thomas kicked him off the football team during his senior season. Becker's brother, Scott, will be a senior football player at Aplington-Parkersburg this fall.

One of Scott Becker's best friends, senior Reece Spree, was working about a block from the high school when the shooting occurred. Spree wrestles for Aplington-Parkersburg and previously played football for Thomas.

"I was just getting to work, and I heard the gunshots go off," Spree said. "I saw an ambulance go by and right then I got a text message about it. I was just blown away.

"I went up to the high school and saw everybody there. People were crying on my shoulder ... the town doesn't need this."

Police officials interviewed every person in the weight room at the time of the shooting. Several athletes declined to discuss the scene or anything that had happened.

"We're not supposed to talk to nobody," one football player said.

Zack Kucharski and Cindy Hadish of The Gazette contributed to this story.