Jury selection continues today in Mark Becker murder trial

UPDATE: Jury selection will continue today in the Mark Becker murder trial in Butler County.

The questioning by the judge and attorneys will begin at 9 a.m. today at the Boyd Building in Shell Rock. Once a jury is selected, the trial  will begin in Butler County District Court in Allison.

About 30 prospective jurors who said they had an excuse to not serve were individually questioned Wednesday. It took about two hours.

Jury selection was delayed until Wednesday afternoon to avoid any road issues due to weather.

Second Judicial District Judge Stephen Carroll dismissed 39 people. The questioning will start Thursday with a panel of 36 who were randomly selected by the court.

There were 220 called in the panel Wednesday, and it took more than an hour to get the crowd through building security.

Becker, 24, charged with first-degree murder, is accused of shooting and killing Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas last summer. Thomas was shot multiple times in the weight room of the high school. There were about 20 students in the room at the time.

Becker is claiming insanity as his defense. During a competency hearing, Becker was diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

Mark Becker trial witness list