Becker's mother recalls son's 'episodes'

UPDATE: Joan Becker testified this morning that her son's personality changed in 2004, when he started having “episodes” in 2008 of violent outbursts of yelling and became verbally abusive to her.

Becker was testifying in the murder trial of her son, Mark Becker, in Butler County District Court in Allison.

Mark Becker, 24, charged with first-degree murder, is accused of shooting and killing Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas last summer in the school's weight room. He is claiming insanity as his defense.

Joan Becker testified that her son's first episode awoke her and husband Dave in the middle of the night, when they heard Mark hollering “Get off me. Get off me” as if someone was hurting him. Joan Becker said when Mark came upstairs, he didn't recognize them.

“ He didn't even look like himself," she said. "His head seemed larger and his eyes were bigger. He thought he was being turned into our coon dog Chief.”

VIDEO of Joan Becker's testimony:

Joan Becker said Mark used language that he had never used before. He called her "terrible things," profane names, when he would have these episodes.

The Beckers called the sheriff's office for help during the first episode because Mark had threatened suicide. They committed Mark for psychological treatment, and he stayed for a week, Joan Becker said.

Joan Becker said Coach Thomas was mentioned during the episide, as Mark said Thomas and others were hurting the children in town.

Joan Becker said they committed him two more times, and that he was off and on medication at times, but he didn't always live with them because of these problems, so she couldn't give specifics on how much medication he took or if he took it on a regular basis. He also threatened to beat up Thomas and another coach.

She also said Mark tore up a poster featuring Thomas that belonged to his brother. The poster showed Thomas with some NFL players that he coached in high school.

Gazette Reporter Trish Mehaffey is continuing her live coverage of the trial from the courtroom. Readers can ask her questions and provide comments for the blog.