GALLERY: Becker guilty of murder; families reflect on verdict that carries life sentence

Todd Thomas said his family feels that justice was served and that the system worked after a jury on Tuesday found Mark Becker guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Ed Thomas last summer.

“Without a doubt, no verdict would ever replace Dad, but we take comfort in knowing he's in a better place,” Todd Thomas, the son of Ed Thomas, said during a news conference in Butler County District Court shortly after the verdict was returned at 10:41 a.m.

Becker, 24, will spend the rest of his life in prison. His formal sentencing was set for 10 a.m. April 14 in Butler County District Court.

Becker shot and killed the legendary football coach on June 24 while Thomas was working with 20 students in the temporary Aplington-Parkersburg High School weight room. Using a .22-caliber revolver, taken from his parents' home, Becker shot Thomas multiple times before stomping on Thomas' head and body.

The emotional trial started two weeks ago. Jury deliberations, which started Wednesday afternoon, too 26 hours before the jury returned its verdict.

As Becker stood to face the jury and learn his fate, he looked uneasy but had no facial expression when the judge read the guilty verdict. He showed no emotion throughout the trial.

His father, David Becker of rural Parkersburg, was visibly upset, rubbing his hand over his face as his wife, Joan, put her arm around his shoulders and remained calm. After the Beckers' son was led out of the courtroom by the sheriff, she comforted others in her family, saying, “It's all right. Just pray he gets the right medication.”

Joan Becker, speaking through tears, told the media that the last months and years have been extremely difficult for her family.

“We have watched our son Mark go from a handsome, fun-loving young man, who even brought his brother Scott to Christ many years ago, to a frightened, lonely person trying to fight out demons too numerous for any of us to bear,” Joan Becker said as she held hands with her husband and son Scott. “Our son Mark would have never taken a life in his sane mind. Ed Thomas was a victim of a victim. The system failed him miserably.”

Joan Becker said she appreciated the work of the court, especially the job of the jurors, adding she believes God is with her family and will continue to give them strength.

None of the jurors wanted to speak at the news conference and those who could be reached by phone on Tuesday declined to talk about the deliberations, which had a number of deadlocked votes.

Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown, who prosecuted the case, said he had become concerned about a deadlocked jury, which would have meant another trial.

“I give the jury a lot of credit for the fact that they spent as much time as they did,” he said. “I think it gives integrity to the verdict itself.”

Susan Flander of Mason City, Becker's public defender, said the insanity defense is tough to pursue because people think a defendant, by blaming something else, is not accepting responsibility. She pursued the defense, she said, because Becker had been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic with a history of mental illness.

Flander said if jurors hadn't reached a decision Tuesday, she was considering filing a motion for a mistrial. The verdict would be appealed, she said. An appeal is automatically filed with first-degree murder convictions.

She declined to answer a question about whether Becker would get help for his mental illness.

Thomas' other son, Aaron, the athletic director at the Aplington-Parkersburg school district, also spoke at the news conference.

“Eight months ago, Dad was taken from us. His message is not forgotten through my brother, myself and Uncle Greg, all the people he touched in the classroom or coached under him, and I think those things in the last year have been brought out,” Aaron Thomas said. “I want to make sure that continues. One of the things my Dad has said is the greatest gift God gave us was the power to choose. Ten percent of what in life happens, and 90 percent is how you respond.”