REPLAY LIVE COVERAGE: Key defense witnesses describe Becker's mental state

Testimony continues this afternoon in the Mark Becker murder trial.

Becker, 24, is accused of shooting and killing Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas last summer.

This morning, an Ohio psychiatrist testified Becker was legally insane at the time he killed Thomas June 24.

Dr. Phillip Resnick, a psychiatrist at Universities of Hospitals in Cleveland, said Becker suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Becker had delusions and hallucinations that Thomas was Satan, that he was brainwashing him with telepathic messages and that Thomas had raped him. Becker also heard voices of God and the Thomas voice in his head.

Resnick said Becker wasn't capable of knowing the nature and quality of the act of shooting Thomas, because Becker believed that Thomas was literally Satan. He referred to Thomas as a devil tyrant and Lucifer. Resnick said Becker didn't believe Thomas was a human being, so he wasn't taking a human life.

Becker also referred to Thomas' corpse as a carcass, Resnick said. He didn't understand the consequences of shooting the coach.

Resnick also said Becker couldn't distinguish right from wrong. He said he based that belief on Becker telling police he didn't feel any guilt or shame afterwards. Becker even said he was acting lawfully and thought he had helped police, Resnick said.

Becker never tried to hide his act, Resnick said. He shot Thomas in front of multiple witnesses and then drove back to his parents and surrendered.

Resnick said his final bit of evidence that Becker was insane is that there was no rational reason to kill Thomas.

On cross examination, Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown aggressively brought up every rational move Becker made and asked Resnick if those were decisions Becker made. He brought the fact that Becker broke into the gun cabinet, chose a .22 caliber handgun, he took some practice shots and after missing, realized he would have to get close to Thomas.

Brown said Becker also referred to Thomas as coach or Ed when he was looking for him. He never mentioned he was looking for Satan.

The prosecution rested last week after providing evidence from witnesses that Becker walked into the temporary high school weight room and shot Thomas multiple times, then stomped his head.

Defense witnesses, including Becker's mother, Joan, testified about Becker's mental illness history and two psychiatrists diagnosed him as schizophrenia.

Gazette Reporter Trish Mehaffey will continue her liveblog from the Butler County District Court room this afternoon.