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High School Sports

Former player charged with killing Iowa coach

By NIGEL DUARA, Associated Press Writer

Jun 24, 2009

PARKERSBURG, IOWA — A high school coach who helped launch several professional football careers was gunned down in front of students Wednesday by a former player who was to have been taken to a psychiatric ward days earlier, authorities said.

Mark Becker, who was to have gone to the hospital psychiatric ward after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase Saturday, unloaded several rounds into Aplington-Parkersburg High School football coach Ed Thomas and was arrested in the driveway of his parents' home soon afterward, said Kevin Winker, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Winker said he couldn't discuss what Becker's motive might have been or what he might have been doing in the days leading up to the shooting.

"Motive is one of those things we're looking into," Winker said.

School was not in session and Becker did not threaten any of the students who were in the weight room at the time participating in an offseason workout, he said. Authorities did not release details about the gun that was used.

Thomas, 58, died at a Waterloo hospital. His shooting stunned the rural community of 1,800 residents 80 miles northeast of Des Moines, and it reverberated through NFL circles, where he was remembered as much for his faith as his winning record.

"Coach Thomas was very special to me and many other young men from the Aplington-Parkersburg communities," said Green Bay Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman. "His legacy for many will be associated with his tremendous success as a football coach. However, I believe his greatest legacy comes not in how many football games he won or lost but in the fact that he was a committed follower of Jesus Christ."

One of Thomas' sons said he was most proud of his involvement in his church, where he served as an elder. Aaron Thomas thanked the community for its support during an afternoon news conference.

"Obviously, with the shocking events of today, nothing can prepare you for what our family and the community is going through," Aaron Thomas said.

He also asked people to keep Becker's family in their thoughts.

"We ask that people pray for them as well, as they are also going through a lot," he said.

Named the NFL's 2005 high school coach of the year, Ed Thomas amassed a 292-84 record and two state titles in 37 seasons as a head coach - 34 of them at Aplington-Parkersburg. He coached several players who went on to the NFL, including Kampman, Jacksonville Jaguars center Brad Meester, Detroit Lions defensive end Jared DeVries, and Denver Broncos center Casey Wiegmann.

Meester said he revered Thomas almost as a father figure, and that his high school coach got the most out of each of his players.

"It's just the stuff that he taught every one of us, stuff that I'll never forget," Meester said in a statement. "The value of hard work, pride in what you do and just caring about the guy beside you and that's what he did. He cared for each and every one of us that went through that program."

Becker, 24, is charged with first-degree murder and was being held in Butler County jail. The sheriff's office said Becker did not have an attorney and a court appearance hadn't been scheduled. Phone messages seeking comment from family members were not immediately returned.

Cedar Falls Police Chief Jeff Olson said Wednesday that Butler County deputies had arrested Becker on Saturday after a chase through two counties. Deputies agreed to take him to a hospital psychiatric ward and request that Cedar Falls police be notified when he could be released. Cedar Falls police didn't hear anything more.

"I don't know what happened," Olson said. "I don't know why we didn't hear back."

Winker said Becker had been taken to a Waterloo hospital, but he would not comment on what treatment Becker received or why Cedar Falls wasn't notified of his Tuesday release. Becker spent Tuesday night at his parents' house, according to Jeff Jacobson, a special agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Butler County sheriff's officials were not available to comment Wednesday.

Gov. Chet Culver, who was once a high school teacher and coach in Des Moines, said he was stunned by the shooting.

"As a former high school football coach, I've always had great admiration and respect for Coach Thomas," Culver said in a statement. "The state and national coaching fraternity has suffered a devastating loss. As we mourn the passing of Coach Thomas, it is my hope we can all continue to learn from his example."

Parkersburg just recently commemorated the first anniversary of a tornado that wiped out about a third of the town, killing six people and destroying the high school and football field. Most of the school has been rebuilt.

"We're just coming down off the tornado and we thought we were through the worst but apparently not yet," Sue Muller, a district secretary, said as her voice cracked with emotion.

A vigil was planned for Wednesday night at the rebuilt football field that bears Thomas' name.

Paul Rhoads, Iowa State's new football coach, said in a statement that Thomas was one of the first people to call him when he accepted the Cyclones job last December.

DeVries, a defensive end with the Lions, walked off the practice field in Allen Park, Mich., toward the end of the team's morning practice. He looked shaken after being informed Thomas died.

"Aside from my own father and mother, no one had a more profound impact on my life than Coach Thomas," DeVries said in a statement. "Heaven just got a great football coach and an even better man."

Besides Aaron Thomas, Ed Thomas also is survived by his wife, Jan, and another adult son, Todd.

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Associated Press writers Michael J. Crumb, Melanie S. Welte and Luke Meredith in Des Moines contributed to this report.