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Madsen never got an answer, and like the rest of
Parkersburg is left wondering what could have compelled Becker
to allegedly unload several shots from a handgun into his former
coach, Ed Thomas, during an offseason team workout Wednesday
morning. Becker was arrested a short time later in his parents’
driveway and charged with first-degree murder.
So far, detectives are refusing to answer questions about
Becker’s possible motive. His attorney, Susan Flander, declined
to discuss the case Thursday, and none of the 20-or-so players
who were in the weight room have spoken publicly about what they
saw, apparently told not to speak to reporters by school
officials.
Becker, in isolation in Cerro Gordo County jail 40 miles away,
isn’t talking either.
He’s “just quiet, just stone-faced quiet,” jail administrator
Shad Stoeffler said. “I think he’s still just trying to soak
everything in.”
Investigators said they would pore over every last detail of
Becker’s past — including an incident last weekend in which
police say he took a baseball bat to a home in nearby Cedar
Falls and rammed his car through the home’s garage door. They
haven’t said if they know why he targeted Thomas, the NFL’s 2005
high school coach of the year who guided several players to the
NFL, including Green Bay Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman,
Jacksonville Jaguars center Brad Meester, Detroit Lions
defensive end Jared DeVries, and Denver Broncos center Casey
Wiegmann.
In high school, Becker was popular and friendly with everyone,
said Madsen, who had gathered with friends at a Parkersburg bar
to discuss the killing.
“We loved him,” she said. “He was the cute guy in school.”
After graduating in 2004, Becker enrolled at Wartburg College, a
private Lutheran school with about 1,800 students in nearby
Waverly. He briefly played football on the junior varsity team
before dropping out after one semester, said Wartburg spokesman
Saul Shapiro.
He enrolled in Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo in fall
2006, but again lasted only one semester.
Most recently, Becker had been working as a cook at an Old
Chicago restaurant in Cedar Falls.
“We never had any problems with him,” said bar manager Shaun
Decker. “He was a good worker.”
Madsen said she didn’t see Becker much after 2006 because he had
moved out of the area and would appear only randomly in
Parkersburg. At one point, she talked with friends about trying
to help him. |
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