15 years ago today Aplington-Parkersburg Head Football Coach Ed Thomas was supervising students working out in a weight room in Parkersburg when former AP student and football player Mark Becker walked in and shot Thomas multiple times with a handgun killing him.
It was determined that Becker had been hearing voices for a long time and was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Thomas coached for 37 years, won 292 games, two state titles, and coached four players that went on to play in the NFL. He also lead the charge to rebuild Parkersburg after an EF-5 tornado destroyed a good part of the city in May of 2008.
Becker was convicted of first degree murder in February of 2010 and was sentenced later that year to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Becker, who is now 39-years-old, is serving his sentence at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale.
