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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Attorney: Alleged Iowa coach shooter incompetent


By MICHAEL J. CRUMB
Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa — The defense attorney for a man accused of killing an Iowa high school football coach in June says her client suffers from hallucinations and is not competent to stand trial.

Coach Ed Thomas was fatally shot on June 24 in a weight room in front of about 20 students at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in northeast Iowa. Twenty-four-year-old Mark Becker, a former player, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying.
Becker’s attorney, public defender Susan Flanders, filed documents Tuesday indicating Becker has undergone a psychological evaluation and the doctor believes Becker is not competent for trial.
A spokesman for the Iowa attorney general’s office said it would ask the court for a separate evaluation.