Parkersburg family tells the story of their son, who shot and killed coach Ed Thomas

Parkersburg resident Joan Becker remembers when her son, Mark, was a bright, athletic, outgoing kid.  But when Mark turned 16, he began to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia that led to him shooting and killing beloved Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas on June 24th of 2009.

"Our world fell out from underneath us," Becker told an audience at NICC Calmar on Thursday.  "(It was) devastating for a family to go through."

She remembers her son's problems getting much worse after the tornado went through Parkersburg in June of 2008, accusing his parents of trying to control his mind.  In September Mark suffered his first serious psychotic episode.  When the Beckers sought help for their son, they encountered a system that Joan describes as "in so many places is broken."

They asked mental health professionals "What is it going to take to get our son the help he so desperately needs?" but because their son was now an adult, federal privacy laws prevented therapists from discussing their son's case with them.  Mark received no diagnosis, no follow-through and no training on how to handle his psychotic episodes, says Joan--but they didn't know that at the time.

The next April Mark Becker was diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia, and he still had occasional episodes.  On June 20th he suffered another outburst that led him to a family friend's house with a baseball bat, threatening the father.  Police were called and Mark Becker was taken to a psychiatric hospital on a 5-day hold order.  Instead, he was released after two days because a nurse said he "seems fine."  Mark Becker decided to return to Parkersburg to kill his high school football coach and his parents.

Joan Becker says "My heart sunk to the floor" when she learned not only that Ed Thomas--a 30-year-long friend--had been shot, but that it was her son who had done the shooting.

Joan and her husband, David, have been campaigning for changes in the mental health system ever since her son was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting.  She says there needs to be more conversations between therapists and family members who are eager to help their relative get treatment for their psychiatric problems.  She also believes there needs to be more conversation between mental health providers and less territoriality.

In addition to speaking Thursday morning at NICC Calmar, Becker also spoke Thursday night at the Decorah Public Library.

David Becker listens to his wife speak