Mark had struggled with bipolar disorder and drug addictions, including methamphetamines. He had been in a high-speed chase with police just a few days prior, after which he had been taken to the psych ward of a local hospital for evaluation. Due to miscommunications (under investigation), he was released without law enforcement knowing about it, but clearly he was not doing well psychologically.
There have been rumors and speculation that he had spoken with Coach Thomas about an assistant coaching position, but those rumors are not confirmed - nobody seems to be aware of any such conversations, and there did not seem to be any record of any application, but it may have happened informally.
As has been noted in many places, coach Thomas was friends with the Becker family; both had spent time praying for Mark due to his recent troubles.
Thanks, a sad story all the way around.
I lived in the town 8 miles down. I graduated over 25 years ago and Coach Thomas was there back then. He always had his teams ready to play and we were always the season opener.
It appears that Becker, who killed him, was caught up heavily in drugs toward the end. Witnesses mentioned he yelled things about satan as he drove away from the shooting. It is all very sad as the Becker family and Thomas family were members of the same church. Thomas had stood up for Becker in the past when there had been problems.
Another really sad part is that Becker’s younger brother will be a senior on this years team! The good that has come out is the outpouring of love and forgiveness and prayers by the people not only for the Thomas family but also for the Becker family. You have to understand these small towns everyone knows everybody (1100 people) so it is much more traumatic then in big cities (in terms of the entire community being effected)