Do they know what the motive was?
Not sure..been alot of guessing going on...one I heard was the 24 year old wanted a job as an assistant and didn’t get it but it’s nothing I’ve heard as ‘official’.
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.