PARKERSBURG - Jay Harkless hates seeing his friend's mugshot on TV.

For the past two days, he's been wracking his brain to speculate what Mark Becker was thinking when he allegedly shot and killed their beloved football coach Ed Thomas in Parkersburg on Wednesday.

"What was going through his mind that made this OK to him?" said Harkless, a former classmate and teammate. "I knew a really good side to him. I would never imagine him doing this in his sane mind."

Others who know Becker had similar reactions.

They describe a bright, but shy, person from a good family who began to hit hard times in recent months.

Harkless had been best friends with Becker since third grade, until they drifted apart a few years ago. By the time Harkless moved to attend the University of Iowa in Iowa City, the two had stopped hanging out completely.

Becker was simply a good guy who fell into the wrong crowd and made some poor choices, added another former classmate, Sara Madsen.

His downward spiral began a couple years ago, when he started doing drugs, Harkless said. Becker's mental state seemed to progressively decline from there.

"I want people to know it wasn't the Mark Becker that I've known since we were 5 years old," Madsen said.

A good kid

Becker was raised in a strong Christian home by loving parents, Dave and Joan, friends say.

Coach Thomas and Becker's family attended First Congregational Church in Parkersburg.

Becker was involved in his community, church and youth group, said former classmate Jodie Hageman, who also went to First Congregational.

"He was always friendly and polite," she said.

Everywhere he went, he seemed to find friends.

"He had a hell of a smile," said classmate Caleb Stukenberg, who's known Becker since preschool. "His smile made me smile."

When Becker began having problems, his church family prayed he would find the right path.

"People are already villianizing him," Harkless said. "I was there with Mark down good paths and bad. My dad and a couple people I know, they've seen him recently and they said he was looking clean and doing OK."

Talented career

In high school, Becker was a starter for the Aplington-Parkersburg football team.

His older brother, Brad, also played football, and younger brother, Scott, will be a senior player this fall.

"He was really talented," Harkless said. "He was a linebacker. He played on the offensive line, too. But he was a better linebacker than anything."

Coach Thomas and Becker always had a close relationship, Harkless said.

Becker, like many other high schoolers, had his share of minor troubles, Harkless said. A passionate Thomas would attend court hearings to offer a good word.

"He was definitely there for Mark," Harkless said. "Thomas, he would pull those guys in there and personally talk it out with them. They would tell Thomas exactly what happened because that's how much they respected him."

Harkless and Becker wrestled and played baseball together, among other extracurricular activities. Becker, who played guitar, helped found the four-member band Bipolar Dancing with fellow senior Stukenberg.

"I just went and looked at our senior yearbook," said Hageman, who's known Becker since kindergarten. "I remember him and two other seniors and one junior were in the band. They played at our senior prom."

When Harkless returned from studying in Mexico his senior year, Becker helped greet him at the airport.

"I swear to God, everyone moved on, but the one person that came, with my family," Harkless said, breathing a deep sigh, "was Mark."

Becker graduated from high school in spring 2004, and enrolled in business administration the following fall at Wartburg College in Waverly. He also played junior varsity football.

Greg Hulse, another member of the Wartburg team, was Becker's roommate.

Becker came off as quiet and shy at first, Hulse said, but he had plenty of friends.

Becker ended up leaving the team before the season was over, Hulse said.

"I just think it wasn't the best fit for him," he said. He said football has a way of keeping people in line, forcing them to focus on academics, the game and things that are important.

"You're so busy with athletics that you don't have time to go out and get yourself in trouble," he said.

When Becker left the team, he lost that discipline, Hulse said.

"After that, he started being gone more at night, getting back late at night or early in the morning," he said.

Becker finished up the semester at Wartburg but told his roommate that he was planning on transferring to a community college.

"As far as I know, he was getting homesick," Harkless said. "It wasn't really his crowd, I guess. But he had fun there. I think school was kind of wearing on him. And football, trying to balance both."

He enrolled at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo in 2006 but left after that, Hawkeye officials said.

Becker has held numerous jobs, from cabinetry to working on cars to landscaping, Harkless said. He also worked at the former S&S grocery store in Parkersburg.

Starting the fall of 2008, Becker landed in trouble a few times in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, getting arrested for misdemeanor assault during a fight and drug paraphernalia during a traffic stop where he admitted to deputies he used meth, according to court records.

Recent months

Becker started in the kitchen when Old Chicago opened in early April.

Amanda Smith is a former server at the Cedar Falls restaurant and called Becker an acquaintance.

"He was really quiet," she said. "I rarely ever saw him having conversation with anybody. He was just to himself. He just did his job and never really had a problem with anybody."

Harkless said Becker had become introverted when they ran into each other late last year.

Stukenberg said Becker was uncharacteristically distant when they talked briefly during an outdoor barbecue and concert with friends the first part of May in Parkersburg. The two haven't spoken regularly since their band broke up in 2006, two years after they graduated.

"Just not in the best mental state," Stukenberg said. "It was hard carrying conversations with him. I know he's been having problems."

Swirling rumors say the shooting may have been triggered by a coaching job Becker was denied. But Superintendent Jon Thompson said Becker never submitted a formal application for a job with the district.

"I talked with the other coaches," Thompson said. "None of them have any knowledge of any time that he had requested or had asked to work on the coaching staff.

"Of course none of us know conversations he may or may not have had with coach Thomas," he added.

Thompson said Becker may have done community service with the school in 2005.

"Everyone wants the best for him," Harkless said. "They're praying for him. My mom told me right after she found out what happened that she still loves him. It's just some people have issues they can't deal with.

"I really want to talk to Mark," he added. "I'd like to just let him know there's something to live for still. People still care about his well-being."