Man pleads not guilty to killing Iowa coach
Becker, 24, demands speedy trial in death of legendary football coach
 AP | Mark Becker remains in the Cerro Gordo County jail on $1 million cash bond. |
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updated 1:45 p.m. ET July 6, 2009
PARKERSBURG, Iowa - The man accused of killing an Iowa high school football coach has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
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.
Mark Becker, a former player, pleaded not guilty in a written plea on Thursday.
Online court records show that Becker demanded a speedy trial, which means he will have to stand trial within 90 days. No trial date was immediately set.
Becker, 24, remains in the Cerro Gordo County jail on $1 million cash bond.
Thomas coached for 34 years in the community about 80 miles northeast of Des Moines and had guided several players to the NFL.
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