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Feb. 19, 2010
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Jury finds Hunt guilty of attempted murder
By KEN BLACK
BREAKING NEWS.
TIMES-REPUBLICAN
This story first appeared
as Breaking News at
timesrepublican.com
A Marshall County jury found
Terry Hunt, 49, guilty of two counts
relating to the beating of his mother
in January 2008.
Hunt was found
guilty of attempted
murder and willful
injury causing bodily injury after a
three-day trial.
Before the conHunt
clusion of the trial,
the defense called in an expert witness to testify as to Hunter’s mental
state.
Dr. Dan Rogers, a psychologist
who is based in Fort Dodge, was
the only witness for the defense.
Rogers explained his mental evaluation of Hunt, along with the tests
that he performed.
He noted Hunt’s past medical
history, which indicated damage to
the left temporal and frontal lobes
of the brain, which are critical for
controlling emotions. Overall,
Rogers said Hunt tried to complete
everything he was asked to do to
the best of his ability.
“He appeared to put forth a very
good effort,” he said.
He made no attempt at deception, from what the doctor could
tell.
Rogers said depending on the
type of IQ test given and what was
being measured, Hunt had an IQ of
between 75 and 77, which is a borderline score for mental retardation.
“He’s the sort of person who is
normally in a nursing home,”
Rogers said.
In closing arguments, Assistant
Marshall County Attorney Paul
Crawford, who was the prosecutor
in the case, answered some questions about the lack of serious
injuries to Hunt’s mother.
“In this case, the defendant tried.
That’s what’s important,” he said.
“He expected to set into motion a
chain of events that was going to
kill his mother.”
Aaron Hawbaker, the defense
attorney, argued that Hunt would
not want to kill his mother, but was
simply acting out on rage.
Hawbaker noted that not only
did Hunt’s mother provide him a
place to stay and provide him with
food, but also was the custodian of
his disability money from Social
Security. Without his mother, his
life would have changed substantially.
“What is the motivation for this
man to want his mother dead? It
doesn’t exist,” Hawbaker said.
“Why would he do this? It makes
no sense unless you understand he
is mentally ill.”
Hawbaker also made the case
that the assault was over by the
time police arrived. He said there
was no evidence that it would have
continued and noted during police
testimony, the officer on the scene
never saw Hunt attempt to strike his
mother.
However, when the officer went
into the residence, he did see Hunt
standing over his mother, who was
laying on the floor with her arms
over her head in a defensive posture.
“She certainly didn’t think it
was over,” Crawford said.
The charge of attempted murder
carries a maximum of 25 years in
prison, of which 70 percent must be
completed. The assault charge,
which normally carries 5 years, is
enhanced because of prior convictions to 15 years.
The question for the judge is
Today
HUNT | A3
Iowa Dems
push health
insurance plan
in Central Iowa’s
Daily Newspaper
By MIKE GLOVER
GASWATCH
Friday
Mostly Cloudy
29/6
COMPLETE
WEATHER, A2
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A sampling of prices
from Iowa and the U.S.
as of 5 p.m.
yesterday.
REGULAR UNLEADED
Central Iowa — $1.834
Last Month — $2.596
Last Year — $2.527
Get Breaking
News
as it
happens
all day
and all
night on our
Web site.
Iowa — $2.530
Last Month — $2.677
Last Year — $1.890
National — $2.614
Last Month — $2.740
Last Year — $1.957
— Sources: AAA, GasBuddy
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TopStories
Suicide attack: Man angry at IRS
crashes plane into building. NATION &
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Coming back home: Missionaries
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Job market
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MONEY & MARKETS, A7
LocalObituaries
Frances K. Jamell,
Glenn R. Weisert, 80
David Suk, 58
Hope Riese, 88
Mary Kathryn Wilkie,
94
James “Ray”
Cannon, 85
OBITUARIES • A6
71
As scary as it seems, what was once the mayor's office will have a whole new look, including the wooden window that will eventually be the entryway to new governmental offices in the Carnegie Building.
Carnegie building project
slated for June completion
By TAMMY R. LAWSON
TIMES-REPUBLICAN
Drills, electrical tape and the
smell of saw dust.
With construction going on in
Marshalltown’s City Hall and the
Carnegie Building, various local
branches of government could be
in their new homes and operable
by the beginning of June.
“I have toured the building,”
said Mayor Gene Beach, “and I
am very pleased with the
progress that has been made.”
When restoration and
redesign are completed, there
will be a whole new look to each
Bridge. Photo provided by CU user mark
legg.
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7
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Printed with soy
ink on recycled
newsprint
makeover as well.
Keeping dollars locally, the
city purchased its heating and air
conditioning systems through
Lennox Manufacturing.
In October 2009, the city was
awarded $618,618 toward restoring the old library on behalf of
Iowa’s I-JOBS, the Culver/Judge
Administration’s $830 million
initiative.
Cost of the project is estimated at around $1.8 million and is
being overseen by CPMI Construction.
————
Contact Tammy R. Lawson at 641-7536611 or tlawson@timesrepublican.com
INSURANCE | A3
Psychiatrist: coach murder
suspect was delusional
By NIGEL DUARA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CUSnapshot
building as council chambers
and other various divisions will
relocate into the old library.
Framing within the structure’s walls is nearly completed,
as is much the main duct work.
Drywall on the lower floor of the
building, which will house the
Parks and Recreation Department, is close to completion.
“The contractors seem to be
making good progress, and
we’re hopeful that the Park and
Rec offices will be able to move
in by early spring,” he said.
The City Clerk’s Office,
vestibule, mayoral and administrative offices are receiving a
DES MOINES — Majority Democrats said Thursday
they will support a measure
that would
force health
insurers to
provide justification for
big
rate
increases and
be more open
Petersen
about factors
that could lead to rate cuts.
Rep. Janet Petersen, D-Des
Moines, the chairwoman of
the House Commerce Committee, said action on the
measure could come as early
as next week. She argued that
quick action was needed to
address troubling trends in the
insurance market.
‘‘We really do not have a
full picture of what is impacting Iowans’ health care
costs,’’ said Petersen. ‘‘This is
a good first step in having
more accountability.’’
The move comes days
after Wellmark Blue Cross
Blue Shield announced plans
to raise health insurance rates
for about 80,000 Iowans an
average of 18 percent.
Under the new measure,
the state’s Insurance Commissioner would be required to
file a detailed report on health
spending, including the data
behind rate increases, health
care expenditures and factors
that go into health insurance
costs.
Petersen argued that health
insurance rates are puzzling,
noting that while the state has
seen the benefits of an indoor
smoking ban imposed in
2008, residents haven’t seen a
drop in insurance costs.
‘‘Since that time we have
found that cardiovascular hospitalizations have dropped by
about 25 percent, yet Iowans
ALLISON — A psychiatrist testified Thursday that a
former football player
accused in the shooting death
of his high school coach had
been suffering from severe
delusions but that his condition had improved a day
before the killing.
Testimony Thursday provided the closest look yet at
the mental state of Mark
Becker in the days leading up
to June 24 when, prosecutors
say, Becker walked into the
weight room at AplingtonParkersburg High School in
Iowa and repeatedly shot
coach Ed Thomas.
Dr. Sunita Kantamneni
said Becker claimed he saw
Satan, heard ‘‘command hallucinations’’ and was controlled by other people when
he arrived at Covenant Medical Center on June 21.
‘‘He was mentioning hearing voices telling him to do
bad things for people, do
drugs,’’ Kantamneni said.
In two days, after moderate doses of antipsychotic
medication, Becker’s condition improved significantly,
she said.
‘‘The intensity of voices
decreased,’’ she testified. ‘‘I
BECKER | A3
Senate approves
notification bill
DES MOINES — The Iowa
Senate has approved a measure that would authorize mental health officials to hold people accused of crimes until
police can take them into custody.
The Senate approved the
bill on a 48-0 vote Wednesday.
The measure is intended to
prevent patients with psychiatric problems from being
released before they deal with
criminal charges.
The issue arose last summer when a Waterloo psychiatric unit didn’t notify law
enforcement about the release
of Mark Becker.
— The Associated Press
AP PHOTO
Mark Becker walks back into the courtroom
after a short break in his trial Thursday at the
Butler County Courthouse, in Allison. Becker is
accused of the June 2009, murder of football
coach Ed Thomas in Parkersburg.
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2 sections, 16 pages
Vol. CXXXIV No. 50
Copyright 2010.
Marshalltown Newspaper, Inc.