A 61-year-old comedy club owner traveled from Arizona to Alaska, shot at his ex-wife outside her hair salon, then killed her 87-year-old father through a window before vanishing into the woods where authorities found his body the next morning.
Story Snapshot
- Mathew Thomas Becker, owner of a Bisbee, Arizona comedy club, returned unannounced to Anchorage and attempted to murder his ex-wife at her hair salon
- After the ex-wife escaped, Becker drove to her home and fatally shot 87-year-old Romaine Clark through a rear window
- A manhunt ended Sunday morning when police discovered Becker’s body in nearby woods, less than 24 hours after the murder
- Becker’s brother revealed the suspect had recently been diagnosed with cancer, adding another layer to the tragedy
When Laughter Turned to Murder
Mathew Thomas Becker made people laugh for a living. He owned a comedy club in the historic mining town of Bisbee, Arizona, where performers traded jokes and audiences forgot their troubles for an evening. But on a Saturday morning in mid-March, Becker arrived in Anchorage with something far darker than punchlines on his mind. His ex-wife discovered her salon’s lock had been tampered with. Before she could process what was happening, she spotted Becker sitting in his car. He exited the vehicle and opened fire. She ran, survived, and immediately called police with a chilling concern: her 87-year-old father, Romaine Clark, was home alone.
The Cascade of Violence
The timeline between the salon shooting and the murder at the residence was brutally short. Becker drove directly to the home his ex-wife shared with her elderly father. He positioned himself outside and fired through a rear plate glass window. The shots struck Clark, killing him instantly. Friends who had planned an outing with the 87-year-old arrived at the house to find his body. They immediately notified authorities. Anchorage Police Department issued an urgent alert describing Becker as armed and dangerous. The community locked doors. Parents kept children inside. A manhunt stretched into the evening and through the night.
Discovery in the Woods
Sunday morning at approximately 10:30 a.m., searchers located Becker’s body in woods near the crime scene. He was dead. The medical examiner’s office took custody to determine the cause, though the circumstances strongly suggested suicide. Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case confirmed preliminary evidence showed Becker had executed a deliberate attack, first targeting his ex-wife before killing her father. The speed of events, the calculated targeting of two locations, and the suspect’s rapid disappearance into wilderness all pointed to premeditation. What remained unclear was whether Becker’s recent cancer diagnosis, mentioned by his brother to local media, played any role in his decision to commit murder and potentially take his own life.
The Anatomy of Domestic Violence
Divorce ends marriages, but it doesn’t always end the power dynamics that fueled dysfunction during the relationship. Becker’s ex-wife had rebuilt her life in Anchorage. She owned a business. She cared for her elderly father. She had presumably moved beyond whatever drove their marriage to dissolution. Becker, meanwhile, remained in Arizona, running his comedy club and dealing with a cancer diagnosis. The fact that he traveled more than 2,000 miles unannounced reveals the obsession that often underlies domestic violence. He didn’t want resolution or closure. He wanted control, even if it meant destroying lives and ultimately his own. The tampering with the salon lock showed premeditation, not impulse.
When Grudges Cross State Lines
Interstate domestic violence presents unique challenges for law enforcement and victims alike. Restraining orders don’t always translate across jurisdictions. Warning signs get lost when perpetrators live thousands of miles away. Becker’s ex-wife had no indication he was coming. She went to work that Saturday morning expecting a normal day. Instead, she faced gunfire and lost her father. The friends who found Clark’s body were simply people trying to brighten an elderly man’s day with an outing. They walked into a horror show. This tragedy underscores the reality that geographic distance provides no immunity from violence when someone decides to act on rage, especially when that rage has festered post-divorce with no intervention or accountability.
The Collateral Damage
Romaine Clark was 87 years old. He died because his daughter divorced a man who couldn’t accept that decision. Clark wasn’t the primary target. He was collateral damage in Becker’s quest to punish his ex-wife. The psychological trauma inflicted on her is profound: she survived gunfire, lost her father, and must now live with the knowledge that both events stemmed from her choice to end a marriage. Her hair salon, presumably a source of pride and income, became a crime scene. Her home, where she cared for her aging father, became another. The investigation continues, pending the medical examiner’s final report on Becker’s cause of death, but the damage to survivors is already catastrophic and permanent.
Sources:
Comedy Club Owner Kills Ex-Wife’s Elderly Father, Later Found Dead in Woods
