A man from Arizona, diagnosed with terminal cancer, embarked on a deadly mission to target his former spouse in Alaska, ultimately killing her father before being found deceased himself.
Matthew Becker, aged 61, was known as the proprietor of Chuckleheads, a comedy venue located in Bisbee, a quaint town nestled roughly 100 miles southeast of Tucson, near the Mexican border.
On the morning of March 14, Becker made his way to Anchorage, Alaska, with the intent of locating his ex-wife, according to legal documents. The journey to Anchorage spanned approximately 4,000 miles from Bisbee.
Upon arrival, he attempted to access her hair salon by tampering with the lock, likely in an effort to gain entry.
The ex-wife, whose name remains undisclosed, reported to authorities that she was unable to open her business due to the damaged lock.
At that moment, Becker emerged from a nearby vehicle and, according to court records, began shooting at her.
The woman, who later said that she was unaware that her ex-husband was in Anchorage, managed to run away and hide between buildings before calling 911.
When officers with the Anchorage Police Department arrived, she told them she was worried about her elderly father, whom she was living with.
Matthew Becker, 61, a terminally-ill comedy club owner, was found dead after shooting at his ex-wife and killing her father, according to the Anchorage Police Department
Becker owned the Chuckleheads comedy club in Bisbee, Arizona, a small city about 100 miles southeast of Tucson and just north of the border with Mexico
Becker traveled around 4,000 miles to Anchorage, Alaska, in order to shoot at his ex-wife and murder her father. A map showing the distance between Bisbee and Anchorage is pictured
Police went to the home to conduct a wellness check. There, at around 9.46am, they found the woman’s father had been shot to death.
The Anchorage Police Department identified the man as 87-year-old Romaine Clark.
Sean Case, an officer with the department, told KTUU it is believed that Becker drove straight to the elderly man’s home after shooting at his ex-wife.
He added that only about 45 minutes had passed between the woman calling 911 and the wellness check on her father.
Police said that Clark was shot through a window in the back of the home, and they named Becker as the suspect in the murder of the elderly man and the shooting of the woman.
A manhunt for the terminally-ill comedy club owner ensued.
On March 15 around 10.24am, a little more than 24 hours after Clark was found dead, police found Becker dead in a wooded area near the Eagle River campground, which is just outside of Anchorage.
The Anchorage Police Department said that Becker was found ‘with a gunshot wound to the upper body’ and that the medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Becker’s ex-wife told police that she didn’t know he was in Anchorage after he shot at her. The city is pictured with towering, snowy mountains in the background
Becker’s brother confirmed that the comedy club owner had been living in Arizona since the divorce. Bisbee is pictured among rolling desert hills
On Tuesday, the Chuckleheads comedy club released this statement on its social media pages disavowing the actions of its deceased owner
Becker’s brother confirmed to Alaska’s news source that the comedy club owner had been living in Arizona since the divorce with his ex-wife and that he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
On Tuesday, the Chuckleheads comedy club, which is now listed as ‘permanently closed’ on Facebook, released a statement disavowing the actions of its deceased owner, calling him ‘a complicated man, to say the least.’
‘His last actions ruined every positive memory I had of him,’ the statement said before adding, ‘Matt ruined everything that the team at Chuckleheads ever tried to build.’
‘To make this tragedy about anything else than the murder of an innocent 87 year old man, is wrong and shameful. There’s no convoluted cancer medicated induced rational argument that will ever bring that dad back,’ the statement continued.
‘This story can’t be summed up in a tweet or Facebook post. A father’s life can’t fit into a news article. It’s tragic that a person can enter someones life and monumentally alter it’s trajectory, scarring and traumatizing it forever.
‘Rest in Peace Romaine Clark,’ the statement concluded.
