Father thought 'I killed mom' text from son was a joke 14-year old shot mother more than 20 times

The father of a teen thought he was joking when his son texted him
that he had killed his mother.

Noah Crooks, 14, admitted to shooting his mother more than 20 times
and trying to rape her while on the phone with the 911 dispatcher on
March 24, 2012. His father, William Crooks, testified on Friday that
he didn't take the text seriously, according to New York Daily News
and Agencies.

The father of an Iowa teen accused of murdering his mother thought the
text was a joke.

William Crooks, 41, testified on Friday about a text he received from
his son on March 24, 2012 that said "Dad this is Noah. I killed Mom
accidentally. I regret it. Come home now please."

Fourteen-year-old Noah Crooks faces charges of first-degree murder and
assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and for the death of
Gretchen Crooks.

William Crooks, who was away from the family's home in Osage, Iowa,
responded with "OK. Just throw her in the grove. We'll take care of
her later."

In court, William Crooks talked about teaching his son how to handle
guns, including the alleged .22-caliber rifle that Gretchen Crooks
bought for her son in 2010, the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reported.
He also said Noah and Gretchen had a loving but sometimes stormy
relationship.

On Wednesday, the prosecution played a recording of the 10-minute 911
call Noah Crooks made, during which he admitted to shooting his mother
more than 20 times and trying to rape her.
Gretchen Crooks, 37, in a photo from her Facebook page posted just
days before she was allegedly shot to death by her son, Noah.

"I'm not joking at all. She's dead. I'm scared. I killed my mom with
my .22. I don't know why I did it," he told dispatcher Barb Michael
with the Mitchell County Sheriff's Department, according to the Mason
City Globe Gazette.

Mitchell County Sheriff's Deputies Jeff Huftalin and Greg Halbach said
in court on Wednesday that they found Gretchen Crooks, 37, naked from
the waist down and stretched out on a sofa with her pajama top open
and bullets in her torso.

Dr. Jonathan Thompson from the State Medical Examiner's Office said on
Friday that Gretchen Crooks suffered 22 gunshots — two to the head,
four to the neck and 15 to the chest.

During the 911 call, Noah Crooks talked about playing the violent
'Call of Duty' video game, and that his mother had recently taken it
away from him because of his bad grades.

School friends testified about the teenager's sometimes violent and
aggressive behavior. One boy said Noah Crooks would occasionally stab
his classmates with pencils, and that he threatened to kill other
students as well as his mother.

Noah Crooks was 13 at the time of the alleged murder and is being
tried as a youthful offender.