GUILTY WI - Berit Beck, 18, abducted & murdered, Fond du Lac, 17 July 1990

Oh, this is good news.

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Berit Beck


Suspect eyed in kidnap, killing of Berit Beck, 18, in 1990
By Gitte Laasby of the Journal Sentinel
06 April 2014 - Updated: 8:08 p.m

"We have tangible, physical evidence to put a prime suspect intimately in the interior of the van," Sheriff Mick Fink told Action Reporter Media, which reported that the search warrant reveals investigators wanted photos of the suspect's hands, one of which is deformed, to compare it to evidence collected from Beck's van in 1990.

Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/...1990-b99241789z1-254110771.html#ixzz2yASrBMlR
A trucker! Wouldn't you know it.
For nearly 24 years the mystery of who killed Berit Beck has haunted Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office investigators.Now they may have a break in the case.

A search warrant obtained by The Reporter indicates investigators have gathered evidence, including photos, from a 60-year-old over-the-road trucker from Kenosha.

http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/...eak-Berit-Beck-murder?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1
For more than two decades the Beck family has awakened each morning not knowing who murdered their loved one, Berit Beck.
Now, with new light shed on the case and an investigation into Dennis J. Brantner, 60, of Kenosha, for evidence of party to the crime of first-degree intentional homicide, hope has been renewed.
“Always there was hope — absolutely,” said Diane Beck.

The promise she made at her 18-year-old daughter’s gravesite to fight for justice has never been forgotten.

First the news brought disbelief. Detectives from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office visited Diane and David Beck in their Union Grove home about a month ago, told them they had something to talk to them about — hard evidence regarding Berit’s unsolved case.
http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/...ways-hope-Beck-family-looks-for-final-justice
The warrant sought the following from Brantner to submit to the crime lab: “photographs of the top, bottom, side, fingers and all other areas of the hands and fingers for comparison against physical evidence which may constitute evidence of the crime, to-wit: PTC (party to the crime) first degree intentional homicide.”

According to the search warrant affidavit:

• Brantner was not in custody between the time Beck was reported missing and the discovery of her van. He was arrested in Kenosha on an unrelated matter about two weeks later, Aug. 6, 1990.

• Electronic items taken from Beck’s van also pointed investigators in Brantner’s direction because of his occupation as a truck driver.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article...rs-may-break-Berit-Beck-murder?nclick_check=1
Missing Woman's Body Found
August 24, 1990 By Robert Enstad

Thursday, their worst fears were realized as police in Fond du Lac County, Wis., said they have positively identified the remains of a young woman found in a ditch on Wednesday as that of the missing 18-year-old. Beck apparently was slain, investigators said.

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Since her disappearance on July 17, hundreds of volunteers joined in searching for her in southeast Wisconsin. Millions have seen her picture along roadways, emblazoned on trucks, and in restaurants, post offices and other public buildings.

Beck, who lived in the community of Sturtevant in Racine County, disappeared while on her way to a computer training program in Appleton. Her 1987 van was found two days later in the parking lot of a K mart store in Fond du Lac.
Plus an arrest in another cold case!

Arrest made 17 years after Amber Gail Creek found dead in Racine County
The sheriff's office has scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. Tuesday in Racine County to reveal the suspect's identity and details of the arrest.
 
2 cases resolved in WI. This is great news. Just because a case appears to have gone cold or we don't hear from LE, over weeks or even years, this proves there is much more happening than we are aware of. Very glad these cases have some resolution, finally!
 
New Daily Mail article I thought I would post it.

"It's believed the evidence may link a 60-year-old Kenosha man to the death of Berit Beck, who went missing in July 1990. The man has been identified as Dennis J. Brantner, a truck driver at the time of Beck's murder, according to PostCrescent.

Speaking at a press conference, Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mick Fink was hopeful about the latest developments.

'This is the best physical evidence that we've had in this case,' he said.

'It was the first time that I thought we had tangible, physical evidence to intimately put someone in the interior of that van,' he added."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-murder-evidence-examined.html#ixzz2yF8nlpBO
 
Another truck driver sex offender caught:

'Most wanted' New Jersey sex offender caught after two decades

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A multi-state investigation and three-day stakeout ended the 23-year search for James Wade Barclay with his arrest on Saturday, the New Jersey State Police Department said.

Barclay was arrested in 1989 and pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old multiple times over a two-year period, but he never showed up for his sentencing hearing in September 1991. He had been on the run ever since.

Police recently learned that Barclay had created a new identity, going by the alias James Toryone and working as a trucker throughout the United States, police said. He was able to purchase a home, develop new friendships and attend social functions where children were present.

http://news.msn.com/staging/most-wanted-new-jersey-sex-offender-caught-after-two-decades-police
 
Uh, unless he is missing 3 fingers from his left hand????
 
So where is this guy??
The new evidence, which includes an analysis of photographs of Dennis Brantner’s hands, is the best to emerge from the 23½-year-old case, Fink said.
While there have been other people of interest in the case, this is the first time Brantner’s name surfaced. He is not in custody....

[Sheriff Mick] Fink said Brantner is more than a person of interest in the case.

“When I have physical evidence inside a vehicle that a young lady was in prior to her abduction or maybe at the time of her death, I would call that a prime suspect,” Fink said. “Right now we’re working on building a case that we can bring to the prosecutor’s office. We need the public’s help so we can move forward with this and hopefully get an arrest.”
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20140407/APC0101/304070261/Sheriff-More-information-needed-tie-suspect-1990-Fond-du-Lac-County-murder
 
"A 60-year-old Kenosha trucker has been identified as a prime suspect in the 1990 killing of 18-year-old Berit Beck, but Fond du Lac County authorities say the new evidence in the cold case isn't enough yet to arrest or charge the man."

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/prime-suspect-but-no-arrest-in-1990-berit-beck-killing-b99242325z1-254221101.html

This is my personal opinion but, I feel like a trucker that has killed has a high probability of being a SK.


ETA: the below quote also from the above article:

"Neither Fink nor Toney elaborated on the possibility of DNA or blood evidence. There may be other active warrants or affidavits seeking such evidence, but the documents would not yet be available to the public. Toney said the evidence so far is not enough to support charges."
 
Sounds like he has no intention of cooperating. And also, LE has a few tricks up their sleeves.

"The warrant was returned as unexecuted on March 31, but District Attorney Eric Toney said during the news conference that investigators had nevertheless obtained the photographs of the man’s hands and the state crime lab was analyzing them.

He declined to explain how investigators got the pictures or describe what evidence was in the van. He also wouldn’t comment on whether investigators have obtained any DNA samples."

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/kenosha-man-suspected-in-homicide/article_edbd9f08-bf35-11e3-aa87-001a4bcf887a.html
 
Sorry for the bazillion posts. I didn't think there would be so much info in all these different resources.


"Investigators did not say what contact they have had with Brantner, but said he is not in custody and has not been charged."

and some really important info

"Fink said he believes the suspect lived in the Green Lake area when Beck was taken."

Any missing people or unsolved murders from the Green Lake area?

http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/New-developments-in-Berit-Beck-cold-case-254173031.html
 
Funny you mention about anyone missing from where he lived then, I saw a pic from Arkansas on his FB and started searching profiles of missing females from Arkansas. I guess it's just what we "sleuthers" do.
 
Other potential victims - looking for white females that disappeared while traveling. Sadly almost all reported missing victims are clearly victims of their spouses or boyfriends. It actually was very upsetting, and very eye opening, seeing how almost all WI missing women seemed to have a rocky relationship with their spouse/boyfriend or went missing when they supposedly left after a "fight". The below are my closest finds, however I am not confident and feel that lifestyle was the cause of their disappearance. Wanda Thompson's photo looks like an arrest photo (however there is nothing that indicates any drug use or anything like that). Rita Rahn's specifically states she was a drug user.


Wanda Thompson, 49, La Crosse, 1995
Went missing while on her way to meet sister for fireworks
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/thompson_wanda.html


Rita Rahn, 45, Madison, 1997
Went missing after leaving a friends' house and while en route to another friend's house
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/rahn_rita.html

Irene Schaefer, 53, Milwaukee, 2004
Not much info available at all but she frequented truck stops
http://www.nampn.org/cases/schaefer_irene_r.html

Rose Bly, 21, Saint Croix Falls, 21
So far this is the best match (age is closest) but it's a strange one. Relationship with husband was rocky, however supposedly she disappeared while on her way to meet a cousin at the bar and supposedly called her husband after leaving. Her car was found in a lot that truckers frequently parked. Additionally, she had a head injury a week earlier from falling off a horse and this may have contributed to her disappearance. So, the spouse is not the obvious one in this case.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bly_rose.html


It would be great if LE could release any info about any known routes, or any known cities he drove to or through. Or, if he was only in Wisconsin in his trucking career. That would be very helpful, if this information was known and shared.
 
The Dennis Brantner facebook - I am not convinced that's the right one. He is in Minnesota, and his face shape is much different from the Daily Mail photo. Granted, that doesn't mean anything but keep it in mind fellow sleuthers.
 

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