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

[pleasestandby]

http://www.channel3000.com/news/Man-charged-with-killing-teen-in-1990-faces-drug-charges/34752432

According to a criminal complaint, prescription drugs were found in Brantner's boot after he was arrested March 27 for the murder of 18-year-old Berit Beck.

His brother said he may have been trying to kill himself. The article doesn't say why it took until August 14, 2015 to charge him.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Trial to begin in 1990 murder of Berit Beck

http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2016/06/10/trial-begin-1990-murder-berit-beck/85594072/

Jury selection begins Monday morning in the courtroom of Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Gary Sharpe. The trial is expected to last about three weeks.

In late May, Sharpe issued a gag order at the request of prosecutors Eric Toney and Dennis Krueger. The order prohibits the lawyers, including defense attorney Craig Powell of Milwaukee, from discussing the case with the media, including theories or potential witnesses. Prior to the order being issued, Powell asserted the wrong person is standing trial for Beck's murder.

Powell had a basis for making that statement.

For two-plus decades following Beck's death, the Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office openly speculated Craig Hron, a car thief and bank robber from West Bend nicknamed "Psycho," was most likely responsible for the abduction and slaying. Two former longtime detectives at the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office, Bill Flood and Steve Hardgrove, believed Hron committed Beck's murder. In 1991, Hardgrove and Flood obtained a search warrant against Hron, declaring in court documents that Hron "is more than likely involved with it."

By the time sheriff's detective Nathan LaMotte started re-examining the old case files during the late summer months of 2013, Brantner had avoided suspicion in Beck's homicide for more than 20 years. Then, in February 2014, LaMotte got a huge break. Wisconsin State Crime Lab analyst Karley Hujet identified a fingerprint match involving evidence recovered from Beck's van. The prints matched Brantner, who was 36 at the time of Beck's abduction.

Several days later, Brantner denied any involvement in Beck's death.

"I swear I did not kill her. I did not kill her because I'm not that way," Brantner told LaMotte and detective Eric Muellenbach during a 2014 interview, according to police records.

 

[pleasestandby]

Trial to begin in 1990 murder of Berit Beck

http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2016/06/10/trial-begin-1990-murder-berit-beck/85594072/

Powell asserted the wrong person is standing trial for Beck's murder.

Powell had a basis for making that statement.

For two-plus decades following Beck's death, the Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office openly speculated Craig Hron, a car thief and bank robber from West Bend nicknamed "Psycho," was most likely responsible for the abduction and slaying

Maybe both suspects were involved.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/06/13/jury-being-selected-beck-homicide-trial/85692104/

A jury was selected Monday to hear the first-degree murder trial of Dennis Brantner, accused in the 1990 death of Berit Beck.

The process began in the morning and stretched into the afternoon. Twelve jurors and three alternates will hear opening arguments Tuesday morning, with prosecution witnesses to follow. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/...-of-accused-killer-b99744837z1-383053191.html

In his opening statement before the jury of 11 women and four men, Assistant Fond du Lac County District Attorney Dennis Krueger set the scene. He laid out a case that focused on DNA evidence discovered 24 years after the murder and said Brantner, 62, knew the area where Beck's decomposed body was found near Waupun.

Defense attorney Craig Powell told the jury that too much evidence collected in 1990 has gone missing to tie Brantner to the crime. He said his client was badgered for hours by detectives and that Brantner's words: "I'm so (expletive) sorry," in an interview were taken out of context.

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/06/15/key-evidence-missing-beck-murder-case/85701766/

A red shirt with the back cut out has emerged as a key piece of evidence in the trial of Dennis Brantner, the 62-year-old man accused of killing 18-year-old Berit Beck in 1990.

The shirt went missing during the course of the investigation that spanned more than two decades, testimony at Brantner’s trial revealed Wednesday.

Beck, a Sturtevant woman who disappeared during a work-related trip to Appleton, was found in a rural area of Fond du Lac County, gagged with a red piece of cloth.

 

[JudyBolton]

Thanks for the links! I just saw a post about this case and was totally unfamiliar with the details. It will be interesting to hear his explanation for his fingerprints being inside the van.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Stark images of Berit Beck's body shown to jury

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/local/2016/06/16/stark-images-berit-becks-body-shown-jury/85701988/

Amid a backdrop of stark crime scene photographs and detailed witness descriptions, prosecutors continued Thursday to build a circumstantial case against Dennis Brantner, charged with the 1990 murder of teenager Berit Beck.

During the third day of testimony, witnesses described the scene where Beck’s decomposed body was found on Aug. 22, 1990, in an overgrown ditch along a wooded road in rural Fond du Lac County. She disappeared on July 17 after stopping at a Fond du Lac mall on her way from her home in Sturtevant to a work-related seminar in Appleton.

 

[0101ABA]

It hasn't been easy for the Beck family to relive what happened during the first week of the trial. It would be any parent's nightmare to hear details of their daughter's gruesome death.

Diane Beck now leads the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of Compassionate friends, a group that helps families that have had children die.

"People have said to me, well you will find out what happened when you get to heaven," Diane Beck said in an interview with The Reporter in April 2014, after she learned there was finally a suspect in the decades-old cold case.

"No, when I get to heaven we will never have to remember the ugly, awful stuff that happened to our family. That is why I needed an answer while I was still walking the earth," she said.

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/06/19/trial-brings-back-poignant-memories-becks/86040010/

 

[Fairy1]

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/06/22/brantners-ex-wife-takes-stand-beck-trial/86055690/

FOND DU LAC - Jurors listened closely Wednesday to audio excerpts of detectives questioning Dennis Brantner at his kitchen table in Kenosha in February 2014 regarding the 1990 murder of teenager Berit Beck.
Portions of four hours of interviews were played for the jury from a speaker set atop the jury box. The recording was too muffled for most courtroom spectators to understand, but some phrases were audible, including passages where Brantner stated: "I swear to God I didn't do it. I don't know the van, I don't know her."

 

[Fairy1]

FOND DU LAC - The prosecution in the Dennis Brantner trial intends to rest on Friday, as the second week of proceedings against the 62-year-old man accused of killing 18-year-old Berit Beck in 1990 draws to a close.

The defense will begin calling witnesses after the prosecution concludes its case. If testimony ends Friday, the jury is expected to hear closing arguments on Monday morning and begin deliberations.

Brantner, a truck driver from Kenosha, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Beck, who disappeared in Fond du Lac on her way to a work seminar in Appleton on July 17, 1990. Her remains were found six weeks later along a rural road near Waupun.

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/06/23/prosecutors-poised-rest-beck-murder-trial/86056058/

 

[Fairy1]

FOND DU LAC - A packed courtroom heard closing arguments Monday morning as the 11-day trial in the 1990 murder of Berit Beck draws to a close.

Jury deliberations are expected to begin Monday afternoon in the case against Dennis Brantner, charged in the killing of the 18-year-old Sturtevant woman on July 17, 1990.

The teen's family sat in silence as Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney described the evidence and the steps that led to Beck's death. A photo of a happy, smiling Beck was projected on a large screen as Toney told the jury how the young murder victim "has missed 26 birthdays her family will never celebrate that were stolen by Dennis Brantner in July 1990."

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/06/27/berit-beck-murder-case-heads-jury/86358646/

 

[Fairy1]

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/06/27/berit-beck-murder-case-heads-jury/86358646/

Jury is deadlocked. I was afraid something like this might happen.

 

[Sutton]

Dennis Brantner's fingerprints were found on five items in Berit's van. The cigarette butts in her van are likely his. He once worked 10 miles from the body disposal site, though he told police he was unfamiliar with the area. Is this the state's entire case?

IMO that evidence isn't beyond any reasonable doubt. But I do believe he's guilty. I would hate to be on the jury.

Why in the world would he leave so many prints?

 

[Fairy1]

Dennis Brantner's fingerprints were found on five items in Berit's van. The cigarette butts in her van are likely his. He once worked 10 miles from the body disposal site, though he told police he was unfamiliar with the area. Is this the state's entire case?

IMO that evidence isn't beyond any reasonable doubt. But I do believe he's guilty. I would hate to be on the jury.

Why in the world would he leave so many prints?

I believe he's guilty, too. But honestly, I couldn't have convicted him based on the evidence presented. I'm so sorry for Berit and her family.

 

[Itsmevkb]

Jury sent home after reaching an impasse so now the state will need to decide if they want to try this case again. http://fox6now.com/2016/06/29/jury-unable-to-reach-verdict-in-dennis-brantner-trial/

I wonder how many jurors were holding out for not guilty. I know I would have found him guilty.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

DA will pursue retrial in Beck murder case

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/06/30/da-pursue-retrial-beck-murder-case/86561114/

The day after the trial of the man accused in the 1990 death of Berit Beck ended in a hung jury, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney says he is ready to retry the case.

“Our trial team and investigators are willing to go ahead,” Toney said Thursday. “We need to review the court record and as of right now are preparing, although no official decision has been made.”

The state needs judicial approval to move forward with a retrial, Toney said, but defense attorney Craig Powell believes all it requires is for prosecutors to tell the court at a status hearing of their intentions. The case has not been dismissed by Sharpe and remains open.

Toney said the end of the trial was due, in part, to concerns about keeping the jury deliberating too long, and how that could hold up in the event of an appeal.

In the final hours of the trial, attorneys argued over jury instructions, and whether the word “obstinance” should be used in instructing them. In a majority of U.S. courts, particularly criminal courts, jury verdicts are required to be unanimous. Judges will sometimes prompt juries to reach a decision by issuing an instruction that is often referred to as the “dynamite charge.”

The dynamite charge stresses the importance of reaching a unanimous verdict and puts particular pressure on jurors who hold the minority opinion to reconsider their position. Sharpe did not use this type of instruction with Brantner’s jurors.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

According to someone who was on the jury, there was one holdout.

Juror in Dennis Brantner murder trial speaks about justice not being served

It’s hard for Bill Ferguson to talk about sitting on the jury in the Brantner murder case, especially since the ten women and two men couldn’t reach a verdict.

He says, “We failed. I cried a lot of tears. That was very difficult because we failed.”

Ferguson says eleven members of the jury believed, after two days of deliberations, Dennis Brantner was guilty.

But after going home following the second day of deliberations, the one juror who held out, for unknown reasons, wouldn’t agree with the majority.

Prosecution in Berit Beck murder case consider a retrial

Today a Fond du Lac county judge gave prosecutors until August 15th to decide whether they would like to try Brantner once again for homicide. Just last week a jury deliberated for 3 days on whether Brantner was innocent or guilty, but they couldn't come to a unanimous decision. Now the state and Beck’s family has to decide whether the case is worth trying again.

"We still need to review information and also consult with the Beck family before we make that final determination. We also need approval from the court if we make that request at this point," says Eric Toney the District Attorney in Fond du Lac.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

DA cites new evidence in Beck murder case

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2016/08/25/da-cites-new-evidence-beck-murder-case/89275236/

A former girlfriend of Dennis Brantner has come forward with new evidence the state believes would support a retrial for Brantner in the 1990 murder of teenager Berit Beck, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin has learned.

Terri McMullen Koscinski told detectives during an interview last month that she and Brantner lived together for about a year, and he strangled her hard enough to leave bruises around her neck during a breakup in 1998, according to a subpoena filed Tuesday in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court.

The Racine woman said she lied to detectives back in 2014 when she told them that she and Brantner never dated because she feared what he might do if he found out she talked to police, the subpoena states.

Defense attorney Craig Powell has asked the court to issue an acquittal and bar the prosecution from retrying Brantner. A hearing on Sept. 6 before Sharpe could determine if the case moves forward.

State wants to retry Brantner for Berit Beck murder

http://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/state-wants-to-retry-brantner-for-berit-beck-murder/article_234a4001-9cab-5f36-acbd-4c8ab21f2d67.html

Toney confirmed that his office is taking the steps necessary to retry the defendant.

“We are seeking to re-try Mr. Brantner, and we filed a motion reflecting that,” Toney said.

The motion is essentially asking the court to declare Brantner’s first trial a mistrial.

“We consulted with the Beck family; we reviewed the anticipated evidence we would present and what we thought that would entail … and we believe we have sufficient evidence to put in front of a jury,” Toney said of the state’s decision to seek a new trial. “We also spoke with some of the jurors from the previous trial.”

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

State plans to re-try Brantner for 1990 murder of Berit Beck

http://fox11online.com/news/local/fox-cities/state-plans-to-re-try-brantner

Prosecutors plan to re-try Dennis Brantner for 1990 murder of Berit Beck, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said in court Tuesday.

Since Brantner was not in court Tuesday, however, no trial date was set. The parties will return to court next week for a status conference.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Berit Beck case to get new judge

http://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/berit-beck-case-to-get-new-judge/article_c93cea47-3637-5bcc-bf41-468d4ef2337a.html

Prosecutors and Brantner’s defense attorneys had gathered for what was supposed to be a hearing on the state’s motion to retry Brantner for the crime, but that hearing was postponed following Sharpe’s announcement.

“The judge said he felt he was impartial and would not be biased, but that there could be an appearance of bias or not being able to be impartial,” Fond Du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney told The Journal Times on Tuesday. Toney did not elaborate on the reasoning.

It was not clear on Tuesday when a new judge would be assigned to the case or when that judge would consider the state’s request for a mistrial in the first trial.