Fond du Lac Murder Retrial

2/21/17 – The family of an 18-year-old Sturtevant woman murdered in Fond du Lac County in 1990 will have to wait almost another year before the man suspected of killing her is retried. Judge Robert Wirtz Monday afternoon set a four-week jury trial for 63-year-old Dennis Brantner of Kenosha. It will begin February 12th of next year. District Attorney Eric Toney says Berit Beck’s family has been extraordinary strong and that his heart goes out to their family. Brantner has a new lawyer since last June’s jury trial that ended without a unanimous verdict. Jeffrey Haase replaces Craig Powell as Brantner’s attorney. Haase says scheduling the trial nearly a year out will give him to time to properly prepare for trial. Haase says he’s worked homicide trials before, but never one over three weeks in length. Berit Beck was on her way to a work seminar in July of 1990 and stopped in Fond du Lac. Her van was found in a parking lot and six weeks later her body was discovered in a ditch outside of Waupun.