Kenosha man faces re-trial in 1990 murder of woman, 18

Site staff by Site Contributor

A 63-year-old Kenosha truck driver will face another trial in the 1990 murder of an 18-year-old woman.

A judge ruled Monday that Dennis Brantner will be re-tried in the death of Berit Beck. His first trial ended last summer with a hung jury.

The defense argued there wasn’t enough evidence for another trial, but Fond du Lac County Judge Robert Wirtz disagreed. A trial date hasn’t been set.

Beck was traveling from her home in Sturtevant to Appleton when she disappeared in July 1990. Her van was found a few days later, and her body was later found in a ditch near rural Waupun.

Brantner was charged with first-degree murder 25 years later. Authorities re-examining the cold case said they matched his fingerprint to a print inside Beck’s van.

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