Prosecutors Decide Not To Call County Medical Examiner In Brantner Homicide Trial

Jurors were sent home early Friday in the Fond du Lac County murder trial of a 62-year-old Kenosha man. Prosecutors were expected to call County Medical Examiner Dr. Douglas Kelley in the trial of Dennis Brantner, but after some consultation decided not to. Jurors had already heard from former County Coroner Sue Casper who had been present at the autopsy of 18-year-old Berit Beck back in August of 1990. Three more people were called who worked with or who Brantner worked for in the 1970s and 1980s. Among them was Thomas Reabe who owned a crop dusting service in Waupun when Brantner worked there in the late 1970s. Brantner occasionally had to drive a truck to pick up parts or deliver fuel. Reabe says they furnished him with maps, but Brantner was pretty resourceful at finding his way around. He says Brantner was extremely smart. He says you could tell him what to do or where to go and he had no problems. Brantner claims he had not been to the area where Beck’s body was found. Prosecutors are calling witness to establish Brantner was familiar with that area. Beck’s body was found in a ditch on Brown Road outside Waupun.