Cold Case Suspect Goes To Trial On Drug Charges

The 62-year-old Kenosha man suspected of killing 18-year-old Berit Beck in Fond du Lac County in 1990 goes to trial on drug charges today. A two-day jury trial is scheduled for Dennis Brantner. Judge Peter Grimm earlier denied a motion to adjourn the trial. Brantner’s lawyer wanted more time to appeal the judge’s probable cause finding in the preliminary hearing. Drugs were found in Brantner’s boot when he was being booked into the jail last March when Brantner was charged with Beck’s murder. Brantner is being held in the County Jail on a $1 million cash bond on a 1st degree murder charge. In July of 1990 Beck stopped in Fond du Lac on her way to a computer seminar for work. Her van was found in a parking lot and six weeks later her body was found in a ditch outside of Waupun. Brantner’s fingerprints were allegedly found in her van.