Murder Victims Body Was Badly Decomposed

The body of murder victim Berit Beck was badly decomposed when it was discovered in a ditch on Brown Road near Waupun in August of 1990. Several witnesses Thursday testified about the shape the 18-year-old woman’s body was in when it was discovered on August 22nd of that year. Former Fond du Lac County Coroner Sue Casper said it isn’t surprising how badly decomposed the body was given the weather conditions that summer. She says it was a wet, hot, rainy summer which didn’t allow her to estimate a time of death. She also testified about being present at the autopsy. Among the others testifying in the Dennis Brantner Homicide Trial was 71-year-old Walter Riel of Waupun who owned an appliance store in the city in the later half of the 1970s. He employed Brantner as a deliveryman. Brantner claims he had never been out in the area where Beck’s body was discovered, but Riel says some of his customers lived out in that area. 

Former County Coroner Testifies In Brantner Trial

Former Fond du Lac County Coroner Sue Casper took the witness stand in a cold case homicide trial Thursday. Casper was called out to Brown Road near Waupun on August 22nd of 1990. The remains of 18-year-old Berit Beck of Sturtevant were discovered in a ditch. Casper says the grass was three feet high, but she could tell from the condition of the plants underneath and around the body that it had been there for quite a while. She also testified about being present at the autopsy. Two witnesses were also called who had worked with Dennis Brantner. Terry Steger and Brantner both worked at LMS Trucking in Fond du Lac in the later 1980s and Walter Riel owned an appliance store in Waupun that employed Brantner as a deliveryman. Brantner claims he was never in the area where Beck’s body was found. The prosecution hopes to establish that he knew the area well.  

Former Fond du Lac County Coroner Sue Casper is questioned by Deputy District Attorney Dennis Krueger.