New Judge Assigned To Dennis Brantner Case

Another Fond du Lac County judge has been assigned the murder trial for a 63-year-old Kenosha man. Judge Robert Wirtz will preside over Dennis Brantner’s court proceedings. Brantner is suspected of killing 18-year-old Berit Beck when she stopped in Fond du Lac in July of 1990. This past week Judge Gary Sharpe recused himself from the case for comments he made to the jury and a county employee following a June jury trial in which the jury was unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict. A scheduling conference is set for October 19th. With the previous judge Brantner’s lawyer, Craig Powell, made a motion to dismiss the case and acquit his client. While District Attorney Eric Toney made a motion to have a mistrial declared and to schedule a new trial.