FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) – The jury in the Fond du Lac County trial of a Kenosha man accused of killing Berit Beck in 1990 has been discharged.
Several media outlets report that jurors have told the judge that they cannot agree on the guilt or innocence of Dennis Brantner. The judge has moved to discharge them without a verdict.
A legal expert tells FOX 6 in Milwaukee that Brantner will likely be re-tried in the killing of the 18-year-old Beck.
On Tuesday, the jury first sent a message to Judge Gary Sharpe that they were deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict.
Later Tuesday afternoon, the 10 women and 2 men were sent back into deliberations. Another note came from the jury asking to be dismissed for the day and the judge approved the request.
The 62-year-old Dennis Brantner is charged with first-degree intentional homicide. Beck was traveling to Appleton for a work seminar from her home in Sturtevant when she disappeared.
Beck’s van was found several days later in a Fond du Lac parking lot. Her body was later found in a ditch near Waupun about six weeks later.
