FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) – Fond du Lac County district attorney Eric Toney says after meeting with prosecutors and investigations, he wants to retry Dennis Brantner for the 1990 murder of Berit Beck.
“But we still have to have additional discussion with the Beck family, as well as review some information before a final decision is made,” says Toney. “Then we also need to go through some court process as well before that decision can be made.”
In Fond du Lac County court Tuesday, Judge Gary Sharpe held a status conference to discuss scheduling for the case. A motion hearing was scheduled for September 6.
Toney says it’s only appropriate to bring the Beck family into the discussion.
“They’re a wonderful family, they’ve been incredibly strong throughout this entire process and I think the world of them,” Toney says. “We want to give them some time before we have those discussions in earnest.”
The Beck family has been in constant contact with either the DA’s office or law enforcement since last Wednesday when Judge Sharpe dismissed the jury.
HUNG FOR THE FIRST TIME
District Attorney Eric Toney says he’s never had a hung jury before in his legal career.
“It’s the first hung jury I have had,” Toney says, dismissing any sort of sports reference to a tie game. “It’s one of those things that happens and other attorneys in my office have had that happen from time to time. It’s something we have to deal with and is outside of our control.”
Toney had nothing but positive things to say about the 10 women and 2 men who struggled with reaching a verdict against the 62-year-old Brantner.
“We presented the evidence that was available to us and that we were allowed to present and I’m happy with the evidence we were able to present,” says Toney. “The jury worked incredibly hard and I saw a great deal of emotion on so many of the jurors faces as they came into the courtroom at various times.”
He wouldn’t elaborate on what the Beck family was saying in the moments after the judge dismissed the jury.
“All I’ll say is I did have an opportunity to speak with them after the jury was released,” Toney says. “I think it’s appropriate to keep those comments that we shared to myself.”
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.
