FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) – Dennis Brantner will be re-tried for the 1990 murder of Berit Beck, a judge ruled Monday.
Brantner’s first trial last summer ended with a hung jury.
The defense had asked for a ruling that there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant a re-trial, but Judge Robert Wirtz denied the motion.
Defense attorney Craig Powell removed himself from the case Monday. Another attorney will be assigned.
The next hearing will be a status conference Feb. 20. No trial date has been set.
Brantner was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Berit Beck. Beck was traveling from her home in Sturtevant to Appleton for a work seminar when she disappeared. Her van was found a few days later, and her body was later found in a ditch in Fond du Lac County.
Authorities who re-examined the cold case say they matched fingerprints on evidence recovered from Beck’s van to Brantner.
