Warrant reveals details of Berit Beck murder case investigation

This story was originally published by The Reporter on Oct 12, 2014.

Six months ago, investigators revealed that they had a new suspect in the 24-year-old murder of Berit Beck.

Officials would say little about the evidence that was pointing them in the direction of 61-year-old Dennis Brantner of Kenosha, except that they had "tangible, physical evidence" to put him in Beck's van.

Now a search warrant on file in Fond du Lac County discloses that Brantner's fingerprints were found on several items recovered from Beck's van: A Burger King cup, a Boldt (Beck's employer) Employee Manual and Jolen Bleach Kit. The bleach kit was one of the items Beck had purchased at Fond du Lac's Forest Mall Walgreens the day she disappeared.

The 18-year-old Beck was murdered in July 1990 after she stopped in Fond du Lac while on her way from Sturtevant to Appleton for a work seminar. Her van was discovered in a parking lot in Forest Plaza on West Johnson Street three days after she disappeared, but her body was not found until about six weeks later in a ditch in rural western Fond du Lac County.

In April, Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mick Fink was adamant when he said the evidence in their possession placed Brantner in Beck's van.

The evidence was not new. It had been recovered from Beck's van and submitted to the Crime Lab in 1990. When investigators asked the Crime Lab to retest evidence late last year, the fingerprint match with Brantner was made.

The search warrant filed in April sought numerous things that were missing from Beck's van or body, including a gold band ring, keys, a pearl-faced gold watch, a key chain with the passage "footsteps in the sand" on it. It also sought newspaper clippings, photographs, drawings or sketches of Berit Beck.

None of those items were recovered when a search was conducted at Brantner's Kenosha residence. Investigators confiscated a computer, Internet drive, memory card, photo album and discs, according to the warrant.

Information submitted to a judge in support of the search warrant includes comments gleaned from Brantner's former co-workers and boss. One man told investigators Brantner worked alongside his daughter and had said he wanted to kidnap her and have sex with her, according to the warrant.

A co-worker noted that Brantner had numerous photos he decorated his work space with while working as a welder in Kenosha. The man told investigators after he saw information in April on the Beck case, he realized one of the photos in Brantner's work space may be Beck. He said Brantner had told him the girl was his girlfriend. The man noted that Brantner's work space had more photographs of late teen girls "appearing to be posing in campsite style backgrounds." He noted the girls "appeared to be stiff or mannequin type and posing, although they looked expressionless," according to the warrant.

Another co-worker said he saw a photo in Brantner's toolbox that he thought was Beck. A co-worker who saw a similar photo told investigators Brantner told him the girl was his daughter. Brantner does not have any daughters, according to the warrant.

The warrant also references an incident in Green Lake County where Brantner was arrested for entering a home across the street from his estranged wife's home and spying on her. His former wife told investigators Brantner also had entered her home.

In 1994, Brantner was arrested for kidnapping and beating his second estranged wife. According to the report, Brantner hid in the woman's car and grabbed her when she fled, pushed her up against a car and threatened her, claiming he had a knife. She said he kept her against her will for four hours.

Investigators monitoring Brantner's Facebook page noted he shared a photo of a blond, late teenage girl who was missing from Columbus, Ohio. At the time, Brantner was an over-the-road truck driver. Shortly after news broke that Brantner had been identified as a suspect in Beck's murder, he contacted his employer and asked that his personal belongings be removed from his tractor trailer unit and held for him until he could pick them up. The items were not removed and the truck instead was turned over to police, according to the warrant.

Fink said Friday investigators are continuing to gather evidence and interview people who they believe will help them build a case against Brantner.