NEWS

Beck's father breaks down on witness stand

Sharon Roznik
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

FOND DU LAC - When Berit Beck left her home in Sturtevant on July 17, 1990, her father, Dave, told her to “be careful and stay safe.”

Fond du Lac County Assistant District Attorney Dennis Krueger delivers his opening statement Tuesday in the murder trial of Dennis Brantner, accused of killing Berit Beck in 1990.

She answered, “Don’t worry, Dad. All the people up north are good,” Dave Beck testified Tuesday at the trial of Dennis Brantner, who is accused of killing Berit Beck, 18.

She disappeared after stopping at a Fond du Lac store to buy some items on her way to a work seminar in Appleton. Her body was found weeks later in western Fond du Lac County.

PAST COVERAGE: Berit Beck Case

Dave Beck, who broke down several times during his testimony, was the prosecution’s first witness.

Dave Beck testifies Tuesday at the murder trial of Dennis Brantner, who is accused of killing Beck's daughter, Berit, in 1990.

In his opening statement before the jury of 11 women and four men, Assistant Fond du Lac County District Attorney Dennis Krueger set the scene. He laid out a case that focused on DNA evidence discovered 24 years after the murder and said Brantner, 62, knew the area where Beck's decomposed body was found near Waupun.

Defense attorney Craig Powell told the jury that too much evidence collected in 1990 has gone missing to tie Brantner to the crime. He said his client was badgered for hours by detectives and that Brantner’s words: “I'm so (expletive) sorry,” in an interview were taken out of context.

Two people who were close to Berit Beck testified they were supposed to accompany her to Appleton. Diane Beck testified she was unable to go with her daughter because she was recovering from a snowmobile crash. Her high school sweetheart, Curtiss Plath, sobbed as he looked at the ring he had given Berit, and the note she left on his windshield before she departed. He turned down Berit's invitation to go on the trip.

Here are some highlights from court activity:

» The Beck family offered a $75,000 reward for information on their missing daughter. They formed search teams that covered Racine to Appleton, and sent out 1,000 flyers.

» Krueger told jurors the van Beck was driving traveled 460 miles, even though her last known stop was at a Walgreen's in Fond du Lac.

» Fond du Lac police took 50 items from the van for evidence, Krueger said. Powell told the jury many items are now missing, including a red shirt with a piece cut out of the back. Beck was found with a red cloth gagging her mouth.

» Dennis Brantner's fingerprints were tested three times, and were found on a Burger King cup, the back windows of Beck's van, a work training manual for Beck and a hair dye kit.

Dennis Brantner listens to proceedings in Fond du Lac County court, where he is standing trial for the 1990 murder of Berit Beck.

» Brantner lived in Fond du Lac County during the ‘70s, Krueger said, and serviced furnaces in homes as part of his job. The homes were located near where Beck's body was found. At times he lived in Brandon, Ripon and Green Lake.

» Powell said Brantner fully cooperated with detectives, and voluntarily submitted to repeated questioning and fingerprinting. "They (detectives) were not shy of telling Brantner 'we gotcha!'" Powell told jurors. Then they let him go and searched his house a week later, finding no evidence that tied him to the crime. This continues for a year, Powell said, adding that "this is not the action of a desperate killer in the crosshairs (of authorities)."

» Jeans, socks, underwear, the red shirt, pantyhose and a jacket that were initially collected from the van by authorities cannot be found, Powell told the jury.

» Other DNA was found in the van that cannot be identified but it isn't Brantner's, Powell said.

» Former Boldt Construction employee Mary Wisniewski testified that she received the call that Beck never arrived in Appleton for training. She said Berit was concerned about traveling for the first time by herself.

» Retired Police officers Morris Kutchek and Robert Steffen described how they found the van, shimmed it open and carefully retrieved a wallet. They said they were careful not to touch anything, but did not wear gloves at that time in 1990.

Reach Sharon Roznik at sroznik@fdlreporter.com or 920-907-7936; on Twitter: @sharonroznik