FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WHBL-KFIZ) -- Jurors were sent home early Friday in a Fond du Lac County cold case murder trial.
62-year-old Dennis Brantner faces first degree homicide charges in the 1990 death of 18-year-old Berit Beck.
Prosecutors were expected to call County Medical Examiner Dr. Douglas Kelley, but after some consultation decided not to. Jurors had already heard from former County Coroner Sue Casper who had been present at the autopsy of Beck back in August of 1990.
Three more people were called who worked with or employed Brantner in the 1970s and 1980s. Among them was Thomas Reabe who owned a crop dusting service in Waupun when Brantner worked there in the late 1970s. Brantner occasionally had to drive a truck to pick up parts or deliver fuel. Reabe says they furnished him with maps, but Brantner was pretty resourceful at finding his way around.
Brantner claims he had not been to the area where Beck’s body was found. Prosecutors are calling witness to establish Brantner was familiar with that area. Beck’s body was found in a ditch on Brown Road outside Waupun.