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Hung jury declared in Berit Beck murder trial

Posted at 12:32 PM, Jun 27, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-29 13:23:03-04

Judge declares mistrial after a jury fails to reach an agreement in the Berit Beck murder trial. After three days of deliberations, the panel could not agree on Dennis Brantner's guilt or innocence. The 1990 case, which went cold for decades, is focused on whether the truck driver committed the crime.

Watch: Jury hears closing arguments in Berit Beck murder trial

 

 

Judge Sharpe brought the jury back into the courtroom and asked them if there was a reasonable probability they could reach a verdict. When the jury said no, they were dismissed.

The case remains open in Fond du Lac County.

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 in a Fond du Lac parking lot, but her body wasn't found until more than a month later 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.