Jury Struggling With Decision In Brantner Trial

No verdict yet in a Fond du Lac County Homicide Trial. Jurors are trying to decide whether Dennis Brantner is guilty or not guilty of killing Berit Beck in Fond du Lac in July of 1990. At one point during deliberations Tuesday they sent the judge a note saying, “We can not agree to guilty or not guilty.” While the judge and attorneys were trying to decide whether to send the jury more instructions, another note was brought in from the jury asking to hear audio of an interview Sheriff’s detectives did with Brantner in his kitchen in Kenosha in March of 2014. The jurors were brought back to the courtroom and heard the audio for at least the third time. Afterwards they deliberated for another hour and then asked if they could go home for the night, which the judge granted. District Attorney Eric Toney was okay with that, but defense attorney Craig Powell objected saying they had already sent a note saying they couldn’t agree. He felt sending them home could risk possible contamination of the jury should they hear anything about the case outside the courtroom. The judge agreed there was a risk, but also said he knew the jury was tired and emotions were raw. They will deliberate again today.