A Fond du Lac family is asking Wisconsin's attorney general to condemn a campaign ad that recreates the 1990 murder of their 18-year-old daughter, and is asking the Democratic Attorneys General Association to pull it, saying they were never consulted before her case became a political weapon in a bitter statewide rematch. Diane and Dave Beck say the commercial, which targets Republican candidate Eric Toney over his handling of the case as a prosecutor, has forced them to relive one of the worst chapters of their lives.
The ad was paid for by a committee sponsored by the Democratic Attorneys General Association, according to fox11online.com. The Becks are asking the Democratic Attorneys General Association to remove it from the airwaves and internet entirely, the station reports. Diane Beck described the toll it has taken, saying, “I feel like we're going through all that all over again.” Dave and Diane Beck told wisconsinrightnow.com that the organization never spoke to them before including their daughter's case in the spot, which contains a photo of a van used in the tragedy.
Berit Beck was 18 when she was abducted and murdered in July 1990, a case that haunted Fond du Lac County for decades before it was finally resolved. Her family worked directly with then-District Attorney Eric Toney to reach that resolution, per the station's report. That history is part of why the ad's framing has stung so deeply — the Becks were partners in seeking justice for their daughter, not props for an election fight.
A Case That Took Nearly Three Decades to Close
The path to that resolution was long and uneven. Dennis Brantner's 2016 first-degree murder trial ended in a hung jury without a conviction, according to the station's report, forcing prosecutors back to the drawing board. Two years later, Brantner accepted a plea deal that reduced the charge to second-degree reckless homicide; the fdlreporter.com reported the retired truck driver was convicted after the judge accepted that deal and handed down the maximum 10-year sentence.
Brantner entered what is known as an Alford plea, which allowed him to maintain his innocence while acknowledging there was strong proof of guilt, the Reporter noted. The Beck family signed off on that arrangement with Toney's office, accepting a resolution short of a murder conviction after the earlier mistrial left the case in limbo. As fdlreporter.com later recounted, Brantner's original 2016 trial on first-degree murder charges was declared a mistrial when jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Kaul Stops Short of Demanding the Ad Come Down
Attorney General Josh Kaul, whom the People's Lawyer Project is backing in his rematch against Toney, has expressed sympathy for the family without calling for the ad's removal. Per the fox11online.com report, Kaul stopped short of calling for the Democratic Attorneys General Association to stop running it, saying instead that victims of crime and their family members should be treated with respect. Kaul has said he does not control or legally coordinate with the independent group behind the ad and that his own campaign's advertising is what he can actually control.
Toney, for his part, criticized the ad. TMJ4 reported that he said Kaul and his allies' political ads go too low. Toney was the lead prosecutor in the Beck case.
A Costly Rematch With a Razor-Thin History
The Democratic Attorneys General Association released an ad in Wisconsin's attorney general race, according to wispolitics.com.
AdImpact has tracked $1.2 million in broadcast and cable television reservations from the group, per wispolitics.com. The spending underscores how aggressively both sides are fighting for an office Kaul won by just over 1% in 2022, a margin fox11online.com notes set up this year's closely watched rematch.
FOX 11, which reported the family's renewed plea, said it had not received a response from the Democratic Attorneys General Association regarding the Becks' concerns. The dispute leaves unresolved whether the ad will stay on the air as Wisconsin's attorney general race heads into its final stretch.
