News 07.01.16
1 July 2016 News
The district attorney in Fond du Lac County says he’ll consult with the family of a 1990 homicide victim, sheriff’s investigators and other prosecutors before deciding how to proceed after a mistrial was declared in the case. DA Eric Toney would only say that he’s keeping the options open when asked about retrying Dennis Brantner in the death of 18-year-old Berit Beck. In recent years, investigators took another look at the case that had gone cold, resulting in a murder charge against the 62-year-old Brantner. Prosecutors matched previously undiscovered fingerprints in Beck’s vehicle to Brantner. He remains in jail even though jurors could not reach a verdict on the murder charge. Brantner will be sentenced July 10 on unrelated drug charges.
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The Retlaw Plaza Hotel in downtown Fond du Lac is sold in an online auction. President of the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation, Steve Jenkins, says the new owner is not from Fond du lac, but is a hotel developer. The name of the developer has not been released. Jenkins, says the sale is being finalized. He says the court has to certify the closure and ownership transfer. The Retlaw has been closed since December. The Fond du Lac city council voted last summer not to renew the hotel’s alcohol license after the hotel was delinquent in payment of utility bills and property taxes.
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Oshkosh police are sending a reminder to always lock vehicles and take valuables out after multiple vehicle thefts were reported at a County Park. Officer Joe Nichols says ten vehicles parked on the south end of Winnebago County Community Park Monday evening were broken into. Nichols says windows were smashed and cash along with numerous items were taken. He says the break-ins occurred around 7:30pm, while an Oshkosh Youth Soccer Club game was taking place near by. The park is located at 501 E. County Road Y in Oshkosh. Police continue to investigate.
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Jurors have acquitted a woman accused of texting before a 2013 crash that killed her daughter and two nieces in western Wisconsin. The jury deliberated less than two hours Wednesday before finding 35-year-old Kari Jo Milberg of Centuria not guilty on all counts. Pierce County prosecutors alleged Milberg was sending and receiving Facebook messages just before she lost control of her SUV on Highway 35 near Prescott and collided with a truck. Milberg’s 11-year-old daughter, Lydia, and her two 5-year-old nieces, Laynie Jo Amos and Clara Pavek, were killed. In closing arguments, prosecutor Sean Froelich argued that Milberg was messaging while driving on a dangerous, winding road. Defense attorney Aaron Nelson countered the crash was caused by slippery roads and worn tires.
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A Wisconsin man accused of decapitating his mother with a sword last year is committed to a state mental hospital. Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed with a psychiatrist’s report Wednesday that 41-year-old Matthew Skalitzky was mentally ill at the time of the killing. The Sun Prairie man was charged with killing his mother, 68-year-old Jane Skalitzky, at his apartment on Sept. 11. Judge Josann Reynolds ordered Skalitzky committed for life to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. A hearing will be held in a few weeks to set the length and place of his commitment. Prosecutors say Skalitzky got mad after his mother found a sword and knives, and that he believed she and others were inhuman clones.
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A state appeals court says a utility can scale back a program for customers who generate their own electricity from renewable sources. Wisconsin Public Service Corporation offers self-generators credits on their bills. The program has been limited to customers who generate less than 100 kilowatt hours of electricity. The Public Service Commission in 2013 allowed WPSC to scale the program back to include generators who produce no more than 20 kilowatt hours. RENEW Wisconsin, which represents about 115 renewable energy companies and about 300 individual ratepayers, sued and a Madison judge ordered the commission to reconsider. But the 4th District Court of Appeals affirmed the commission’s decision on Thursday, saying it was reasonable. RENEW Officials have not commented.
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