Small Town Murder – Serial Killer Motives: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Episode Date: March 27, 2026
Hosts: James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman

Episode Overview

This episode of "Small Town Murder" dives into the 1990 murder of Barrett (Berit) Beck in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin—a small town both hosts gleefully dissect with their trademark mix of dark fascination and irreverent humor. The case features a baffling set of circumstances, a wrongly targeted “Psycho,” a long-cold trail, and the eventual unmasking of a true predator decades later. Along the way, James and Jimmie lampoon small town quirks, festival culture, and law enforcement missteps, delivering poignant moments amid the banter.

Fond du Lac: The Small Town Backdrop

[03:42–14:32] Fond du Lac Introduction & Color

• Geography & Demographics: Southeastern Wisconsin, population ~44,000, median income $56k, median home cost $176k. Sometimes called “bottom of the lake”—an unintentionally grim foreshadowing.
  • “Come to the mud of the lake. That’s where you put corpses, you know what I mean?” —James [06:57]
• Town Reviews: Ranged from “very good town” to “armpit of Wisconsin.” One star reviewer: “This town is a dump.” [10:57]
• Local Events:
  • Fondue Fest (“Fondue has really gotten the best reputation...”—James [11:25])
  • Sturgeon Spectacular: an embrace-the-cold festival with snow sculpting and fishing [13:54]
  • Notable natives: Don Gorske (Big Mac world record holder—“That guy outlived Morgan Spurlock, which is crazy.” —James [08:32])

The Case: Murder of Barrett (Berit) Beck

Barrett’s Background

[14:37–17:41]

• 18-year-old from Sturtevant, WI, vibrant, musically inclined, raised in a suburban family.

• Starting a secretary job at Bolt Construction in Appleton; scheduled for a 3-day orientation.

  Quote: “She’s got everything we don’t have anymore. She’s got in spades... her eyes are wide open for having no babies.” —James [17:02]

Timeline of the Disappearance

[18:15–22:06]

• July 17, 1990: Leaves for work orientation, driving her two-tone gray GMC conversion van.

  • Tells her dad: “Don’t worry, dad. All the people up north are good people.” [19:04]

• En Route: Stops at McDonald’s, then at Fond du Lac’s Forest Mall. Buys a hair bleach kit at Walgreens (receipt timestamp 11:04am), is seen leaving, but then vanishes.

  Memorable moment: The hosts riff on 1990s mall culture, including Kmart as a mall anchor and the vanished Chess King [20:33–21:21].

The Van: Clues & Strangeness

[22:06–27:03]

• July 19, 1990: Her van is located, locked, in a Kmart lot. She’s missing.

  • Van anomalies:
    • Jolin hair bleach kit still in the bag
    • Ripped red t-shirt (back cut out)
    • Burger King cup with two sets of prints
    • Cigarette wrapper/ash piles—she didn’t smoke
    • Odometer: 462 miles accrued beyond expected

  Quote: “She doesn’t smoke, so obviously the piles of ash are a concern... and why would she stop at McDonald’s, then Burger King?” —James [25:15]

  Host riff: “She’s a Big Mac chick, not a Whopper gal!” —James [38:16]

Statewide Search & Discovery

[32:20–36:21]

• Missing posters & searches yield nothing for weeks.

• FBI profiler: “It’s Ted Bundy’s dream... a young, blonde girl, alone, walking into a mall.” —James [34:21 paraphrased]

• August 22, 1990: Barrett’s badly decomposed body is found in a drainage ditch 18 miles from the mall; she was strangled and suffocated, red shirt back used as a blindfold, pantyhose cut to bind her.

  Host reaction: “Just dumped in a fucking drainage ditch on the side of the road... That’s horrifying, man.” —James [36:24]

The Bungled Investigation & Wrong Suspect

"Psycho" as Main Suspect

[39:18–44:05]

• For over 20 years, police fixate on Craig “Psycho” Hron—local car thief, bank robber, and, in their minds, likely murderer. His only “link”: a suspicious hairbrush with blonde hairs and circumstantial presence in the area.

  • Quote: “They think those might belong—it might be her hairbrush that he stole and it’s a trophy at this point.” —James [40:45]

• Multiple unreliable witnesses, false confessions, and red herrings.

• Key evidence (shirt, pantyhose) eventually lost by the sheriff’s office.

  Quote: “How do you accidentally go in the evidence locker and start throwing shit away?” —Jimmie [46:43]

Breakthrough: Decades Later

[51:34–56:41]

• 2013–2014: Cold case reopened, prints from van (collected in 1990) finally run in automated database.

  • Quote: “If I’m their parents, I would love to go to that police station... and kick them in the fucking balls, one for every year.” —James [52:40]

• Fingerprint Match: Dennis J. Brantner, long-haul truck driver and welder, is finally identified as suspect thanks to nine matching prints on key items (Burger King cup, bleach kit, employment manual, door handle, seat adjuster, etc.).

  • Heavy smoker in 1990—explains cigarette ash.

• Brantner’s background:

  • Drove all over Wisconsin, including the ditch where Barrett was found.

  • History of violence against women: e.g., 1994—hides in ex-wife’s car, threatens with knife, restrains her for hours [57:33].

  • “This guy… this is horrifying.” —James [67:03]

  • Suspected serial killer, kept toolbox photos of young, often expressionless, women; some believed to be dead.

    Key moment: "The photographs in the toolbox were not just that though too. . . multiple co worker accounts describing lots of photos of girls who looked to be teenagers... The images reportedly showed girls appearing to be posing in campsite style backgrounds... looking stiff or mannequin type, you know, dead." —James [66:34]

Trial, Plea, and Aftermath

[71:52–79:04]

• 2016 trial: Prosecution presents print evidence, toolbox photos, witness testimony. Defense argues lack of physical evidence tying him to murder (much lost by police), unknown print on steering column, “prints prove presence, not murder.”

  • Jury: Hung (one holdout).

• 2018 Plea: Alford plea to second-degree reckless homicide (no admission of guilt), avoiding retrial.

  • “I wish someone would have realized long ago this man's mentality. Maybe this would have never happened to Barry.” —Diane Beck, mother [77:09]
  • 10-year sentence, consecutive to drug charges (oxycodone found in boot)—seen as unjustly short by family and prosecution.

• Psycho (“the wrong suspect”) never charged in Barrett’s case, but later imprisoned for attempted murder after stabbing ex-girlfriend in Walmart parking lot [68:17–69:43].

Memorable Quotes

• “If he does—no way. No fucking way. . . This is a practiced thing that he’s doing.” —James [60:57)
• “He just likes to drive and smoke, man.” —Jimmie [57:25]
• “Fingerprints prove presence, not murder.” —Defense [71:55]
• “All the people up north are good people.” —Barrett Beck’s last words to her father [19:04 / 76:24]
• “How do you accidentally go in the evidence locker and start throwing shit away?” —Jimmie [46:43]
• “That is some wild shit. He’s got so many more bodies, I think.” —James [80:16]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Fond du Lac town profile & banter: [03:42–14:32]
• Victim background & disappearance: [14:37–22:06]
• The van: evidence & odometer mystery: [22:06–27:03]
• Body discovered, investigation deepens: [36:21]
• “Psycho” Hron, mistakes & lost evidence: [39:18–47:29]
• Break in the case (prints ID Dennis Brantner): [51:34–56:41]
• Brantner’s MO, toolbox photos, “serial” implications: [56:41–68:11]
• Trial, plea, and family impact: [71:52–79:04]
• Closing reflections & aftermath: [80:16–end]

Tone & Style

• Hosts’ approach: Morbidly humorous, irreverent, sympathetic; frequently break to joke about local customs, police incompetence, and mall culture but maintain deep empathy for victims and their families.
• Plenty of running gags (“Lake cheese,” band names at the festival, psycho’s “menace” status, Kmart mall anchor), pop culture asides, and genuine outrage at law enforcement failures.

Takeaways

• The small town’s quirks and insular nature set the scene for a chilling, long-unsolved crime—highlighting pitfalls of tunnel vision and poor evidence handling.
• The real killer was only found decades later, ironically thanks to modern technology and a file of fingerprints left untouched for years.
• The case raises bigger questions about undetected serial killers along rural American highways and the criminal justice system's failures, but also celebrates a family's resilience and the power of perseverance—delivered with laughter in the face of darkness.

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