Bruce Brenizer is a Wisconsin man who, at age 15, shot and killed five members of his family in rural Polk County in April 1991. He pleaded guilty in 1993 to five counts of first-degree intentional homicide, with three of those counts resolved by reason of mental disease or defect, and he was committed for life to the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison. He remains at Mendota after a 2017 Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision reversed an attempt to move him into state prison.1Wisconsin Court of Appeals. State v. Brenizer, Court of Appeals Opinion
The 1991 Killings
On April 22, 1991, Brenizer shot five people at the family’s trailer in a rural area near Cushing, Wisconsin. The victims were his father, Rick Brenizer, 35; Rick’s common-law wife, Ruth Berentson, 31; and Ruth’s three daughters: Heidi, 10, and Mindi, 7, from a previous relationship, and Crystal, 6, the daughter Ruth and Rick shared.2Chicago Tribune. Rumors Fly but Murders Still a Puzzle
Investigators later pointed to deep resentment within the household. A journal found at the home recorded Brenizer’s contempt for living there and his hatred for his father.3Oxygen. Bruce Brenizer Teen Shot Burned Family Why Relatives of Ruth Berentson told authorities she had complained of friction in the weeks before the killings and had considered moving out if Rick did not make his son leave the trailer.2Chicago Tribune. Rumors Fly but Murders Still a Puzzle
How Investigators Pieced It Together
The day after the killings, Brenizer himself reported the family missing, telling authorities they had left for the Twin Cities on a shopping trip for building supplies.2Chicago Tribune. Rumors Fly but Murders Still a Puzzle By then he had enlisted his stepbrother, Jessie Anderson, to help clean the scene and dispose of the bodies. The two loaded the victims into the family’s 1980 station wagon, drove it to a wooded area, and set it on fire. Anderson also buried bone fragments on his own property.3Oxygen. Bruce Brenizer Teen Shot Burned Family Why
On May 12, 1991, a fisherman found the burned-out station wagon on an old logging road in a pine barren roughly five miles west of Cushing. Five bodies were inside, and an empty gasoline can lay nearby. The adults were identified through dental records.2Chicago Tribune. Rumors Fly but Murders Still a Puzzle
Brenizer was arrested on May 18, 1991, and held at the Eau Claire juvenile detention center. The break in the case came from Jessie Anderson, who gave a statement to police that same day at the Amery Police Department. Anderson said Brenizer had confessed to him with the words, “I did it. I killed them all.” In exchange for a promise that he would not be taken into custody, Anderson cooperated with authorities and helped them recover the rifle used in the killings from a nearby pond, along with bone fragments and the car’s license plates.3Oxygen. Bruce Brenizer Teen Shot Burned Family Why
The 1993 Plea and Sentence
Although Brenizer was 15 at the time of the killings, he was prosecuted as an adult in Polk County under Case No. 1992CF45.4GovInfo. Anderson v. Discovery Media Co., Case No. 23-cv-392-jdp In 1993, he pleaded guilty to all five counts of first-degree intentional homicide. On three counts he was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, a plea under Wisconsin law that leads to commitment in the state mental health system rather than prison. On the remaining two counts, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.1Wisconsin Court of Appeals. State v. Brenizer, Court of Appeals Opinion
An amended commitment order dated June 11, 1993, placed Brenizer in the custody of the Department of Health and Social Services for life and directed that he be held at Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison. The order specified that he was to remain there unless the commitment was formally terminated by the committing court under Wisconsin Statute ยง 971.17(5).1Wisconsin Court of Appeals. State v. Brenizer, Court of Appeals Opinion
Why He Is in a Mental Hospital, Not Prison
In May 2013, the Department of Health and Social Services transferred Brenizer from Mendota to the Dodge Correctional Institution, a state prison in Waupun operated by the Department of Corrections. Brenizer challenged the move, arguing it violated the 1993 commitment order.5CBS News Minnesota. Wisconsin Murderer Mental Hospital
The circuit court denied his motion, but on June 6, 2017, the Wisconsin 3rd District Court of Appeals reversed and ordered him returned to the custody of the Department of Health and Social Services.6Wausau Pilot and Review. Wisconsin Court Says Killer Should Remain at Mental Hospital The appellate court found that the 1993 commitment order “plainly and unambiguously” required Brenizer to remain in mental health custody for life unless the commitment was terminated by the committing court. Because no court had ever terminated that commitment, the department had no authority to move him to prison.1Wisconsin Court of Appeals. State v. Brenizer, Court of Appeals Opinion
The state had argued that a 1998 appellate decision, State v. Szulczewski, gave the department discretion to transfer Brenizer to prison once he no longer needed inpatient treatment, because his criminal sentences ran alongside the commitment. The Court of Appeals rejected that view, holding that Szulczewski could not be applied retroactively to override Brenizer’s 1993 final order. The committing court had intended the NGI commitment to take precedence over the prison sentences, and that intent controlled.1Wisconsin Court of Appeals. State v. Brenizer, Court of Appeals Opinion
Where Brenizer Is Now
After the 2017 ruling, Brenizer was ordered back to Mendota Mental Health Institute. As of early 2022, he remained at that facility, serving consecutive life sentences.3Oxygen. Bruce Brenizer Teen Shot Burned Family Why He became eligible for parole in January 2023. The available record does not indicate that parole has been granted.