Bruce Brenizer is a Wisconsin man who, at 15, shot and killed five members of his family in April 1991 near Cushing in Polk County. He pleaded guilty in 1993 to five counts of first-degree intentional homicide, was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on three of those counts, and received life sentences on the other two. He has been held at the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison ever since, apart from a brief 2013–2017 stretch in state prison that a Wisconsin appellate court later reversed.1Wisconsin Court of Appeals. State v. Brenizer, Court of Appeals Opinion
The 1991 Killings
On April 22, 1991, Brenizer shot five people inside the family’s trailer in rural Polk County. The dead were his father, Rick Brenizer, 35; Rick’s common-law wife, Ruth Berentson, 31; and Ruth’s three daughters, Heidi, 10, Mindi, 7, and Crystal, 6.2Chicago Tribune. Rumors Fly but Murders Still a Puzzle
Investigators said Brenizer had built up serious resentment toward the household. A journal recovered from the home recorded his contempt for living there and his hatred for his father.3Oxygen. Bruce Brenizer Teen Shot Burned Family Why Relatives of Ruth Berentson later told authorities she had complained about friction with Bruce in the weeks before the killings and had considered leaving if Rick did not make his son move out.2Chicago Tribune. Rumors Fly but Murders Still a Puzzle
How the Case Broke
The day after the shootings, Brenizer himself reported the family missing, telling authorities they had driven to the Twin Cities to buy building supplies.2Chicago Tribune. Rumors Fly but Murders Still a Puzzle With help from his stepbrother, Jessie Anderson, he had loaded the bodies into the family’s 1980 station wagon, driven it into the woods, and set it on fire. Anderson also buried bone fragments on his own property.3Oxygen. Bruce Brenizer Teen Shot Burned Family Why
The case sat open for about three weeks. On May 12, 1991, a fisherman found the burned station wagon on an old logging road roughly five miles west of Cushing, with five bodies inside and an empty gasoline can 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 same day, Anderson gave a statement at the Amery Police Department, telling investigators that Brenizer had said, “I did it. I killed them all.” In exchange for a promise that he would not be taken into custody, Anderson led police to the rifle used in the killings, which had been dumped in a nearby pond, along with bone fragments and the car’s license plates.3Oxygen. Bruce Brenizer Teen Shot Burned Family Why
The 1993 Plea
Although he was 15 at the time of the killings, Brenizer 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 that under Wisconsin law sends a defendant to the state mental health system rather than prison. On the other two counts, he was sentenced to life in prison.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 housed at Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison. Under the order, he was to remain there unless the commitment was formally terminated by the committing court under Wisconsin Statute § 971.17(5).1Wisconsin Court of Appeals. State v. Brenizer, Court of Appeals Opinion
Why He’s in a Hospital Instead of Prison
In May 2013, the state moved Brenizer from Mendota to Dodge Correctional Institution, a Department of Corrections prison in Waupun. He challenged the transfer, arguing that his 1993 order required him to stay in mental health custody unless a court terminated the commitment.5CBS News Minnesota. Wisconsin Murderer Mental Hospital
On June 6, 2017, the Wisconsin 3rd District Court of Appeals agreed with him and ordered him returned to the Department of Health and Social Services.6Wausau Pilot and Review. Wisconsin Court Says Killer Should Remain at Mental Hospital The court held that the 1993 order “plainly and unambiguously” required Brenizer to remain in mental health custody for life unless the committing court terminated the commitment. No court had done so, meaning 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 decision, State v. Szulczewski, gave the department discretion to transfer him to prison once he no longer needed inpatient care. The appeals court rejected that reading, holding that Szulczewski could not be applied retroactively to rewrite Brenizer’s 1993 final order, which had clearly made the NGI commitment take precedence over the prison sentences.1Wisconsin Court of Appeals. State v. Brenizer, Court of Appeals Opinion
Where He Is Now
After the 2017 ruling, Brenizer was returned to Mendota Mental Health Institute. He remained there as of early 2022, 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.