ADRIAN, MICH. (WWJ) A jury heard opening arguments in the murder trial of Dale Warner. He is charged with First Degree Murder for allegedly killing his wife, Dee Warner, and hiding her body for years in an industrial fertilizer tank on his Lenawee County property.
Dale Warner, 58, is on trial for First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder and Tampering with Evidence.The trial began Thursday, January 12, in 39th Circuit Court in Adrian. Authorities allege he strangled his then 52-year-old wife to death in April 2021 at the home they shared in Franklin Township on Munger Road. Family reported her missing four days later.
Authorities discovered remains on Dale's property-- inside a large sealed, industrial fertilizer tank--in August 2024. The Jackson County Medical Examiner positively identified the remains as Dee Warner via her dental records and ruled her death a homicide.
During opening arguments, Assistant Lenawee County Prosecutor David McCreedy argued the condition of her body proves Dale's intent.
"She was strangled. She had blunt force trauma to the face and head, enough to have killed her. She had duct tape over her face and neck. She was in her pajamas, wrapped in a tarp, welded in a tank..." he said.
McCreedy said it's difficult to prove Dale's motive. However, he said she announced intentions to end her marriage and sell her trucking business the night before she went missing.
"Dale (told the police) that (the night before) he recited back to Dee their wedding vows...for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, etc.," McCreedy said. "He also said he as sure as Hell wasn't getting divorced again. He had already done that."
McCreedy showed the jury photos of Dale's Munger Road property--shared texts from Dale to Dee that illustrated a marriage in decline ("we don't even talk anymore. we're just roommates.") and suggested he stalked his wife, by tracking her car thousands of times.
However, the defense team argued the linchpin of the prosecution's argument centered on the night of the murder and fell apart under close examination. Defense Attorney Marisa Vinsky called the prosecution's case "speculative and assumptive."
"This is a giant anhydrous ammonia tank. Its size and weight are significant," Vinsky said. "And all this is supposedly being done while Mr. Warner is doing other chores."
She argued witnesses were present on the farm at all times the day of the alleged murder, including workers and a delivery driver who arrived as early as 4 a.m.
"This case is not about what might have happened," Vinsky said. "It's about what the evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt."
Police arrested Dale in connection with Dee's disappearance in November 2023. Prosecutors charged him with Open Murder and Tampering with Evidence, even though Dee's body had not been found at that point. She was declared dead in March 2024.
She was a mother to five children, including a daughter she shared with Dale and four others from a previous marriage; a grandmother; and a business owner.