Dale Warner appears in court after charged with wife Dee Warner's murder

ADRIAN — Dale John Warner had his first formal appearance Wednesday morning after being arrested Tuesday on charges that he murdered his wife, Dee Ann Warner, and tampered with the evidence.

The arrest came about 941 days after the Michigan State Police say Dale Warner murdered Dee Warner on or about April 25, 2021, at their home in Franklin Township. That is the last day anyone saw Dee Warner. Some family members went to meet her for breakfast the next day, and she wasn’t home. They reported her missing not long after. Dee Warner's family has said on the night she went missing she was going to tell Dale that she was going to divorce him.

Lenawee County sheriff’s detectives started the investigation, then in August 2022 the state police accepted a request from Sheriff Troy Bevier to take over the case. State police detectives arrested Dale Warner Tuesday at his home.

Warner, 58, is charged with open murder and tampering with evidence. He is being held in the Lenawee County Jail on $20 million bonds, $15 million on the murder charge and $5 million on the tampering charge.

The open murder charge allows a jury to decide the degree of murder, should the case go to trial.

After the murder, “Dale Warner altered, disposed of and destroyed the evidence,” said the affidavit of probable cause from the state police in the case’s district court file.

Dee Warner’s body has not been found.

“Working a no body homicide brings on unique challenges. The detectives on this case have done a phenomenal job with the investigation, and working collaboratively with the Lenawee County Prosecutor,” Detective 1st Lt. Michael Dillon, commander of the state police’s First District Special Investigative Section, said in a news release. “I have the utmost confidence in this case moving forward.”

More: Michigan State Police conducting searches in Dee Warner missing person case

“I am extremely proud of the tireless work our detectives have put in to solve this case,” Capt. Steve O’Neill, commander state police’s First District Headquarters, said in the release. “With incredible determination, they have pieced together a very difficult case culminating with an arrest. This arrest is another step in our investigation, and we will continue our efforts to bring closure to the family and to find Dee Warner’s remains so that her family can lay her to rest.”

Detectives will continue to pursue leads and tips pertaining to the investigation, the release said. Anyone with information can contact the state police’s Monroe Post at 734-242-3500.

A bond hearing is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 27, and a probable cause conference is set for Wednesday, Nov. 29. A preliminary examination is scheduled for Dec. 6, but Lenawee County District Judge Laura J. Schaedler and one of Dale Warner’s attorneys, Mary Chartier of Okemos, on Wednesday acknowledged that the exam likely will take place sometime later than that due to the nature of the case.

Chartier entered not guilty pleas on Warner’s behalf during his arraignment Wednesday in Lenawee County District Court. Warner appeared by video from the jail. Chartier and Warner’s co-counsel, Shawn Head of Farmington Hills, appeared in person. Schaedler also appeared remotely, explaining that she was filling in for District Judge Todd M. Morgan.

Chartier asked Schaedler to address possibly reducing the bond ahead of the scheduled bond hearing. She said Warner has no criminal record, is not a flight risk, has family in the area and is not a threat to anyone. She said having Warner wear a GPS tracking device would be acceptable.

“It’s no surprise that he was arrested just before Thanksgiving where he would have to spend a few days in jail just before a bond hearing,” Chartier said.

Schaedler said she was not involved in the process to authorize the arrest warrant and that she had a couple of concerns about releasing Warner. First, procedurally, there was not a representative from the Lenawee County Prosecutor’s Office at the arraignment who could argue the prosecution’s position on the bond. Prosecuting attorneys usually do not attend arraignments because typically the defendants are read their rights and the charges against them and the next court dates are set.

Schaedler also said she was concerned about the tampering charge and that releasing Warner would give him an opportunity to further tamper with evidence that might not have been discovered by investigators.

Chartier said it is unlikely that there is any other evidence to be found after police searched all properties available to Warner.

Schaedler asked about the status of the proceedings in Lenawee County Probate Court to declare Dee Warner deceased.

More: Husband of missing woman Dee Warner jailed on contempt charge

More: Dale Warner jailed on criminal contempt of court charge in Dee Warner missing person case

Head said there hasn’t been a ruling since those proceedings concluded in mid-September.

Schaedler recalled a murder case where charges were filed without a body being found, then hunters discovered the body while the case was proceeding.

“Evidence seems to find its way in the most opportune or inopportune moments,” she said, concluding that she would revisit the bond at the hearing Monday and Warner would stay in jail for the weekend.

“We’ll keep him right where he’s at,” she said.

Warner said little during the hearing, responding to “yes” or “no” questions from Schaedler about whether he understood what was happening.

About half of the courtroom’s gallery was filled with Dee Warner’s relatives and friends. Family friend Katherine Adams told reporters outside the courtroom that Dale Warner’s posture, with slumped shoulders as he sat in a video conference room at the jail, made him look “a little defeated.” She approved of Warner spending Thanksgiving in jail, since Dee Warner isn’t with her family.

“I don’t think he deserves to have Thanksgiving with his family,” she said.

This case “isn’t about somebody against somebody,” Dee Warner’s brother, Gregg Hardy, told reporters. “This is about right and wrong. This is about accountability, and if we don’t have accountability in this society, then we don’t have a society. There are plenty of cases out there that are not solved. We’re trying to get this one solved and bring justice.”

Dee was a fighter, Hardy said.

“She’d be very proud of us,” he said. “She would be specifically very proud of the people who fought for her. Many friends have shown up, an amazing number of people that she’s helped at some point. She would be extremely grateful for that.”

Hardy shared that Dee’s sister, Amber, for the first time since Dee disappeared, was able to have supervised visitation with Dee’s youngest daughter on Thursday. The rest of the family has not been allowed to spend time with the girl.

“That’s a real shame that that’s been a part of this case. It just adds to the agony of why? Why would you do that,” Hardy said. “If you were innocent, why would you eliminate the contact of the other family who were very close? That’s ridiculous.”

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Hardy said the prosecution hasn’t shared with him what information led to charges being filed.

“I think this is a culmination of a tremendous amount of circumstantial evidence in which everything points in one direction,” he said.

Hardy said he expects Dale Warner’s attorneys to mount a defense.

First up will be the bond hearing.

“We hope that the facts, or more specifically the lack of evidence, are brought to light on Monday and that a reasonable bond is set for Mr. Warner,” Chartier said.

While discovery has not yet been shared from the prosecution, Chartier said after the hearing, the main difference in this case from most murder cases is the lack of evidence, specifically Dee Warner’s body, against Dale Warner.

“My understanding of the facts and the lack of evidence are that this prosecution is being driven by emotion and speculation more than facts and logic,” Chartier said.

There has been a push to have Dale Warner charged, Chartier said

“The family has been very aggressive in viewing Mr. Warner as a suspect from the beginning,” she said. “When you have a family that is emotionally charged — and of course they would be, their loved one is missing — that can put a lot of pressure on a prosecutor’s office.”

On Tuesday, Hardy acknowledged that he has been very demanding of investigators.

"I'm man enough to be appreciative of the facts that we have now in front of us, and that is brought out, obviously, by the arrest," he said. "My gratefulness to all those people who have worked so hard to get there."

Hardy said Wednesday that a rally regarding the case will proceed as planned at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 26, at the old Lenawee County Courthouse.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Dale Warner in court after charged with Dee Warner's murder