Declaration of death ruling in Dee Warner case expected in September

ADRIAN — A determination on whether to legally declare Dee Ann Warner deceased is expected during a court hearing scheduled for Sept. 13.

That ruling will be made by Probate Court Judge Catherine A. Sala, who, for nearly the entirety of the court day Wednesday, heard witness testimony and cross-examination from lawyers regarding Warner’s disappearance and the days leading up to her disappearance more than two years ago.

Warner has been missing from her Munger Road residence in Franklin Township since April 25, 2021.

Warner’s family, for much of the year, has been advocating for her to be declared legally dead after there has been no evidence brought forth of her still being alive.

According to the United States Social Security handbook, a missing person is presumed dead if he or she has been missing from home and has not been heard from for five years or more.

The only witnesses to take the stand Wednesday were Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Daniel Drewyor and Warner’s youngest adult daughter, Rikkel Bock. During previous hearings in the declaration of death matter, other witnesses have come forth with testimony to substantiate the claim that Warner is dead.

Drewyor, who was on the stand for much of the morning, is one of the lead investigators on the missing persons case for Warner. Along with his partner, Detective Sgt. Scott Singleton, Drewyor said the two investigators have devoted all their working time within the past year to the Warner case.

A third member of the investigative team has assisted in the case, as have other state and federal agencies, Drewyor said, including the Secret Service.

The Michigan State Police assumed control of the Warner case in August 2022 at the request of the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office.

More: Michigan State Police officially takes over investigation into Dee Warner disappearance

As part of the yearlong investigation, Drewyor said they have examined Warner’s medical, financial and legal records prior to and in the days following her disappearance.

Warner’s medical records, specifically those from Blue Cross Blue Shield, ProMedica Health Information Management and Henry Ford Health Systems, were investigated to determine if she is deceased or to potentially determine proof of life.

“It would be very likely if she were alive that she would be utilizing her health insurance,” Drewyor said.

Warner had ailments related to chronic migraines and neck and back pain, Drewyor said. She would regularly attend counseling/therapy appointments, she would see a regular care physician, she scheduled semiregular dentist appointments and was prescribed medication related to her ailments.

With the exception of an automatic prescription refill plan being charged to Warner’s account and then subsequently refunded in full after not being picked up, “we have seen no evidence indicating any use of her health insurance,” Drewyor said, since her disappearance.

In studying the basic pattern of her life, Drewyor said Warner may have rescheduled some of her medical appointments, but she was “consistently attending treatment for those ailments on a regular basis.”

State police looked into audits and records related to Warner’s checking and savings accounts and statements for the credit cards that were solely in her name.

If someone were to go missing voluntarily, Drewyor said, that person would need financial means to do so.

Investigations into credit bureaus discovered there has been no activity that would substantiate Warner was using credit cards or opening accounts through her identification since April 25, 2021.

Regular activity was prominent in the financial accounts she solely owned, but then usage stopped after the date of her disappearance.

More: Private investigator in Dee Warner case says money was a motive

Since she disappeared, there has been activity found in the business accounts that were jointly operated by Warner and her husband, Dale, who, Drewyor explained later during testimony, is one of the prime suspects in Warner’s disappearance.

Secretary of State records have been searched and showed no activity in Warner’s name since April 25, 2021, Drewyor said. Law Enforcement Information Network records have also been investigated and show that Warner has not spoken with or made contact with law enforcement members since more than two years ago. Her digital footprint also has not been discovered anywhere in the country.

The work with the Secret Service, he said, has consisted of conducting international queries at major border crossings and facial recognitions.

There have been no results that came back positive from the Secret Service’s findings, Drewyor said.

Much like her financial and medical activity, Warner’s phone activity ceased after April 25, 2021, apart from two instances that have since been discovered to reflect Dale Warner and the business using her phone number. A second phone or an alternate phone number for Dee has not been discovered, Drewyor said.

“Dee Warner is dead, sir,” Drewyor said, when asked by attorney Todd Flood if there is any doubt, question or thought in his mind that she is alive or dead. “... Based off of my experience and that of my partner and the training that the department has given us, Dee Warner is deceased.”

During cross examination, Dale Warner’s attorney, Lawrence Leib, asked Drewyor about the possibility of Dee wearing a facemask during the COVID-19 pandemic if she were discovered at international crossings and how that would affect facial recognition capabilities. Leib also addressed the possibility of Dee being able to sustain herself for more than two years by living off the dark web, which is generally used for illicit or illegal purposes, such as potentially accruing an illegal credit card, driver's license or passport. Drewyor said there is no indication of that happening, having referenced no sign of Warner’s digital footprint.

The possibility of abduction has been ruled out as part of the investigation.

Drewyor said the investigation has also visited morgues in the counties surrounding Lenawee County in search of a body under the name of Dee Warner or the name of “Jane Doe” with the body likeness or resemblance of Warner. There have been no such findings at morgues in Jackson, Monroe, Washtenaw or Wayne counties.

Under the law, Dale and Dee are still married, even though she is still missing, Drewyor said.

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Bock, 29, is the mother of three children ranging in age from 6 to a son who was born May 20, 2023. She said the last time she talked to her mom was April 24, 2021, when she went over to Warner’s Munger Road house to feed her daughter who was only months old at the time.

Dee, Bock said, was “really upset with Dale,” “she was done” and was considering either selling her trucking company and leaving (Dale) or selling the business to Zack Bock, Dee’s son and Rikkel’s brother.

Rikkel Bock clarified upon a request from Flood, the words “done” and “leave” meant Dee was going to divorce Dale and exit the marriage.

Dee and Dale had arguments and fights almost daily, Bock said.

“She couldn’t take it anymore. She was physically and emotionally more drained than I have ever seen her before when it came to their marriage,” Bock said. “That was the last time I talked to her.”

For a period of six months, from October 2020 to April 2021, Rikkel said she saw her mom almost every day.

She described Dee and Dale’s marriage as “extremely toxic” and said it was a common occurrence for her mom to say she wanted to divorce Dale.

“I don’t think it was a secret that their marriage was failing,” she said during cross-examination with Leib.

Because of fights with Dale, Dee had previously left home and stayed away for a couple of days, Bock said. When she would leave home, she would tell somebody where she was going.

“She would never leave somewhere unannounced,” Bock said.

“Do you believe your mom was murdered?” Flood asked.

“Yes,” Rikkel responded, clarifying again that her mom would never voluntarily leave the family without them knowing of her whereabouts.

Dee’s diamond wedding ring, which has been missing and has not been found since her disappearance, was brought forth by Dale on April 25, 2021, at which time he told the family it was left behind by Dee and placed on his work desk. The ring has not been found since then.

According to Leib, Dale Warner is exercising his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

Dale, along with his personal adviser Mark Weisberg, had been held at the Lenawee County Jail for a week because of a civil contempt of court charge. Sala purged the contempt charge as of 10:49 a.m. Wednesday.

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

The contempt of court charge was issued by Sala during an Aug. 9 hearing due to financial statements Dale and Weisberg were not disclosing with Dee’s conservatorship at her order.

Because those requested documents have been presented to the conservatorship, Warner and Weisberg were released from jail.

Warner and Weisberg did not appear for any of the proceedings Wednesday in probate court after being released from jail, even though Sala said it would be best for them to sit in on the proceedings.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Declaration of death ruling in Dee Warner case expected in September