Murder defendant Dale Warner's attorneys given time to review evidence

ADRIAN — Dale Warner's attorneys were given time Wednesday to review evidence and work out procedural matters as the murder case against him proceeds in Lenawee County Circuit Court.

Dale Warner, 56, is charged with open murder and tampering with evidence related to the death of his wife, Dee Warner. She had been missing for more than three years, but her remains were found last month, sealed in an old anhydrous ammonia tank. Michigan State Police located the tank on farm property Dale Warner owns about 2 miles from the Warners' residence and farm on Munger Road in Franklin Township. Police had the tank X-rayed in Detroit at the U.S.-Canada border, which showed a body inside. Analysis of the remains, which included a comparison of dental records, confirmed the remains are Dee, state police and Dee's family reported.

Circuit Judge Michael R. Olsaver noted that the court has received the transcripts from the preliminary examination that took place in May and June in Lenawee County District Court.

Dale Warner's lead attorney, Mary Chartier of Okemos, told Olsaver that she and Lenawee County Prosecutor Jackie Wyse plan to meet Tuesday, Sept. 10, to review evidence in the case that has not yet been shared with the defense.

"We know that there is some discovery that we don't have, not for any nefarious purpose, just because lots of things have been going back and forth. Also we know we're missing some discovery from the most recent events; we did receive some yesterday," Chartier said. She and Warner appeared in court by video, he from the Lenawee County Jail where he is being held on a $15 million bond.

Chartier also said she expects there to be "a pretty vigorous motion practice" once they have all of the discovery and have reviewed the preliminary exam transcripts. She and Wyse also are working on a protective order related to items from the border.

Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.

"We're moving along as best we can at this stage, but we do know there are some outstanding matters," Chartier said.

Wyse, who was in the courtroom, suggested scheduling another pretrial hearing in about 60 days to give Chartier time to determine what motions she might file.

Olsaver scheduled the next hearing for Oct. 30 to accommodate Chartier's schedule, with the understanding she may need to reschedule depending on how another case she is working on proceeds.

Dee Warner, 52, was last seen alive April 24, 2021, at home. Investigators suspect Dale murdered her during an argument that night, then hid her body. He was arrested last November.

Witnesses testified during the exam that Dee planned to tell Dale she wanted a divorce, and he told police that they argued, he calmed her down and he saw her asleep on a living room sofa early the next morning when he went out to work the fields. Her adult children reported her missing the next day after she was not at home when her adult daughter arrived on the morning of April 25 for their usual Sunday breakfast together and she was not at a house her son owned where she sometimes would go when she and Dale argued. Dee and Dale's young daughter had spent the night with a family friend.

Dale told investigators that the first he heard about Dee being missing was when her office assistant and friend called him later that morning and told him she and Dee's children couldn't find her. The judge who bound the case over to circuit court, Visiting Judge Anna M. Frushour from Washtenaw County, found that the timeline Warner provided to investigators did not line up with digital evidence presented during the exam, particularly cellphone data showing Dale's phone was used to unlock Dee Warner's Cadillac Escalade, access the Warners' farm's security cameras and look for Dee's iPhone between 7:14 a.m. and 8:49 a.m. April 25, 2021, reportedly as he started to look for her, Frushour said. All of that took place before Dee was found to be missing by her adult children.

Text messages from Dee and statements by relatives and friends about the Warners' deteriorating marriage, abuse and controlling behavior by Dale also support probable cause to believe Dale murdered Dee, Frushour said.

After the case was bound over to circuit court, Chartier said they believe Dale has been wrongfully accused.

— 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's attorneys get time to review evidence in Dee Warner case