A Michigan jury has found a man guilty of murdering his wife after her remains were shockingly discovered in a farm fertilizer tank, concluding a case that has captured national attention for years.
On Tuesday, Dale Warner was convicted of second-degree murder and evidence tampering following a gripping trial.
Warner faced charges in 2023, over two years after his wife, 52-year-old Dee Warner, disappeared from their Franklin Township home in April 2021.
The breakthrough in the case came in 2024 when authorities uncovered her remains in a rural Michigan fertilizer tank, which was marked with warnings reading “out of service” and “do not fill.”
The trial saw Warner convicted of second-degree murder and evidence tampering in connection with Dee Warner’s tragic death. Her body was discovered in a fertilizer tank in rural Michigan, a detail that added a chilling element to the case. (Photo credit: Jacob Hamilton/Jackson Citizen Patriot via AP, File)
Throughout the trial, the defense contended there was a lack of physical evidence directly linking Warner to the murder of his wife.
An autopsy showed Dee Warner was strangled and suffered blunt force trauma.
Her disappearance and murder trial received widespread attention, including on true-crime podcasts and TV shows.
Dale Warner was found guilty by a jury in the 2021 killing of his wife, Dee Warner, after her remains were discovered in 2024.
“Justice for Dee” signs and banners were hung around Lenawee County, roughly 70 miles southwest of Detroit.
Prosecutors described a stressed marriage between Dee and Dale Warner, though the defense team argued that was irrelevant.
Prosecutor Jackie Wyse argued in court that Dale Warner could have called 911 and said, “I screwed up,” after realizing what happened to his wife, but then taped her mouth and nose, preventing her from breathing.
Dee Warner, 52, went missing from her Franklin Township home in April 2021. Her remains were located three years later in rural Michigan. (Facebook/Dee Warner)
“Those were all conscious decisions,” Wyse said.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Mary Chartier argued there was reasonable doubt in the case.
She said that Dale Warner denied hurting his wife and cooperated with investigators during the search.
“You are not here to judge Mr. Warner as a husband,” Chartier said during the trial. “You may think he was a bad husband, a not-very-attentive husband, whatever you may think of him.”
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