The long-awaited trial of Dale Warner, charged with the murder of his wife Dee Warner, in 2021, has begun in Lenawee County, Michigan. According to CBS News Detroit, jury selection, a process that spanned several days, concluded recently with opening statements scheduled for Thursday.
Dee Warner disappeared in April 2021 and was last seen at her Tecumseh home. Her remains were discovered over three years later in August 2024, encased in a welded-shut tank containing anhydrous ammonia on the property of her husband Dale Warner. Fox 2 Detroit reports that Dale was arrested and charged with murder in November 2023, before the body had been found, and a declaration of death trial had to be held, in the absence of a corpse to confirm Dee Warner's demise. "During that timeframe, Dale knew where the body was, knew how he strangled her," attorney Todd Flood said, as per a Fox 2 Detroit interview.
While the discovery of Dee Warner's remains provided a grim closure to the question of her whereabouts, the trial has rippled through the family with a mix of sorrow and anticipation for justice. "It’s been nearly five years and you know it’s been a long battle, but we’re very grateful that we’re there," Dee's brother, Gregg Hardy, told WXYZ. He also expressed both dread and resolve at the prospect of confronting the evidence and the accused.
In response to how the trial may unfold, University of Detroit Mercy Law School Professor Larry Dubin spoke to WXYZ, highlighting the defense's potential strategy. "Or why the location in finding the body, which shows perhaps a connection to the defendant, still might not have involved the defendant. You want to open the minds of the jurors to the possibility that the defendant is now guilty, in this case, first-degree murder," he explained, suggesting that the defense would try to introduce reasonable doubt about Dale Warner's connection to the crime. The trial is set to last approximately seven weeks, and a limited number of witnesses are expected to be called to testify.
Details about the prior charges against Dee's 28-year-old stepson, which were later dismissed, remain uncertain. What is clear, however, is the palpable tension and the weight of expectation resting on the scales of justice as the community, and most poignantly, Dee Warner's loved ones, watch for the outcome of this tragic case.
