Michigan Farmer Found Guilty of Murdering Wife, Hiding Body in Tank

A Michigan jury convicted Dale Warner of second-degree murder for killing his wife Dee, whose remains were discovered in a farm fertilizer tank three years after she vanished. The case gained national attention through crime podcasts and TV shows.

A Michigan jury has delivered a guilty verdict against a farmer who murdered his wife and concealed her body in an agricultural tank for years after her disappearance.

Dale Warner was found guilty Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder and evidence tampering in the death of his wife Dee Warner, whose remains were located in a rural Michigan farm tank in 2024, three years following her disappearance.

The trial revealed details of a dysfunctional marriage between the couple, although Warner’s defense team stressed the absence of physical evidence directly connecting him to the killing. The high-profile case attracted attention from true crime podcasts and television programs.

Community members in Lenawee County, located approximately 70 miles southwest of Detroit, displayed signs and banners throughout the area demanding “Justice For Dee.”

The 52-year-old Dee Warner vanished in April 2021. Authorities filed murder charges against Dale Warner over two years later, even though investigators had not yet located her body at that time. Her remains were eventually found inside a fertilizer tank in 2024, which bore a handwritten note stating “out of service” and “do not fill.”

Medical examination results revealed that Dee Warner died from strangulation and blunt force injuries.

During closing arguments, Prosecutor Jackie Wyse argued that Dale Warner made deliberate choices after realizing what occurred, telling jurors he could have contacted emergency services and admitted “I screwed up,” but instead sealed Dee Warner’s mouth and nose with tape, preventing her from breathing.

“Those were all conscious decisions,” Wyse said.

Defense lawyer Mary Chartier maintained there was sufficient reasonable doubt, pointing out that Dale Warner consistently cooperated with investigators throughout the search and repeatedly denied harming his spouse. She noted his work background in farming and transportation.

“You are not here to judge Mr. Warner as a husband,” Chartier told the jury. “You may think he was a bad husband, a not-very-attentive husband, whatever you may think of him.”