LENAWEE COUNTY, Mich. – The man accused of murdering his wife and hiding her body inside a large anhydrous tank in Lenawee County appeared in court Monday.
Currently, Dale Warner is set to stand trial on Sept. 2, 2025. He faces murder and tampering with evidence charges.
Dee Warner, 52, was reported missing on April 25, 2021. She told her friend she was going to meet up with her husband, Dale, and was never seen or heard from again.
Her remains were found on Aug. 18, 2024, in Lenawee County and were positively identified three days later.
Dale’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss his tampering with evidence charge.
The attorneys claimed evidence was not presented during the preliminary examination to explain why he was charged with tampering with evidence. They claimed the prosecutors were attempting a “trial by ambush” for not presenting the evidence during the preliminary hearing.
The judge said he is still reviewing the preliminary examination and will release his written decision as soon as he possibly can.
Dale’s son, Jaron Warner, also appeared in court earlier on Monday, where his preliminary examination was scheduled for April 4, 2025. Jaron faces charges of tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact.
Where did police find remains?
Police found Warner’s remains inside a large anhydrous tank that was hidden inside a barn in Lenawee County.
Her brother, Gregg Hardy, said he had asked authorities to look in the tanks. He believed his sister’s husband, Dale Warner, might have hidden her body inside.
“In the dark of night, in a building that had no cameras -- slide her body in there, put the end cap back on it, and weld it completely shut,” Hardy said. “Then attach that to a chassis, paint it, even have the gall to put his logo on it to make it look like it was normal, and then took it and stored it with other tanks so it would like it was just another one of the fleet.”
The property where Warner’s body was found belonged to her husband, but it wasn’t where she lived before her disappearance.
Dale Warner owns several pieces of property in Lenawee County, and the one where his wife’s body was found is about four miles from where she lived on Mugner Road in Tipton.
That explains why it took so long for police to search this particular property, even though Dale Warner had already been charged with open murder and tampering with evidence.
Officials conducted several searches over the past three years, and it’s likely that many of them took place at properties owned by Dale Warner.
What family believes happened
When Dee Warner’s family spoke, they said they believe she was killed by her husband in the home they shared. They think Dale Warner then took her to the property four miles away and placed her in the anhydrous tank.
Hardy said Dale Warner stowed his sister’s body in “a steel tomb.”
“You know, my sister was a very strong person,” Hardy said. “She’s probably dead because she thought she could fix this guy.”
