Dale Warner: Drone Catches Him Moving Tank

Dee Ann Warner. Photo courtesy of Parker Hardy.

Opening statements and testimony began today in Dale Warner’s trial. He is charged with open murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his wife, Dee Ann Warner, who was reported missing April 25, 2021.

David McCreedy, of the prosecution, began by showing a close-up picture of the victim on a large screen. Dee had a vibrant smile with a splash of sunshine on her face.

McCreedy said Dee died of strangulation and blunt force trauma to the face and head. Her remains were found in an anhydrous ammonia tank on Dale’s property. Her face and head were bound in duct tape. She wore pajamas and was wrapped in a tarp.

When Dale and Dee first got together, they were working at Crop Production Services. Both Dale and Dee were married to other people and had four children each. Once they divorced and married each other, they had a daughter together.

Dale and Dee had several businesses. They had a farm and a fertilizing business. Dee had a trucking company.

McCreedy showed an overview of the Warner home and property. Besides for the large house, there were various buildings including two shops, an office, dry chemical barn, and the spray barn. There was a burn pile area where two large tanks sat that held tens of thousands of gallons of anhydrous ammonia. Smaller tanks were lined up nearby. They would get filled from the big ones before Dale went out to fertilize crops.

McCreedy told the jury Dale had a pattern of stalking. Dale’s son-in-law helped him purchase a tracker to put on Dee’s vehicle and provided a camera that was set up in the home. Dale broke into Dee’s safe and bought a duplicate to replace it without her knowledge.

Friday evening, two days before Dee was reported missing, she had a run-in with Todd and Terry Neyrinck. The Neyrinck brothers both worked for Dee’s trucking company. Saturday morning, Terry Neyrinck’s wife, who is also named Terri, sent Dee a scathing text message telling Dee to stay out of their business. She berated Dee’s business acumen and called Dee evil and nosey. Terri also said Dale told her and her husband Dee takes Xanax because she’s a mess.

On Saturday night, Dee’s friend picked up their nine-year-old daughter for a sleepover with her cousin. Dee had told several people she was going to tell Dale she wanted a divorce and to sell the trucking company.

According to Dale, he got home that night and Dee was still upset about the argument with the Neyrincks. She was furious that he had told them she took Xanax. She wouldn’t let it go. She took some pills for a migraine and Dale rubbed her shoulders. When she fell asleep, he put her on the couch and went to bed. Dee was still on the couch snoring when he left for work Sunday morning.

McCreedy showed video footage of that Sunday morning. Dale got on a front-end loader, also called a JCB, and headed back to the house. Witnesses would later see the JCB tracks but there weren't cameras situated to show him driving up to the house.

Dale later told law enforcement he returned to the house to retrieve a tool he had forgotten.

At 7:08 AM Dale used the MyCadillac app to unlock Dee’s Escalade in the garage. Dee always locked her purse in the car, but authorities never found her purse.

At 7:14 AM, Dale took the JCB to the spray barn. At this point, Dee’s phone was off forever. It’s last location was on their Munger Road property. At 7:45 Dale got in the sprayer and left to spray the neighbor’s field. He returned at 8:15 AM to reload and left again.

When Dee’s daughter arrived with her family for their usual Sunday morning breakfast, Dee wasn’t there. She called her siblings. After searching for Dee, calling everyone they could think of, and checking surveillance cameras, they were very worried. That evening, they made a missing person report without telling Dale.

At 6:55 PM, Deputy Hall went to the Warner farm. Dale told him Dee had left many times, but this time was different. She didn’t take their daughter, she left her wedding ring, and didn’t take either of her vehicles.

McCreedy showed surveillance footage of Dale gathering welding accessories, including a mask and gloves, on Sunday. Police consulted a welding expert who said if a welder wore short sleeves, he would have a sunburn the next day.

On Tuesday, Detective Greca and Dale walked around the property together. His body cam showed a tank with a bad weld near the burn pile. McCreedy also showed a still shot of the body cam footage depicting a sunburn a few inches above Dale’s wrist to his elbow area.

Police returned Tuesday evening with a search warrant and announced they were bringing dogs. Dale wasn’t there, so Jaron, Dale’s son, left to get him. When they returned, police were conducting a search. One officer ran a drone over the property and captured footage of Dale getting on the JCB and moving a tank from the burn pile area to the sprayer barn.  

Police later learned from Dale’s iPad that in May 2021, he did an internet search for how to dispose of a 1,000-gallon propane tank. A propane tank is very similar to an anhydrous ammonia tank.

When Michigan State Police discovered Dee’s body, Dale’s fingerprints were on the back of the sticker that reads, “AMMONIA” on the end of the tank.

McCreedy’s opening statement lasted about two hours.

The defense’s opening statement, made by Marisa Vinsky, lasted about 8 minutes.

Ms. Vinsky said the prosecution had nothing on Dale except speculation, assumption, and innuendo. No concrete evidence. “Imagination does not replace proof,” she said.

Ms. Vinsky cast doubt that Dale could cut the end off the tank, put Dee inside, reweld the tank, and repaint it in the time the prosecution is claimed it happened. “The government will try to force a timeline that doesn’t fit,” she said.

At several points throughout the day on Sunday there were up to seven other people on the farm besides Dale.

Amber Million, Dee’s eldest daughter, was the first to testify. On Saturday, April 24, 2021, Dee came over to Amber’s house three times. The second time was between 11:00 and noon. Dee was hysterically crying about the text message Terri Neyrinck had sent.

Amber was working remotely as a triage nurse, checking on patients from the desk in her bedroom. After Dee showed her the text, Dee went in the adjacent bathroom and threw up. She kept saying, “I’m done. We’re selling everything. I’m done.”

Amber couldn’t count how many arguments Dale and Dee had in their 15-year marriage, but she’d never seen Dee that upset. Dee tried to pull herself together to go for her eyelash appointment. Dee came back afterward, and Amber was still working. Dee did some cleaning, laundry, and attended to the kids.

Amber said her mother always looked put together. “She never left the house without her make-up and her hair done.” She also said Dee would never leave the house in pajamas.

On cross examination, Amber agreed Dee could be dramatic and it wasn’t unusual for Dee to argue. Dee often referred to Dale as, “That a**hole.”

Kelli Stewart, Dee’s eyelash technician was the next to take the stand. She said Dee’s phone rang twice while she was getting her lashes done. The second time it was from Dale and Dee didn’t answer. Kelli said it was hard to put her lashes on because Dee was crying. Dee made two more appointments before she left.

On cross examination, Kelli said she had never seen red marks or bruising on Dee.

Dee’s daughter, Rikkell, was the third to testify. She lives behind the Warner farm. While her house was being remodeled, she went to Dee’s house almost every day. Dee helped watch her kids, do laundry, and with dinners. On Sundays, Dee would have Rikkell’s family over for breakfast and then go grocery shopping.

Over the years, Rikkell witnessed many fights between Dale and Dee. Whenever Dale tried to massage Dee’s shoulders, Dee would get uncomfortable. Rikkell said Dee would, “almost freeze.”

The day before Dee disappeared, Rikkell came over for a visit around 4:00 PM. Dee was in a chair and very upset. “Almost a shell of herself,” Rikkell said.

Dee told her she was going to leave Dale and sell the trucking company.

The next morning when she came over for breakfast, Dee was gone. She notified her siblings. When Dale arrived to the farm, he told Rikkell Dee had left her wedding ring. He asked if Rikkell knew Dee had a secret phone. Dale told her Dee had been leaving in the middle of the night. He said Dee had pills everywhere. Dale said, “Everything I’ve worked for is gone.”

Rikkell testified Dale said he and Dee had barely fought the night before. He had given Dee a massage and put her on the couch. He recited his wedding vows to Dee.

Rikkell wanted to call the police. Dale resisted, saying she would come back, and they should wait a day.  

On cross examination, Rikkell said she didn’t notice any stains on the carpet or couch.

Rikkell agreed Dee was a yeller and that it was common for Dee to leave. Dee started talking about divorce before she got married. She agreed Dee liked attention and was dramatic.

But the day before, Dee had been different than she usually was when she and Dale were arguing. “My mom is a reactor. She’s going to yell and have an argument. This time, she was almost calm.”

Amy Alexander was the last person to testify. Amy is engaged to Dale’s brother, Bill. They have been together since 2011 and have a daughter a couple of years younger than Dale and Dee’s daughter. The two cousins were very close. Amy offered to take their daughter to have a sleepover while Dale and Dee hashed things out.

Amy arrived at the Warner home at 7:42 PM on Saturday with her daughter and her daughter’s friend. She talked to Dee on the deck. “I could tell she had been crying. She had, like, red blotchy spots on her neck,” Amy said. She described Dee’s eyes as, “puffy and swollen.”

Amy said Dee would never leave the house in pajamas. Her clothes, make-up, and jewelry were always put together.

On cross examination, Amy said Dee had talked about not wanting to work so much. She wanted to spend more time with her grandkids.

She only saw verbal arguments between Dale and Dee. It was always Dee yelling. Not Dale.

The judge dismissed the jury around 3:00 PM. Testimony is expected to continue tomorrow at 9:00 AM.

For background on the case, you can start here.  For daily trial updates, go to www.justiceforallmag.com.