Dale Warner: His Own Security Cameras are Being Used Against Him

Dale Warner. Photo by Tracy Stengel.

Dale Warner claims he didn’t kill his wife, Dee Ann Warner, but the prosecution is presenting an abundance of evidence that says otherwise. Today, in Lenawee County Circuit Court, much of that evidence came from Dale’s own surveillance cameras. Ironically, those are cameras Dee insisted on having installed.

Ivan Boyd worked for War-Ag, Dale’s farming business, for four years until shortly after Dee vanished. He handled field work, made deliveries, did light maintenance, drove truck and any other tasks that needed to be done.

Ivan testified Dale mainly took care of spraying fertilizer and planting. Two employees did most of the welding, and occasionally, Ivan would do small welding jobs. Over the years, he only saw Dale welding once or twice.

Welding plays a pivotal role in this case. After Dee was reported missing for over 3 years, her remains were found in an anhydrous tank on Dale’s property. One end had been cut off and after her body had been inserted, the tank was rewelded shut.

Dee was reported missing on April 25, 2021, the day after she planned to tell Dale she wanted a divorce. Ivan was on the Warner farm that day. It was the first Sunday he had off in weeks, and he and his brother had come over to work on Ivan’s truck in the barn known as the Old Shop. It is one of many outbuildings on the property.

According to Ivan, any welding done on the farm is done in the Old Shop. That is where several welders are kept. On a shelf, many items that come in handy while welding are readily available. Cans of spray paint to avoid the welded area from rusting, often used tools, wrenches, and lubricant. In the back storage area of the Old Shop, there are portable welders, tow hooks, steel hooks, hitches, and more.

The prosecution played a high-speed version of the surveillance video captured on the Warner farm the day Dee disappeared.  

Right away, the video contradicted Dale’s version of his movements that day. He told police he woke up around 6:00 AM and was walking out the door around 7:00 AM to spray fertilizer on his customers' farm fields. When he left, Dee was snoring on the couch.

At 6:58 AM, the surveillance footage shows Dale on the JCB, also called the front-end loader. Ivan identified Dale and noted something unusual – he wasn’t wearing a hat. “I can count on one hand how many times I’ve see Dale outside of the house without a hat,” Ivan said.

At 7:30 AM, Dale is driving around on a forklift. It isn’t until 11:18 AM that cameras catch Dale on the sprayer. At 12:43 PM, there is footage of Dale entering the Old Shop where Ivan and his brother are working on the truck.

Ivan recalls seeing Dale 3 or 4 times that day but only remembers one conversation clearly. Dale told him that Dee had left and taken some of her things. He expressed concern about where she may be.

Cameras show Dale driving numerous vehicles and pieces of machinery throughout the day including the Kabota, versatile tractor, corn planter, sprayer, and the front-end loader. They are being moved in and out of buildings, parked to the side, and then moved again.

There were some notable moments:

• Around 1:00 PM Jaron Warner, Dale’s son arrives to the farm.

• Dale is caught on camera gathering a welding mask, welding gloves, an angle grinder, a chain, and possibly some kind of hook.  

• Dale drives the front-end loader past the camera with a welder in the bucket.

• At 4:29 PM Dale’s Kabota and Todd Neyrinck’s truck are driving towards the road.

We know from previous testimony and video presented by the prosecution that by Tuesday, April 27, 2021, there is a tank in the back of the Sprayer Barn. When police arrive to talk to Dale, he asked them to step out because he needed to spray the floor down.

Ivan testified tanks were never kept in the sprayer barn. They were either stored outside on the main Warner farm or on their other properties on Carson Highway and Paragon Road.

According to Ivan, caution is needed when working with anhydrous ammonia. Goggles are worn to protect eyes. Gloves are needed to avoid contact with skin which could cause burns. Stand upwind – breathing it in can scar your lungs.

Ivan identified Dale with an angle grinder and identified a plasma grinder Dale had in the barn. Ivan said either could be used to cut open a tank. The plasma cutter would be faster, but the angle grinder would make a straighter cut. Ivan said it wouldn’t take long with either device. One melts steel, the other cuts it.

Ivan only heard Dale yell at an employee one time. “They absolutely deserved it,” Ivan said.

Ivan agreed Dale kept his emotions in check. “Everything is calculated out,” Ivan said.

Ivan did not see Dale doing anything with a tank that day, although Ivan was busy working on his truck. For him, it was, “just another day.”

Jim Hawkins testified he began working part-time for Dale Warner in 2013. He went to full-time in 2016 and is still employed. He mainly works in the Old Shop. He’s in charge of getting anhydrous tanks ready to use. Jim makes sure as the tanks are emptied, they are refilled by two huge tanks on the property named "the Mother" and "the Nurse." Jim estimated the Mother tank holds 30,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia.

In his years of working with the tanks Jim has never painted one or cut the end off one. If a tank was leaking, he would try to fix it outside where it’s ventilated. Never inside.

When shown a picture of tank #34, where Dee’s body was found, Jim said he’d never seen an angle bracket over the pop-off valve.

A pop-off valve releases pressure in the tank to prevent an explosion or leak.

Jim said nobody welds or paints in the Sprayer Barn.

Witness testimony continues Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 9:00 AM.

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