Dale Warner Views Autopsy Pics of His "Soulmate"

Dale Warner moments before viewing his wife's autopsy pics. Photo by Tracy Stengel.

The prosecution kicked off the fifth day of witness testimony in the Dale Warner murder trial with more footage of law enforcement interviewing Dale. Dee Ann Warner, Dale’s wife, disappeared from their Tecumseh, Michigan farm on April 25, 2021. It didn’t take long for her family and friends to believe Dale was responsible based on years of marital discord and domestic violence. Frustrated there had been no arrest, the community rallied on August 1, 2022, for Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office to hand the case over to Michigan State Police.

In August 2024, Dee’s remains were found in a rewelded anhydrous ammonia tank on Dale’s property.

Today, prosecutors called Det. Lt. Drewyor to the stand. He was the lead detective after the case went to MSP. The prosecution showed a December 2022 video of Det. Drewyor and Det. Singleton interviewing Dale. He was accompanied by his lawyer at the time, Lawrence Leib.

“She is my soulmate. I love her,” Dale told detectives.

When asked to describe Dee, Dale said she was beautiful and added, “Seductive, and the sweetest person in the world – then she could be Satan in two seconds.”

Dale admitted hollering back and forth was common but, “there was no violence. Not at all.”

Although he believed she left with someone else, he didn’t think there was another man. “I’d still like to believe my wife was true to me,” he said. Although there had been rumors, Dale said, “I’m not going to believe any of it until she’s in front of me and can answer.”

Dale denied he put a tracking device on Dee’s Hummer. He called it a “diagnostic device.” Besides, he could use OnStar to track her Escalade. “She was paranoid. She didn’t want anyone to know where she was at,” Dale said.

Dale told detectives Dee had a “high functioning borderline personality.”

Dale and Dee went to marriage counseling and agreed to never say the word divorce. “That’s a word you can’t take back,” Dale said.  

Dale speculated Dee was probably in one of her favorite places. “She’s either in Mexico or in a mansion in the hills with the cartel in Jamaica,” Dale said.

When asked how Dee would get to Mexico or Jamaica with no money or identification, Dale said it would have been easy. She could have gotten a ride to Florida and then gotten a boat ride and passport for $10 to $50.

“I will find her eventually,” he said.  

Dale accused Dee and her son Zack of “scamming” money from the businesses. “It couldn’t be covered up anymore,” he said. Plus, there was money missing from the safe. “We had $100K in the safe at all times,” he said. When she vanished, there was only $18K or $20K left.  

Dale said he wasn’t cooperating with the conservator responsible for protecting Dee’s estate. “I’m not going to work my ass off 20 hours a day to pay him,” he said.

In this interview, Dale changed his story of the night Dee planned to tell him she wanted a divorce. Before, he said he gave her a massage on the living room floor until she fell asleep. Then he lifted her to the couch and went to bed. This time, he said they watched a movie, fell asleep on the floor, and stayed there all night.

He told detectives he thought Dee was addicted to oxycodone. He said he was still finding bottles all around the house. “I was oblivious at the time,” he said. According to Dale, a pharmacy in Chelsea, Michigan “custom made” a combination of three drugs to treat her depression.

After the video, the prosecutor questioned Det. Lt. Drewyor. He said on August 16, 2024, he executed a search warrant for anhydrous ammonia tanks on two pieces of property owned by the Warners. On the Paragon Road property, there were several tanks in an open-sided barn. One stood out – it was in a separate portion of the barn and had a non-factory weld. A service tag was wire tied to the tank. The handwriting read, “Out of Service Bad Dip Tube” and “Do Not Fill.”

Police escorted a tow truck to take tank #34 to the Ambassador Bridge to be x-rayed. From the x-rays, it was clear there was a body inside. The next day, the tank was opened, and Dee’s body was found. There was a ¼ to ½ inch of anhydrous ammonia at the bottom of the tank.

Dr. Patrick Cho was the last to testify today. He is the medical examiner in Oakland County. He has performed over 6,000 autopsies.

Dr. Cho performed an autopsy on the body found in tank #34 on August 20, 2024. It was presumed to be Dee Warner but was later confirmed by dental records.

The prosecution brought two screens in front of the jury box. The court is protecting the autopsy pictures, and they are prohibited from being viewed outside the courtroom. The defense brought over chairs and Dale and some of the team sat next to him, while others remained standing behind him.

Dr. Cho stood by one of the screens and explained each picture.

The body arrived in a body bag. Once opened, Dr. Cho saw it was wrapped in two polyurethane tarps held together with duct tape. Once the tarps were removed, he observed Dee’s face and head wrapped in duct tape. Her arms and hands were duct taped to her torso. Her ankles were bound by duct tape.

She was wearing what Dr. Cho called pajamas and underwear. Upon questioning, Dr. Cho said it may have been a sweatsuit. There was a reddish-brown sludge on her he’d never seen before. She had metal earrings with clear stones and a metal ring with a clear stone on her right hand.

Dee had multiple contusions in various places including on her right and left cheek, back of her head, above her eye, on her tongue, on her scalp and on top of the left side of her head. There was hemorrhaging on her epiglottis.

When he did an internal examination, he discovered subcutaneous contusions on her scalp and back of head, bleeding on the brain from blunt force, and epiglottis hemorrhages from intense pressure to her throat

.

Dr. Cho did not find any skull fractures.

He ruled the death a homicide by strangulation and multiple blunt force trauma to the head.

A toxicology report showed there was no oxycodone in her system.

Dr. Cho testified the delay in doing toxicology testing on Dee after she had been deceased for over two years had no impact on the results. Her body had been well preserved in a tank that had little to no oxygen.

He could not determine the instrument that caused the blunt force trauma, but it could have been caused by a wall, table, or floor.

When all the exhibits had been shown to the jurors, Dale and his team returned to the defense table.

Dale showed no emotion.

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