Dee Ann Warner's Husband in Court for Motion Hearing

Dale Warner in court today. Photo by Tracy Stengel.

Dale Warner appeared in court today for a motion hearing in Lenawee County Circuit Court. The purpose of the hearing was to compel discovery and explore if there was any evidence the Michigan State Police (MSP) had collected but not turned over to the defense.

Dale was charged with open murder of his wife, Dee Ann Warner, and tampering with evidence in November 2023. His trial is scheduled to begin January 27, 2026. He currently resides in Lenawee County Jail on a $15M bond. Dee’s body was found inside one of his fertilizer tanks in August 2024.

The prosecution announced they would be removing Gregg Hardy, Dee’s brother, from their witness list. In response, Dale’s attorney, Mary Chartier, said they would be adding Gregg to their witness list.

Ms. Chartier, called the lead MSP detective of Dee’s case, Det. Lt. Drewyor, to the stand. First, she tried to establish what policies MSP had in place when communicating with witnesses through text messages, email, phone, and in person. She wanted to know how they decided to use body cams, log calls, take notes, and what to include in police reports.

Drewyor said he activates his body cam during the execution of search warrants and during formal interviews. Any notes taken are destroyed after he includes the information in a police report. Not every email, text, and communication requires documentation. Some are conversational.

Ms. Chartier voiced concern the defense would have to rely on his memory and his decision making to determine what was relevant.

Drewyor assured her all communications that were relevant to the case were documented.

Ms. Chartier pressed Drewyor about text messages exchanged with Gregg Hardy, particularly texts prior to May 15, 2024, which were no longer available. Drewyor said he had gotten a new phone, and the messages were lost.  

When MSP took over the case in August 2022, from Lenawee County Sheriff's Office, Drewyor testified there were other suspects besides Dale Warner. One of them was Gregg Hardy, but he was quickly eliminated within a few weeks.

Ms. Chartier challenged Drewyor to explain why Gregg Hardy has publicly said he saw Dale working on the tank in the days following Dee’s disappearance and then later texted Drewyor that he had not seen the tank personally.

Drewyor put the text in context. Gregg had recommended a welding expert to examine the tank. Gregg had. in fact, seen the tank but had not inspected the welds himself.

Retired MSP Det. Sgt. Singleton took the stand next. He was asked similar questions asked of Drewyor as to how he decided when to activate his body cam, take notes, and document communications.

Singleton said he documented everything that had evidentiary value.

Ms. Chartier asked if what he felt had evidentiary value may differ from what the defense thought would be of evidentiary value. He answered, “No,” and explained all the facts in the case were documented.

When Singleton retired April 1, 2025, he turned his phone in to MSP. He doesn’t know when or if the phone’s data has been wiped.

In closing, Ms. Chartier voiced her concern about missing text messages and undocumented communication between law enforcement and witnesses. She told Judge Olsaver, “My concern is the destruction of evidence in this case.”

Judge Olsaver replied that he doesn’t believe the number of messages deleted by MSP speaks to bad faith. He ordered the prosecution to turn over all communications with civilian witnesses, including lab technicians, within 14 days.

Ms. Chartier requested a preservation order on Gregg Hardy’s phone to see if the missing text messages can be retrieved. Judge Olsaver didn’t believe he had the authority to subpoena Gregg’s phone but suggested Ms. Chartier could subpoena it for trial.

The prosecution asked for specific text messages and photos be admitted into evidence. Judge Olsaver ruled texts between Dale and Dee in the weeks and days prior to her disappearance were admissible. He is going to further review the photographs taken after Dee’s body was found and determine which, if any, will be admissible.  

For more information on Dee’s case, you can start here. Join the Justice for Dee Facebook page for all the latest updates.