Former Lead Detective Waives 5th Amendment Rights in Dale Warner Murder Trial

Retired Detective Kevin Greca in court today. Photo by Tracy Stengel.

An evidentiary hearing was held this morning in Lenawee County Circuit Court to tie up any loose ends before Dale Warner’s trial. Dale was charged with open murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his wife, Dee Ann Warner. The court expects to hear opening statements tomorrow.

There were a series of motions Judge Olsaver heard on Friday, February 6, 2026, including a motion made by the defense asking for a change of venue. Although Judge Olsaver acknowledged the abundance of media attention the case has received, he felt there were enough “safeguards” in place to ensure a fair and unbiased trial.

The remaining motions, Judge Olsaver took under advisement, and he ruled on those today.

Retired Det. Kevin Greca and his attorney, Ms. Hanson-Grimes, informed the court Greca would waive his 5^th amendment rights while testifying in this trial.

Judge Olsaver reminded Ret. Det. Greca that he cannot be compelled to give testimony that would incriminate himself and that anything he said could be used against him. If he were to waive his rights, he wouldn’t be able to pick and choose which questions to answer.

Ret. Det. Greca indicated that he understood what he was doing.

There were several emails between the prosecutor, Jacqueline Wyse, and Ms. Hanson-Grimes. In one, Ms. Wyse states that she had “zero intentions” of charging Ret. Det. Greca of any crimes. One of the emails was entered into evidence and will be marked Exhibit 1.

Ret. Det. Greca was the lead detective when Dee Ann Warner first vanished from her Tecumseh, Michigan home on April 25, 2021. The case was turned over to Michigan State Police August 1, 2022. Ret. Det. Greca retired from Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office the day after Dee’s remains were found in a fertilizer tank on Dale’s property.

After evading a subpoena for eight months, he was arrested in Ohio by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task force in December 2025. He was arraigned and his bond was set at $50,000.

It is unclear why Ret. Det. Greca has been reluctant to testify in a case where he is considered a key witness.

His attorney insists he wasn't dodging a subpoena but simply enjoying dinner in Ohio.

Next, Judge Olsaver addressed the request made by the defense to suppress certain acts and hearsay the witnesses for the prosecution were likely to include in their testimonies. Judge Olsaver broke down the acts one by one.

Dale allegedly broke into Dee’s safe, hid cameras in the residence, monitored her with electronic devices, and put a tracking device on her vehicle. Judge Olsaver denied the request to suppress testimony and evidence of this in the trial.

Testimonies regarding Dale allegedly throwing Dee into a dresser will be allowed. However, some text messages regarding the incident will be suppressed.

Judge Olsaver will allow text messages between Dale and Dee when they were arguing, testimonies of Dale and Dee arguing face to face, testimonies of Dale belittling her in front of others, and overriding her authority in front of her employees. Judge Olsaver didn’t believe a juror would make the mental leap from learning Dale and Dee argued a lot to believing Dale must have killed Dee, but it does show marital discord.

Several witnesses would testify that Dee cringed or recoiled whenever Dale touched her neck or tried to rub her shoulders. Her face would even turn white.

Judge Olsaver said Dale told law enforcement he and Dee had a hellacious argument the night before she vanished and that he had massaged her neck afterward. Therefore, the question of if Dee would have allowed that after an argument remains in question.

Next, the prosecution does not want the defense to be allowed to question witnesses about the character of Gregg Hardy, Dee’s brother.

From the defense point of view, they want to use the alleged bad behavior of Gregg Hardy to show how law enforcement ignored it and focused solely on Dale as the main suspect. They want to highlight what law enforcement did and did not do in reaction to Gregg Hardy’s alleged actions.

Most of the alleged actions of Gregg Hardy were deemed not logically relevant to the case by Judge Olsaver. However, testimony of two instances of alleged antagonistic behavior toward the Warners will be allowed.

Judge Olsaver will limit questioning of specific acts of Gregg Hardy to other witnesses until the defense provides proofs.

Tomorrow is expected to be a full day of opening statements and possibly the beginning of witness testimony.

For background information on this case, you can start here or join the Justice for Dee Facebook page. For detailed daily trial summaries, you can go here.