Police Search Warner Property – Again

Dee Ann Warner. Photo courtesy of Parker Hardy.

Yesterday, Gregg Hardy, brother of Dee Ann Warner, held a press conference after Dee’s body had been found over the weekend. Dee had been missing from her Tecumseh, Michigan farm for almost 3 ½ years. She had planned to tell her husband, Dale Warner, she wanted a divorce.

Last Friday, Michigan State Police found Dee’s body in a fertilizer tank on property owned by Dee’s husband, Dale Warner. It had been cut open, welded shut, and repainted. A sign on the tank read, “Do not use.” The discovery was made by a culmination of good police work and information provided by Gregg and various family members.

The press conference began at 2 PM. As Gregg spoke, about a mile away, Dale and Dee’s house and farm were swarming with Michigan State Police officers and detectives. They brought along an enclosed trailer and stayed on site for several hours. This was the second search of Warner property in seven days.

For years, Dee’s loved ones have fought hard to pressure police and the prosecutor’s office to take action. They vehemently insisted Dee would never willingly leave her friends and family. They were her world. They denied Dale’s claims Dee was in Jamaica or Cancun with some rich boyfriend.

“We’ve been criticized up and down and around by lots of people,” Gregg said.

When others would have given up, Dee’s family and friends got louder. Gregg credits many people for propelling the case forward, including the 22K members of the Justice for Dee Facebook page. “These people have been, beyond anything, loyal. They fought hard, given up time, money, everything for the cause they believed in. There have been thousands of people that have sent prayers and good wishes. People we know. People we don’t know. People we feel like we know. And we’re also very grateful to them. They’ve certainly helped,” Gregg said.

Gregg also thanked his wife, Shelley, and his son, Parker.

Gregg gave kudos to Kathryn Adams, lifelong friend of Dee. “She has worked tirelessly, not only with the Justice for Dee group, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked her to do things and there’s never been any hesitation.”

He also acknowledged the loyalty of another of Dee’s friends who was also her office assistant. “Stephanie Voelke has stood by my sister from the beginning. Stayed in the office. Fought for her. Put up with Warner when she was still there, and she’s carried on to this day,” Gregg said. “She’s given up a lot with her family because of this. It’s been horrendous on her.”

As to Billy Little, Jr., a nationally recognized investigative attorney, who agreed to take the case pro bono, Gregg said, “He was the first here as a professional when we had no professionals standing by us. He gave us courage. He gave us knowledge. He’s an experienced guy in this thing. We had no experience. He deserves special attention for what he did for us and what he did for this cause.

Chris McDonough, a retired homicide investigator and criminal behavior analyst, worked closely with Billy Little, Jr. to find Dee. Gregg said Chris’ psychological analyst skills were very important to the case.

The outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming for Dee’s family. “There have been so many tips given to us by people in the community just trying to help and they’ve been very, very good. Some of them were very important to this investigation,” Gregg said.

Judge Sala presided over the declaration of death hearing and declared Dee legally deceased. She also charged Dale Warner and Mark Weisberg with contempt of court last year. Mark used to be an accountant before being convicted of embezzlement. Dee fired him several years before she disappeared. Dale quickly hired him back after Dee vanished. Dale’s lawyer, Lawrence Lieb, referred to Mark as Dale’s personal assistant.

Gregg expressed his appreciation for Judge Sala. “She sat there for hours listening to lies and deceit, from not only Warner, but his lawyers trying to take everything financially there away from my sister. That’s horrendous. And I’d like to commend her as a judge. She put up with it, tolerated it, and sorted it out. I believe she was extremely just,” Gregg said.

Judge Frushour was a visiting judge who presided over Dale’s preliminary examination. Gregg commended her professionalism, saying she, “sorted out so many different factors. Just a total mirage of facts – of untrue facts and deceit – and came up with a judgement that bound Mr. Warner over for trial and that’s without the information we have now.”

Throughout the press conference, Gregg spoke with raw emotion. “It was certainly tough for the family to face my sister’s remains in a man-made tomb done by Dale Warner who is a very evil piece of human debris,” Gregg said. “He viciously killed my sister with no remorse, damaged his family, damaged the community, and most importantly, he fed his own daughter terrible lies.”

Dale Warner will be back in court September 4, 2024, for a pretrial.

“I certainly hope he faces the absolute maximum penalty of the law after he’s had a fair and just trial,” Gregg said.

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

If you have an opinion on this case, I’d love to read it in the comments!