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Closing arguments heard in Dale Warner murder case of wife Dee
The prosecution demonstrated how Dale Warner allegedly taped his wife's mouth and nose to keep her from breathing after a violent assault.
ADRIAN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Jury deliberations are underway in the Dale Warner case.
He is the Lenawee County man accused of killing his wife and stuffing her body in a fertilizer tank.
The backstory:
Dale Warner is charged with open murder and tampering with evidence. His wife Dee disappeared in April, 2021.
He was arrested and charged with murder in 2023. But Dee Warner’s body wasn’t found until 2024.
Investigators say Dale killed his wife — and hid her body in a large safe before later moving it to the fertilizer tank.
The jury began deliberations at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and ended at 5 p.m. If a decision has not been reached, deliberations will continue tomorrow morning.
Defense attorneys say there isn’t enough evidence to prove that Dale actually committed the crime.
"If you consider premeditation, it does not exist here," said Dale's defense attorney. "Because if he had premeditated this killing, he would have had the items that he needed already. He would of had the welding, he would have had the tank, he would have had the wheels. He wouldn't be gathering those on April 25th.
"The power of the government to prosecute someone should never be fueled by assumptions, speculation and innuendo. i=It should only be fueled by facts."
The prosecutor had her chance to respond.
"You've heard about her injuries, one, two, three, four," she said, motioning to head injuries Dee had suffered. "How many chances did he get to think about it? Then she was strangled to death - five. How many chances did he get to think about what he was doing?
"Let's assume three or four knocks her out, what do you do? Call for help right? 'I screwed up. I hurt my wife, come help. This defendant duct taped her mouth and her nose so she could not breathe again. Those were all conscious decisions."
The Source: Information for this story is from the trial of Dale Warner and previous coverage.