They Fought About Money Before She Vanished — and Was Found Sealed in a Fertilizer Tank Years Later

Opening statements in the trial of a Michigan farmer accused of killing his wife and concealing her body began Thursday, Feb. 12.

Dale Warner is charged with murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of his wife, Dee Warner, 52, who disappeared from the couple’s Tipton farm in April 2021. Her remains were found inside a fertilizer tank on family-owned property in August 2024.

Investigators have said Dee died from strangulation and blunt force trauma to her head and face. Prosecutors told jurors that her body was discovered inside the tank, wrapped in a tarp and dressed in pajamas, with duct tape around her face and neck, according to WTOL.

In court, prosecutors described the couple’s relationship as strained and secretive. They said that the night before Dee was killed, she told Dale she planned to sell their businesses and leave him, WTOL reported.

Jurors were also shown a series of text messages Dee allegedly sent Dale before her death.

“I’m ready to move out and be done with this,” one message said. “You treat me as if I’m not worthy of anything. I’m not going to live like this.”

Another text read, “We don’t even talk. We are just roommates.”

“Our relationship has gotten so much worse,” she wrote in another message.

The case began unfolding on April 25, 2021, when Dee’s daughter from her first marriage, Rikkell Bock, came to the house for their usual Sunday breakfast and couldn’t find her mother. Dee’s vehicles were still at the property, but family members noticed several personal items were missing, including an overnight bag, a curling iron, a makeup bag, her phone, and her purse.

Family members have said Dale told them he last saw Dee asleep on a couch early that morning and that the couple had argued the night before. They also said he suggested she may have run off after leaving behind a $40,000 wedding ring on his desk in the farm office, but that he believed she would come back. Later that day, Dee’s family reported her missing.

Authorities later recovered Dee’s remains in August 2024. The discovery came after family members recalled seeing Dale with a fertilizer tank in a barn shortly after Dee vanished.

During opening statements, Dale’s attorneys argued that he was not the only person on the property when Dee disappeared. Defense attorney Marisa Vinsky told jurors the prosecution would not be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, according to WTOL, adding that “the law does not let imagination replace proof.”