LENAWEE COUNTY, Mich. (WXYZ) — Jury deliberations are set to resume on Tuesday in the trial of Dale Warner, the man charged with murdering his wife Dee in Lenawee County.
The deliberations started last week, but were previously put on hold due to one of the jurors having a medical issue.
After the court learned of that issue, the judge proceeded to call in three alternates who had been in attendance for the entirety of the trial, to question them after they were dismissed on Thursday, after closing arguments, to learn if they had seen any news reports or social media posts about the trial, or spoken about it with anyone. All alternate jurors had discussed the case; one had seen a nightly news report about it, and another had seen a social media post.
If the juror is not able to proceed, make it, and no alternate is chosen, that is not inherently a mistrial, as other options are on the table.
"The decision will be in the hands of the defendant," Adam Wright, a law professor at the University fo Detroit Mercy Law and a former federal prosecutor, told us last week. "If the jury of 12 is not available to render a verdict, then the defendant could agree to waive his right to a jury of 12 and allow 11 to render a verdict...or the defendant can insist that the jury constitute 12 people, and a mistrial would most likely be declared."
Dee Warner went missing back in 2021. Her body was found in a fertilizer tank in 2024 on Dale's farming property. Prosecution says Dale had the motive to want to murder Dee, after she expressed wanting a divorce, with him telling law enforcement that he did not want to go through with that again. The defense is saying there's not enough evidence that Warner is the one responsible for Dee's death.
We'll be back in court this morning to see how this resolves; stay with 7 News Detroit for updates on air and online.
Watch our previous coverage
