Dale Warner, the man convicted of murdering his wife — Dee Warner — was sentenced to a minimum of more than 30 years in prison on Thursday.
Watch Brittany Toolis's video report:
Lenawee County Circuit Judge Michael Olsaver issued the sentence following victim impact statements from Dee's family members – including her children, brother and sister-in-law. They spoke about how much they loved Dee, and hoped that a judge would sentence him to life in prison.
“Our mother was the foundation of our family and a source of strength for so many others. She was our protector, our supporter, and our motivator and our best friend. Her death created a pain and burden that none of us will ever fully recover from,” said Rikkell Bock, Dee’s daughter. “We're all trying to still trying to learn to live without her. My mom's name, Dee Hardy, will live in our hearts and our community for an eternity, but Dale Warner's name will be gone forever.”
In all, he was sentenced to 375 months (31.25 years) to 60 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and then 17 months to 10 years on the tampering charge, which will run consecutively and start after the time is served on the murder charge. He was given credit for 898 days time served.
Watch the victim impact statements in the video below
"It goes without saying that the tragedy of these events is unimaginable," Olsaver said before issuing the sentence.
Before the victim impact statements, Dale's attorney said that he did not want to make a statement, but did want the attorney to say, "He loved his wife, he maintains his innocence and he did not kill his wife."
Watch the judge deliver Dale Warner's sentence in the video player below:
Dee was last seen at her home in Lenawee County on April 25, 2021. More than a year after her disappearance, Michigan State Police took over the investigation. On Nov. 23, 2023, Warner was arrested and charged with murder.
Human remains were found inside a sealed fertilizer tank on Dale's property on August 18, 2024. Three days later, those remains were identified as Dee's.
The trial against Dale began on February 12 of this year. Back on March 10, Warner was found guilty of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. It has been a long road for Dee's family to finally get the justice they hoped for.
Watch Ryan Marshall's report and some of our previous coverage below:
It's been an incredibly emotional last five years for Dee's brother and the rest of her family. He says they've worked very hard to get justice for his sister.
“A tremendous amount of anxiety leading up to this because this is somewhat the finality of what we worked so long to achieve," said Greg Hardy.
Lenawee County Prosecutor Jacqueline Wyse says Michigan State Police played a big part in breaking open the case.
“Their leadership gave us all the resources we needed to see this case to the end," Wyse said.
On the flip side, Dale Warner's attorney says they plan to fight.
“He’s disappointed. But, he’ll continue to fight to try to prove he’s not guilty of these crimes," Mary Chartier said.
For Hardy, he's still processing the emotions behind his sister's murder. But he says he's kept his mind focused on getting justice for Dee.
“One of my purposes in trying to pursue this for so long is to try to help show other people what can happen and perhaps have some positive impact on the system because it has been a very anxious five years," he said.
