LENAWEE COUNTY, Mich. (WXYZ) — The trial for Dale Warner, the man charged with murdering his wife Dee in Lenawee County, is on pause until next week.
The jury was expected to continue deliberations on Friday until 39th Circuit Court Judge Michael Olsaver announced that one of the female jurors was not in attendance due to a medical issue.
The judge then 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.
The judge decided that all jurors would be dismissed for the day and were asked to return on Tuesday at 9 a.m. This would give the juror with the medical emergency three days to possibly get better and come back, although all three alternates will also be back. If she is not able to return, one of the alternates may or may not be chosen.
"The judge's preference is going to be to have the original 12 jurors deliberate if that's at all possible," said Adam Wright, a law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy Law and a former federal prosecutor.
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. 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," Wright added. "Or the defendant can insist that the jury constitute 12 people, and a mistrial would most likely be declared."
We did speak to a family friend in the courtroom today, who said everyone is exhausted and cannot fathom the thought of additional delays or a mistrial.
"It’s really hard cause every time we have to come to court or do anything, it’s like ripping that Band-Aid off and having to relive everything," Dee Warner's family friend Kathryn Adams said. “Every day we wake up we’re like, 'okay today’s the day, we’re finally at the finish line' and then the finish line disappears I guess. So it’s really hard on the family.”
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 on Tuesday at 9 a.m. to see how this resolves; stay with 7 News Detroit for updates on air and online.
Watch our previous coverage in the video players below:
