Adrian, MI – Bond conditions have been set for the husband of missing Lenawee County woman Dee Warner, who was arrested last week and charged with murder and evidence tampering.
The Lenawee County District Courtroom was once again full of spectators and media members, all awaiting the decision on bond for Dale Warner.
Lenawee County District Court Judge Laura Schaedler (below, left) set bond at $10 million for the murder count, and $5 million for the tampering count. The murder charge amount was a reduction from the initial number of $20 million. If Dale Warner (below, right) were to post bond, he would be forced to wear a GPS tether. Judge Schaedler also ordered that Dale surrender his passport, along with the passport of his adolescent daughter.
The representation from the Lenawee County Prosecutor’s Office (below) argued that Warner is a significant risk of non-appearance if he can post bond. They cited the attorney for the conservatorship for Dee, where he said in Probate Court that Dale has access to an unknown source of cash. Prosecution alleges that Dale has regularly travelled out of the country since 2021, including a handful of trips to Mexico and Canada. He, according to prosecutors, has also been to Florida since 2021.
Defense Council (below, standing) says that in the 2.5 years of the investigation, Dale has taken no efforts to flee, and that he is a life long Michigan resident with long and stable roots in the community. The defense says that, in reference to the second count…tampering with evidence… his property has been searched many times by law enforcement. She said that Dale has not been a threat to the community during the last two-plus years.
Warner has been jailed for criminal contempt of court earlier this year for defying the orders of Lenawee County Probate Court Judge Catherine Sala. District Court Judge Laura Schaedler referenced that when she made her determination on bond conditions. She said she was persuaded by the fact that when ordered by a court to do something, Mr. Warner has decided repeatedly to not adhere to the court’s order.
Judge Schaedler said that when you’re looking at the consequences of the civil activities, they are enlarged when you line them up in the light of day in a murder charge. She said, “if I’m (reference to Dale Warner) willing to do this just to avoid the loss of assets, what am I willing to do to help me avoid the loss of my freedom?” Judge Schaedler said that this is the issue the court looks at in terms of his willingness to appear down the road if bond is posted.
When speaking about the tampering charge, Schaedler’s thought process is that she doesn’t know where additional evidence is going to come from. “Is there an opportunity to destroy evidence now? I don’t know if that’s a correct understanding of where we sit.”
Defense Council said that the Prosecutor’s office sent them 6 terabytes of evidence…and that there was approximately 6 terabytes more to come.
All parties… the Judge, The People, and the Defense… signed a 21-day waiver. In a typical proceeding, the defendant has the right to a pre-trial within 21 days of their arraignment. This waiver was signed because the defense needs more time to look through the evidence before a preliminary exam.
Right after Judge Schaedler gave her ruling on bond conditions, she said that “…if he’s going to what he wants to do, he’s going to do it from the jail.” There is a Probable Cause Conference scheduled for 1pm on Wednesday, November 29th in the courtroom of Judge Schaedler.
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