ADRIAN, Mich. – Jurors in the high-profile Dale Warner murder trial were adjourned Friday before they could begin deliberations.
That’s because a primary juror suffered a medical emergency. Then three out of four alternate jurors were brought back, after being excused Thursday. Some acknowledged they’d discussed the case and one said he watched a news piece about the jury deliberations after being able to go home Thursday.
In court on Friday morning, the judge questioned the alternate jurors to determine whether one could replace the primary.
“Have you had any conversations with anyone about the case?” the judge asked one alternate. In another exchange, the judge asked another alternate, “Did you read any news reports, watch any news reports about the case?”
After the questioning, there was a short recess where the state and the defense had a meeting with the judge.
Following that meeting, the court administrator addressed those in the courtroom and announced that the judge was sending the jury home for the day.
One of the alternates was not going to be chosen today, as was originally stated.
The court administrator acknowledged that the alternates who were sent home were not told to avoid what they did.
She said what happened Friday was new territory for them. However, she mentioned none of the three did anything wrong.
The abrupt delay was not what some close to Dee Warner expected to happen.
“I was really thinking we were going to go into the weekend with some sort of end,” said Kathryn Adams, a close friend of Dee Warner. “We’re finally getting justice, whatever that looks like, and it’s just another hurdle, I guess.”
Adams said she was in communication with Dee’s family after what happened and they weren’t happy.
“It’s really heart-wrenching, honestly, because it’s like every time we see light, it’s just sucked right out of us,” Adams said. “We want to see the finish and it just keeps dragging out, you know.”
All of this is happening after the weeks-long Dale Warner Murder trial.
Dale is accused of murdering Dee in 2021. The specific charges are murder and tampering with evidence.
In April 2021, Dee, a mother of five, was reported missing. Her remains were discovered in 2024 on the couple’s property, inside a fertilizer tank.
Over the past several weeks, numerous witnesses took the stand in the trial. Prosecutors tried to prove to the jury Dale killed his wife by presenting evidence that showed he tracked her movements in her Cadillac Escalade around 2,100 times and had cameras in the home to observe what was happening.
And during closing Thursday, March 5, the state showed pictures to the jury of a bruised Dee. Alluding to Dale abusing her.
Defense attorneys countered that prosecutors had not met their burden of proof and that the state’s theory of the case cannot be substantiated. During the defense’s closing the attorney added that assumptions are not evidence.
The jury is expected to return to court at 9 a.m. Tuesday March 10. The court administrator said officials are hopeful the juror who was absent Friday will be able to rejoin then. All jurors, including alternates, have now been instructed not to watch coverage over the weekend.