
48 Hours Correspondent Erin Moriarty and Producer Sarah Prior discuss the murder of Dee Warner, which they began reporting on when it was still a missing persons case.
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Stories of love and community in the Chi. It's a place for our community. Explore the Black Voices collection on Paramount Stream now. Welcome back to postmortem. I'm your host, Ann Marie Green. And today we are digging into a case that began as a missing person investigation when Dee Warner vanished from her home in Lenaway County, Michigan in 2021. But her family suspected foul play, and after years of searching, her body was finally found. Joining me now to discuss this case and its twists and turns is 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty and producer Sarah Pryor. Thank you so much.
Ann Marie Green
Hello. Good to see you.
Sarah Pryor
Thanks, Anne Marie. We love to talk about the twists and turns indeed.
Erin Moriarty
And there are a lot for this one. So first off, a reminder for everyone, as usual, if you haven't actually listened to this 48 hours episode yet, you can find the full audio version just below this episode in your podcast fees. So go back, listen to it and then come join us for this conversation. So let's get right into it. On the morning of April 25, 2021, Dee's daughter Raquel comes over to her house. They're going to have breakfast together, but the house is empty. Dee's family report her missing later on in the day when she does not return any of their phone calls. But her second husband, Dale, tells police that he's not that concerned. And he says, you know, she's done this before. She's left the house before. However, her family becomes increasingly skeptical. Now, 48 Hours doesn't do a lot of missing persons. So I wondered about just how you approached this story when you really didn't know what the ending was gonna look like.
Sarah Pryor
No, that's what honestly, Emery, that's what made this story unusual and very satisfying. It's rare that a story develops in front of our eyes, but when we start on a missing persons case, the family may have very definite ideas about what happened. But we have to more careful. There's no evidence of a crime. There was no evidence of a crime scene, even though it did seem, after that much time, hard to believe that she had simply disappeared and gone somewhere else. I think a missing person's case is tougher to report because we have to be very skeptical.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah. I mean, obviously it became a murder case when they arrested dale, which was November 2023. But that's just the charge. That's not a conviction by any means. So, you know, police made that arrest two and a half years after Dee was reported missing.
Sarah Pryor
The other thing, though, about covering this case, and both Sarah and I agree on this, we realize that there's emotions and a poignancy that you don't always encounter in a homicide case, a case that has already been declared a homicide. In this case, the family members were absolutely convinced that Dee had been murdered, but they still had that question, maybe she was out there. So they were dealing with the kind of grief that everyone does when someone disappears, but also that fear that she had left them and what a heartbreak that was. And we could see it in almost every interview.
Ann Marie Green
Mm.
Erin Moriarty
And so that brings me to the amount of access that you had to the family. It seems like they were really willing to talk.
Sarah Pryor
I think one of the reasons why the family was so open with us was because 48 hours had started on this story pretty early. We have a development producer by the name of Cindy Cesar, who really, about a year after Dee disappeared, had reached out to the family and spoke with them frequently and stayed in touch with them. And I think it really opened a lot of doors for me when I came and sat down with these family members.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah. Cindy went out to Lenaway county in 2022. So she had been traveling back and forth. The family had vigils and rallies, various things happening in the community to try to get publicity for the case. And Cindy was present for a lot of that and just in contact with them for those couple of years. And that longevity you talked about when we first started this conversation, that's part of how we do our stories. And it was definitely part of this one and pretty critical.
Erin Moriarty
Yeah. I mean, people should know that there are so many producers that work on an hour and key is building these genuine relationships with the people involved. You gotta be authentic. You gotta be real.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah. And, you know, it connects back into how Cindy Caesar, our colleague, got involved in this case. But Dee's sister in law, shelly, was watching 48 Hours. She's a regular viewer, which we. And she was watching a story about a nobody homicide. And this Investigator Billy Little in that episode says, you don't have a body. So what? You don't get to get away with murder because you're good at disposing of bodies. And Shelly tells Erin, she's like, I woke Greg up. You gotta see this. And that's how they came to be connected to Billy Little was after watching that show.
Erin Moriarty
Okay, so that brings me to this really. Early on, Dee's family suspected that Dale had something to do with her disappearance and ultimately her death. We learn in the hour that only six weeks after Dee went missing, Dee's brother Greg confronted Dale. And he says, you're a liar, I'll get you. What made Greg and the others in Dee's family so convinced that she did not leave independently?
Ann Marie Green
I think there were some inconsistencies. Dale gave different accounts to different family members as they related it to us. And they also just felt like the threads of the stories weren't making sense to them. He had told them that Dee had had a migraine the night before and they knew she got migraines. But when you have a migraine, it's pretty all encompassing. You're pretty debilitated. So she's somehow leaving the house early on Sunday morning with the migraine. I think her family members, when they were talking to us, just thought, this doesn't quite add up.
Sarah Pryor
And everyone said this, that Dee Warner was a non stop texter. This was a woman who, if you didn't respond to a text, she was sending you another. Everyone said that. And so while there was certainly some evidence that she had disappeared on her own, I should point out, and you hear this in the hour, her hair iron was missing. Curling iron. Yeah, curling iron was missing. And her makeup bag and her passport, I mean, that would.
Ann Marie Green
Her phone.
Sarah Pryor
And there was also a lot of evidence from Dale that he said, look, you know, she could have left on her own. And he was very cooperative with police. When he gave police what he did the morning that she disappeared, it matched on video. So I just want to throw that out there too.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah, he gave reasons that seemed to make sense.
Sarah Pryor
So you have all of that saying, well, maybe she did leave, but that didn't sound like D. And most important, at that time when she disappeared, she had a nine year old daughter that she was devoted to. And everyone in the family said there's no way she would have left her daughter. So that was really very strong evidence that Dee did not leave on her own.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah. So the night before Dee is reported missing, her daughter had stayed at her cousin's house. And the mom, the cousin's mom, had come over to pick Dee's daughter up and take her away. And, you know, then was in touch with Dee later that evening by text to check in on her. She doesn't get an answer right away, and then she gets the letter K. And now, I don't know about you, but when I get the letter K text from someone, I'm like, what's up? Are we okay? And this was not a way that any friends or family of Dee ever experienced her to communicate. She never sent that text, the letter.
Erin Moriarty
K. Well, one of the other things that Dale says is that she left her wedding ring behind. But her family doesn't buy that. Why were they so convinced? I know they said it was really expensive.
Sarah Pryor
A ring worth as much as $40,000. And I can take a very small survey of the three women right now. And if we were really upset with, are we going to leave our $40,000 ring behind, or are we gonna take it in case we need it down the road? I'm just saying.
Erin Moriarty
That's so funny.
Sarah Pryor
And I should point out that there was no surveillance video showing her leaving it behind. It was just another one of those red flags.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah, there were a lot of things that didn't sit right. I think her brother said, you know, she knew where the cameras were. If she were gonna walk through to leave her ring, she would have had her middle fingers up and, like, you know, march right in, I think is how he characterized it. Like it didn't sound like his sister. And also no note, no communication. After that strange letter K. Dee's family said, you know, it was a lot of things that weren't adding up.
Erin Moriarty
So Greg actually paid to put a billboard up. And he said, you know, the slogan was meant to be a little sarcastic. Help Dale find Dee. He puts it up at a major intersection near his farm. Where did he even get the idea to do something like this?
Sarah Pryor
Well, I think it came from Billy Little, the investigator that they began working with. He suggested that you put pressure on both the person that you think might be involved and on investigators. Let me point out, this is a rural area. You know, if someone had killed her and put her body somewhere, there were so many places. There were acres and acres of farms. So it's understandable that even though the sheriff's department did at least seven searches in that first year looking for Dee, there were a lot of places to look. And so the family wanted to put pressure on investigators to say, don't give up. It's a nobody case, maybe, but she can be found. Greg talked about how important it was to him and to members of the family to see they weren't really alone in this. When he would drive in the area and see that other families had the signs that said justice for Dee, there was a lot of pressure to get some kind of justice for Dee.
Ann Marie Green
And that connects, I think, back into the fact that using the press was a strategy. Going out in public and the press being part of, you know, the public conversation was strategic and intentional for Greg Hardy, but also for the rest of the family. I think they saw the power of it. Imagine what's possible when learning doesn't get.
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Of love and community shy it's a place for our community. Explore the Black Voices collection on Paramount plus Stream now. Welcome back, everyone. So two and a half years after De's disappearance, police arrest Dale and they charge him with De's murder. But investigators still have not found her body. How difficult are no body cases to prove in court?
Ann Marie Green
I mean, we were really surprised to hear this. It was actually Billy Little, the investigator who came to help Greg Hardy, who told us that nobody conviction rates are actually higher. We ran it down and found a source that said 86% conviction rate. And we were really surprised to read that. But keep in mind, prosecutors decide which cases to prosecute. Right? So I think the thing about circumstantial evidence is it's usually an aggregate. You have to add things up and see what the picture is. And the more pieces you have, the more clear things, you know, hopefully become for a jury. Um, and I think in a circumstantial case, there's that much more kind of diligence and attention. So maybe that's the reason, but we were totally surprised by that.
Sarah Pryor
But, you know, just charging someone just means you get a preliminary hearing. Doesn't mean you necessarily get to go to trial. So they really need as much evidence as possible. But there's no Evidence of a crime or evidence of a crime scene. No blood anywhere. So this is a tough one.
Erin Moriarty
So speaking of the preliminary hearing, that's where we get a lot of information, and they really kind of dig into the relationship between Dee and Dale, and it wasn't so great. Is there anything that was revealed in the preliminary hearing that didn't make it into the hour?
Sarah Pryor
Well, there was some evidence presented at this preliminary hearing that there might have been domestic. Apparently, Dee had a massage therapist who testified that there were bruises on her body. But let's keep in mind that she worked on a farm and she ran a trucking business. When Dee's masseuse was cross examined, of course, at that hearing, she admitted that she didn't witness anything that Dee had told her and that she didn't document that anywhere and that she didn't call police.
Erin Moriarty
So for somebody who texted all the time, did she text about any of this stuff to her friends and family?
Ann Marie Green
Yeah. So text messages were introduced at the preliminary hearing. The friend had shared these texts with the detective, and among them, one where Dee had texted, I literally thought he could kill me. You know, he, quote, threw me at a dresser. And describing her injuries. I have a large goose egg on my head and a sore neck. So there is some substantiation to this from those text messages.
Erin Moriarty
And I guess we should remind the audience that a preliminary hearing or a pretrial hearing is really just about putting all the evidence out there to determine whether or not it rises to the level of actually going to trial.
Sarah Pryor
Right. The judge has to make the decision whether there is enough evidence to indicate that the defendant, the person who is charged, was involved with the disappearance and murder. But it is not a murder trial.
Erin Moriarty
Right. So at this point, though, no one really knew what happened to Dee. There was no body. But incredibly, In August of 2024, over three years after Dee went missing, investigators found her body in a large metal tank that is used to store fertilizer. Can you tell us more about how they found Dee?
Sarah Pryor
Can I just start with this? Because Sarah knew first and called me and I didn't believe her. That just doesn't happen that, you know, after more than the three years that they find Dee, I was like, are they sure? And then I kept thinking why it stuck with me and sticks with me to this moment was because three weeks before they found her, I'm out a hundred yards away from where her body was found. Are you serious? And I'm interviewing her brother, and I'm like, thinking, well, she could be Anywhere. And she is found 100 yards behind me. I think I feel a relief like everyone else does, because I had spent so much time with this family that they now knew where she was. But then this incredible sadness that you can't fool yourself anymore. She is not alive, and there is no hope that maybe she'll come back home sometime. So it's a very powerful moment, too. And I should point out another thing. Even though her body was found on property that Dale and Dee owned, somebody could have gone. I mean, it's.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah, right next to road.
Sarah Pryor
It is. Somebody could have gone in there and put her body in.
Ann Marie Green
The only clues we have are from the warrant because this is pretrial. And those warrants talk about a security video from Dale and Dee's farm. And they had observed Dale looking for something near the welding equipment. And that, you know, stuck, it seems like, with investigators. That happened, you know, the week she went missing.
Sarah Pryor
And there was on the tank that she was found a non manufacturing welding line, which would indicate that someone else had disconnected and put this tank together. But we don't know whether it was Dale.
Ann Marie Green
Some other evidence that's in the warrant talks about how there were witnesses who saw Dale painting a tank the week after G went missing.
Sarah Pryor
And there's a great other detail that there was a sign on the tank that says, do not fill out of service. And so, again, this was kind of a red flag to them. But I think what you can say, even though we don't know exactly all the details of what led investigators to this tank, it was good investigative work. And then they x rayed it in the search warrant. It says, we will try to X ray it, and if that fails, then we will open it up. But X ray did show a body inside the tank.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah, they took it to the border. There's a border crossing to Canada at Detroit. And they put this tank on a flatbed truck. And you see video, the local affiliates were there, and you see the truck leaving with that tank. And apparently they drove it to the border and used. It's called a radiograph. I didn't know that term before working on this story, but they say they saw a body inside. The family says they saw that image.
Erin Moriarty
Oh, my gosh.
Ann Marie Green
Gotta be a really profound moment.
Erin Moriarty
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Ann Marie Green
As Erin was talking about, they believed her to be dead. And so I think on one level, having it confirmed was a relief. But on another level, it was this incredible grief that had not been complete before because they had uncertainty. And now that changed.
Erin Moriarty
Let me ask you A question just because, Sarah, you said that they believed her to be dead. They had her declared dead, which I would think would be really tough because you want to hang on to hope. But obviously they felt the declaration was important. Did any of the family members talk about the decision to have her declared dead? Why they thought they needed to do that before a body was even found?
Sarah Pryor
One of the reasons has to do with legal, you know, be able to have some control over her financial assets. So part of it was just practical.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah. And I think also when we were talking to her brother Greg, he was frustrated that he wasn't learning more about the investigation. And Aaron, I kept saying, that's very normal. It's really what they do. And it really probably would drive me crazy, too. But they have to protect the integrity of the investigation. So Greg's in the dark. He doesn't know what's going to happen. Even if after they make an arrest, what will come of the case in court without physical evidence, because they didn't have it at the time. So I think there was a thinking in his mind and, you know, amongst some of the other family members to kind of do concurrently anything they could do to kind of advance things. You know, you can. You can have a wrongful death case in civil court once someone is declared dead. So, yeah, it was a step in that direction potentially, too.
Erin Moriarty
Where do things stand with this case? What's next?
Sarah Pryor
The trial at this moment, there is a trial scheduled for fall of 2025. We know from working 48 hours, you do too, Amari, that those D are very flexible, but that's where it stands.
Ann Marie Green
Dale has pleaded not guilty. We were in touch with his attorney a bit. I got to meet her when we attended the preliminary hearing, when we'd been hoping she would sit down for an interview. She ultimately declined, which is very normal. Pretrial after Dee's body was found, she emailed me to say that Mr. Warner maintains his innocence and we're prepared to vigorously fight for him in court and present his defense. And then she went on to say, but we think it's best presented in court at this point and not to the media. So that was important to hear, especially in the context that the preliminary hearing was all before her body was found. So they are not shifting in their defense of Dale.
Sarah Pryor
There's so much we don't know. We don't have an autopsy, so we don't know if there was time of death or how she died or, you.
Ann Marie Green
Know, so if they even know.
Sarah Pryor
Right. And there's so, so many questions that we still have that hopefully will be answered at trial.
Ann Marie Green
Yeah.
Erin Moriarty
Well, I look forward to the update because I know 48 hours will stay on this case. It was another fascinating hour. Sarah, Aaron, thank you so much.
Ann Marie Green
Thank you.
Sarah Pryor
Thank you for having us.
Erin Moriarty
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Podcast: 48 Hours
Host: CBS News - Anne-Marie Green
Guests: Erin Moriarty (Correspondent), Sarah Pryor (Producer)
Release Date: February 4, 2025
In the "Post Mortem" episode of 48 Hours, host Anne-Marie Green delves into the harrowing case of Dee Warner, a woman who vanished from her home in Lenaway County, Michigan, in 2021. Joined by correspondent Erin Moriarty and producer Sarah Pryor, the discussion uncovers the complexities and emotional turmoil surrounding Dee's disappearance, the relentless pursuit of the truth by her family, and the challenges of prosecuting a "no body" case.
On the morning of April 25, 2021, Dee Warner failed to return home after having breakfast with her daughter, Raquel. Initially reported as missing when Dee did not respond to phone calls, suspicions arose when her second husband, Dale Warner, downplayed her disappearance, claiming, “she's done this before. She's left the house before” (02:41). This dismissal heightened the family's concern and skepticism about Dale's explanations.
The Warner family harbored strong suspicions about Dale's involvement in Dee's disappearance. Dee's brother, Greg, confronted Dale six weeks after Dee went missing, declaring, “you're a liar, I'll get you” (06:10). The family noticed inconsistencies in Dale's accounts, such as Dee leaving the house with a debilitating migraine despite her condition, raising doubts about the legitimacy of his explanations.
Moreover, Dee's family emphasized her devotion to her nine-year-old daughter, making it unlikely that she would abandon her child voluntarily. This conviction was compounded by missing personal items, including Dee's expensive curling iron, makeup bag, passport, and her phone (07:11). The disappearance of Dee’s $40,000 wedding ring, which her family found suspicious, further fueled their belief that foul play was involved (09:05).
To amplify their search efforts, Greg Warner, inspired by investigator Billy Little, erected a billboard with the message “Help Dale find Dee” near his farm. This strategy aimed to pressure both Dale and the investigators to not give up on the case (10:24).
48 Hours played a pivotal role in supporting the Warner family. Producer Cindy Cesar maintained consistent contact with the family, attending vigils and rallies to keep the case in the public eye (04:24). This ongoing relationship facilitated open and honest conversations, allowing the family to share their grief and frustration authentically. The family's connection to the show was further solidified when Dee's sister-in-law, Shelly, a regular viewer, reached out to inform Erin Moriarty about investigator Billy Little’s involvement after watching a related 48 Hours episode (05:32).
Several red flags emerged during the investigation:
At the preliminary hearing, evidence of potential domestic violence surfaced. Dee’s massage therapist testified about bruises on her body, although her credibility was later questioned during cross-examination (14:21). Additionally, text messages revealed Dee expressing fear for her life, stating, “I literally thought he could kill me. He threw me at a dresser. I have a large goose egg on my head and a sore neck” (15:06).
Over three years after Dee's disappearance, in August 2024, investigators made a breakthrough. Dee's body was discovered in a large metal fertilizer tank located on property owned by Dale and Dee. The discovery followed careful investigative work, including reviewing security footage and observing Dale searching near welding equipment (16:20). Remarkably, Dee was found just a hundred yards from where producer Sarah Pryor was conducting interviews, adding a poignant layer to the family's relief and sorrow (16:20).
The tank had been manipulated, with non-manufacturing welding lines indicating that it had been altered, possibly by someone other than Dale. Additionally, witnesses reported seeing Dale painting the tank the week after Dee’s disappearance, further implicating him in the case (18:14).
Prosecuting a "no body" case presents significant legal challenges. Despite the absence of Dee’s body initially, Dale was charged with her murder in November 2023. Anne-Marie Green highlighted that 48 Hours was surprised to learn that "no body" cases can have high conviction rates, citing an 86% success rate. However, Sarah Pryor emphasized the necessity of substantial evidence to proceed to trial, noting that preliminary charges do not guarantee a conviction (12:02).
During the preliminary hearing, additional evidence was introduced, including text messages where Dee expressed fear, strengthening the case against Dale. However, the lack of physical evidence, such as an autopsy, leaves many questions unanswered about the exact circumstances of Dee's death (22:07).
As of the episode’s release, Dale Warner has pleaded not guilty and is preparing to vigorously defend himself in court. The trial is scheduled for fall 2025, with many uncertainties remaining due to the absence of Dee’s body and comprehensive forensic evidence (21:12). Dale’s attorney has declined to comment extensively, choosing to focus the defense within the courtroom setting (21:28).
The Warner family continues to seek justice, grappling with both relief at finding Dee’s body and the profound grief that comes with loss (16:20). The ongoing case underscores the emotional and investigative complexities involved in "no body" murder cases, highlighting the relentless pursuit of truth and justice by both the family and law enforcement.
The case of Dee Warner exemplifies the intricate and emotionally charged nature of missing person investigations that evolve into suspected homicides without immediate physical evidence. Through persistent journalism and empathetic storytelling, 48 Hours sheds light on Dee’s tragic story, the unwavering determination of her family, and the formidable challenges faced in seeking justice. As the trial approaches, the community and listeners remain engaged, hopeful for resolution and accountability.
Notable Quotes:
This summary captures the essential elements, discussions, and emotional undertones of the "Post Mortem | The 'No Body' Case of Dee Warner" episode, providing a comprehensive overview for those unfamiliar with the original podcast.