Farmer's wife disappears after argument then his perfect crime begins to unravel

Farmer's wife disappears after argument then his perfect crime begins to unravel It was supposed to be the perfect crime. Dee Warner vanished without trace, and her disappearance was a mystery at first. But then horrific details started to emerge... Friends and family were surprised when Dee and Dale Warner got married in 2006. Dee, 52, was outgoing and sociable, while Dale was quiet and focused on his work as a farmer, so much so Dee would even go on holiday with other people because her husband didn’t want to go. The pair built several businesses and had a large, blended family. Both had four children from former marriages and shared a nine-year-old daughter. The couple lived on 4,000 acres of land across Tipton, Michigan where they also ran their successful businesses. Dee owned a trucking company, and together they had a farm that produced crops and a chemical company that sold fertiliser and seed. Hardworking Dee managed the trucking business which was the most lucrative part. She looked after around 15 employees. Dale spent most of his time out working on the farm. Despite their differences, when it came to the businesses, it appeared to be a successful partnership, worth millions of dollars. But, their marriage was troubled and soon became more of a business arrangement than a romance. Dee told loved ones that she wanted to file for divorce. She’d been so unhappy she’d admitted to friends that she’d had an affair and while it had ended a year earlier, Dale was still suspicious. He’d even put a GPS on her car to track her movements and the couple would argue. Dee arranged for her daughter to go on a sleepover on the night of April 24, 2021. She wanted to talk to Dale about separating and liquidating their assets. It would result in Dee receiving more in the payout due to the ownership of the trucking side of the business, which she knew would cause an argument – so she made sure her daughter wasn’t around. The next morning, Dee’s daughter Rikkell Bock came to the house to have her regular Sunday breakfast with her mum. She was very surprised that her mum wasn’t there and even more so that she didn’t reply to messages or answer her calls. She would usually answer in minutes. Dee hadn’t been to pick up her youngest daughter and Dale was out working on the farm. Dee’s cars were still in the garage but lots of her personal belongings were gone, like her curling iron, hair dryer, phone and even her passport, suggesting she’d packed a bag and gone. But cameras at the farm office didn’t show Dee leaving, so how had she left? The police were called and they spoke with Dale. He said that he’d last seen Dee sleeping early that morning when he went out to work – he didn’t seem worried at all. “She’ll cool off and she’ll come back home,” he told police, sharing that she’d packed a bag and left before so it wasn’t unusual. Dale even suggested that she could have walked out of her life completely. He said she had a secret phone that he’d seen her use and she probably used it to plan her getaway. He also said that he’d found Dee’s wedding ring – worth over $40,000 and said it was proof she’d left voluntarily. Dale admitted they’d argued the night before but didn’t mention that Dee wanted a divorce. He said that she had been stressed about arguing with some employees and complained of a migraine. He said that she had told him that no one cares about her and it didn’t matter if she was there or not. Had Dee really just left without telling anyone? It seemed unlikely with her strong sense of family and lucrative business, and none of her family believed it – and neither did the police. Dale was a prime suspect. Officers searched the property but found nothing. Dee’s family were getting conflicting stories from Dale about the time he left the house that morning or how big the row was they’d had. They didn’t believe that Dee would leave her wedding ring when she hadn’t taken any money and there was no evidence that she’d ever had a secret phone. Dee never accessed any of her bank accounts ever again, never used social media or used her mobile phone, but there was no physical proof she was dead. The farm was a good place to dispose of a body, but searches revealed nothing. There were tracks that matched the farm’s JCB front-end loader that led up to the back door of the property. There were no cameras that covered that area – but was it a sign that something had been removed from the house in the front bucket? Dee’s family started a social media campaign Justice For Dee and never gave up pushing for answers. In 2022, Michigan state police took over the case who had more resources and Dee was officially declared dead. Then everyone was shocked when in November 2023, Dale was finally arrested over two years after Dee vanished. It was a risk as there was no real physical evidence. At a hearing in 2024, the defence tried to stop the impending trial by suggesting there wasn’t enough evidence, but the judge said that even though there was no body, Dee wouldn’t have just walked away from her family. It would go to trial, but it was a risk. Then in August 2024, police revealed they had removed a large overground metal tank from the Warner property that was used to store anhydrous ammonia for fertilizer. There was no ammonia in it and it had been welded shut. Police said they’d found Dee’s body in the tank. She’d been there all along in plain sight. While it was devastating news for the family, they could finally give her a funeral. Dale continued to plead not guilty. At the trial this year, the prosecution said Dee was beaten, strangled and her mouth and nose duct-taped before being put in the tank. They said Dale had tried to make everyone believe she walked away from her life. They said their relationship was toxic and he knew he was about to lose a lot of money in a potential divorce. In March 2026, Dale, 58, was found guilty of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. At the sentencing, Dee’s brother, Gregg Hardy, shared his anger in his statement. “Dale Warner, you’re a narcissistic psychopathic liar and murderer. Your lack of any remorse for brutally killing my sister is unforgivable and deserves to be punished by the fullest extent of the law, and you certainly deserve more,” he said. “The barbaric act of covering up your crime by welding my sister in a cold steel tomb is beyond human. You are a spineless piece of human debris.” Dee’s daughter Rikkell also spoke. “He brutally beat her, strangled her and as if that was not enough, he duct-taped her hands and mouth,” she said. “He wrapped her in a tarp and hid her in a tank and tried to conceal who he really was. He took away a beautiful soul. My mom doesn’t get a second chance at life, and neither should Dale.” Dale was sentenced to 31 to 60 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and 17 months to 10 years in prison on the tampering with evidence charge, which will run consecutively.