Judge in Dee Warner homicide case discloses possible conflicts of interest
ADRIAN — The judge hearing the district court phase of the Dee Warner homicide case disclosed potential conflicts of interest due to past professional and social contacts with the Warner family at a hearing Thursday.
Because of the nature of the case, Lenawee County District Judge Laura J. Schaedler said she wanted to disclose those relationships and give defendant Dale Warner and his attorney an opportunity to decide if they felt any of those relationships would be a problem.
Warner, 56, is charged with open murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his wife, 52-year-old Dee, in April 2021. She was last seen April 25, 2021, at home in Franklin Township. Her body has not been found, but the Michigan State Police’s lead investigator in the case, Detective Sgt. Daniel Drewyor, testified in August in a Lenawee County Probate Court hearing that it is his conclusion that she is dead.
Schaedler said when she was in private practice she represented Warner's mother, Clara, when she divorced his father, John. She said, as a judge, she heard a landlord-tenant case involving Dale and Dee Warner and had a case involving cattle where Dale Warner's brother-in-law testified. She said she has had social contact with Dale and Dee Warner and was acquainted with a few of Dee's children and her brother and sister-in-law.
"The court does not perceive that any of those relationships would make a situation where I couldn't render a fair and impartial verdict in these matters," Schaedler said, "but I do recognize that this is a particularly important set of activities going on before the court and that while we often would suggest the preliminary exam is not of any great import, I believe that this one carries a greater weight than many might because of the nature of the case, and I felt that it would be best to disclose all of those relationships, including the one with Mr. Warner's mother, so that if people felt that they wanted to challenge that they had that opportunity prior to the preliminary examination."
Dale Warner's attorney, Mary Chartier of Okemos, suggested scheduling a motion date should they want to argue that Schaedler should be disqualified from hearing the case. She also said she planned to talk with Warner at length in the next few days, perhaps on Tuesday.
Schaedler said she would let Chartier talk with Warner and she could schedule another hearing with the court if necessary.
Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.
Chartier and Warner appeared in court by video. Warner is in the Lenawee County Jail on a $15 million bond. Lenawee County Prosecutor Jackie Wyse was in the courtroom to represent the state.
Schaedler also announced that the case's preliminary examination will now take place in April rather than in March. When the exam's dates were set in December, Chartier told the court she had a possible trial in another county scheduled for the March dates, so backup dates in April were set. On Thursday, Schaedler said Chartier had informed the court that the trial is going to take place. The exam in the Warner case is now scheduled for April 9-11.
A preliminary exam is a hearing where the prosecution has to show that a crime was committed and the defendant is likely to have committed the crime. The judge will then determine if any of the charges will be bound over to circuit court for further proceedings.
— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Judge in Dee Warner case discloses possible conflicts of interest
