ADRIAN, Mich. — Jury deliberations in the murder trial involving a woman whose body was discovered in a resealed fertilizer tank were abruptly postponed Friday until Tuesday.

The jury had barely begun weighing the fate of prominent Tecumseh farmer Dale Warner on Friday when one of the jurors told the court he or she had an unspecified emergency, according to the judge.

Lenawee County Circuit Judge Michael Olsaver considered replacing the juror with one of the alternate jurors, who were dismissed on Thursday. After the alternates were asked if they had viewed media coverage of the case, it was decided to retain the original juror.

The jury began deliberations on Thursday but went home after 80 minutes. The panel didn’t meet on Friday.

Warner, 58, is charged with killing Dee Warner, his wife of 15 years, and then hiding her body in a fertilizer tank. He could be sentenced up to life in prison.

Dee Warner, 52, disappeared in April 2021 and her body was discovered in August 2024. She died from strangulation and blunt force trauma to her head, testified a medical examiner.

The trial, which stretched over five weeks, featured 12 days of testimony by 35 witnesses. Dale Warner did not testify.

Most of the evidence presented by the prosecution witnesses was circumstantial.

During closing statements Thursday, Lenawee County Prosecutor Jacqueline Wyse said the Warners had a long-troubled marriage that turned even more turbulent in the weeks leading to Dee’s disappearance in 2021.

The couple fought frequently over money and their farming and trucking businesses, said Wyse. Dale Warner spied on his wife, who he suspected of having an affair.

Dee Warner often talked about divorcing her husband but the feeling took on an urgency after she learned Dale told a worker Dee was on Xanax, a depressant, said Wyse.

On the night before her disappearance, Dee told Dale that she wanted to divorce him and sell their trucking business, said Wyse.

But defense attorney Mary Chartier, during her closing arguments, riddled the prosecution's case against her client. She said it provided little direct evidence supporting their theory of what occurred.

One of the most glaring examples, Chartier argued, was the timeline prosecutors presented for the crime, which said Warner hid his wife’s body on the day of her disappearance.

Chartier argued that photos taken by cameras at the Warners’ farm show his location throughout the day. He wouldn’t have had enough time to kill his wife, move her body to the fertilizer tank, open and reseal the tank and then repaint it, Chartier said.

Chartier also pointed out that several methods of searches on various Warner family properties never found a blood stain or other evidence of her death, or any sign of a struggle in the home.

The marriage of Dale and Dee Warner in 2006 eventually turned into a business partnership, their nanny testified during the trial. By 2021, both the Warner marriage and businesses were struggling.

They bickered over children, money and the farming and trucking businesses, testified relatives and workers. Dale Warner told police the firms struggled with loans, low profits and payroll problems, witnesses said.

Warner, who suspected his wife of having an affair, spied on her in various ways, according to testimony. He asked a worker to clone her phone and had another employee buy a GPS tracker for her Hummer in 2020.

He used a mobile phone app to check the location of his wife’s Cadillac Escalade 2,100 times from January 2020 to April 2021, said a data analyst with General Motors.

The police testified they discovered notes compiled by Warner that described his wife’s activities, opinions and text conversations.

The troubled marriage had another eruption the night before Dee went missing in April 2021. The couple had a fight after Dee learned Dale had told a worker she was on Xanax, a depressant.

Zack Bock, Dee’s son from an earlier marriage, testified that she wanted to divorce Dale and sell the businesses. She had threatened divorce before but now seemed especially resolved, said other children.

Dale told police the marital arguments would get loud but never physical. Other witnesses, however, said they noticed marks on Dee’s body.

Stacey Brodie, Dee’s massage therapist, said she observed bruises on her body eight to 10 times, including one on her hip that resembled a handprint.

Dee died from strangulation and blunt force trauma, testified Dr. Patrick Cho, deputy medical examiner of Oakland County. She had bruises on her temples and the back of the head, he said.

The lead investigator, Detective Lt. Daniel Drewyor of the Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement officials testified about Dale Warner’s behavior after his wife went missing.

A drone used by police to take photos and videos of the Warners’ farm showed Dale using a backhoe loader to move a rusted fertilizer tank from a burn pile, testified witnesses. It occurred after Dale learned police were going to use cadaver dogs to search the property, said witnesses.

The body of Dee Warner was later found in a fertilizer tank that had been resealed and repainted, said witnesses. It was located in a storage building on Warners’ property in Tipton, several miles from their farm near Tecumseh, said witnesses.

Dee’s body, clad in pajamas, was wrapped in two blue tarps with her arms and legs bound with duct tape, said police.

A review of Dale Warner’s electronic devices found searches for “What to do with 1000 gallon propane tank,” “chemical cremation” and “what is liquid cremation and why is it illegal,” testified police. The review also found searches for “10 Widow Dating Sites.”

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