The Girlfriend in the Cooler: The Wade Allen Case
10 Minute Murder | Bingeable True Crime Stories
Joe
4.9 • 638 Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Wade Allen strangled and dismembered his girlfriend Kelly Jean Warner in May 2019 in Sturgis, Michigan. Police discovered her mutilated remains stored in two coolers inside Allen's apartment after an anonymous tip. The 39-year-old pleaded no contest to second-degree homicide, attempted dismemberment, and attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct. While incarcerated at St. Joseph County Jail, Allen sexually assaulted a cellmate who had reported his murder confession to authorities. A judge sentenced Allen to 39-60 years for murder with consecutive sentences for assault, effectively ensuring he'll likely die in prison.
This is the story of a woman whose transient lifestyle made her disappearance almost invisible, and a man whose brain might have been wired for violence. Kelly Jean Warner, 43, lived a life that didn't fit neatly into society's boxes. When she vanished in spring 2019, there were no immediate alarm bells because people like Kelly sometimes go weeks without contact. That silence became her killer's greatest advantage. But her sister Lisa refused to let Kelly disappear quietly, and that persistence helped crack open one of the most disturbing murder cases in Michigan's recent history. We're going to talk about what happens when someone's lifestyle makes them vulnerable, when a psychopath moves through a small town undetected, and how a catastrophic failure in the jail system allowed a murderer to victimize someone all over again.
#WadeAllen #KellyJeanWarner #KellyWarner #TrueCrime #Michigan #Sturgis #Murder
🔔 Subscribe for True Crime Cases multiple times a week
Never miss a story. Subscribe to 10 Minute Murder for bite-sized true crime episodes delivered fresh every week.
Get a weekly email from me about the upcoming cases and more: 10minutemurder.com/newsletter
📱 Follow for Behind-the-Scenes Content Get exclusive case updates, research photos, and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes:
- Instagram: @10minutemurder on IG
- Facebook: 10 Minute Murder on FB
- TikTok: 10 Minute Murder on TikTok
- Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review to help other true crime fans discover the show
- Share: Send this episode to fellow true crime enthusiasts
- Join the Discussion: Tag us in your episode reactions on social media
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/10-minute-murder-bingeable-true-crime-stories--4603604/support.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | On May 19th, police and Sturgis, Michigan, got an anonymous call about a body being in an apartment on North Maple Street. |
| 0:09.4 | When they knocked on Wade Allen's door that night, he told them his girlfriend was an hour away in Kalamazoo. |
| 0:15.9 | But when officers spotted two closed coolers sitting in his living room and asked to look inside those coolers, |
| 0:22.3 | they discovered something that would haunt them forever. |
| 0:55.9 | Yeah! When someone with a stable routine vanishes, the alarm bell rings within hours. But Kelly Jean Warner, |
| 1:03.5 | 43 years old in spring 2019, lived what investigators call a transient life. She moved frequently, |
| 1:14.5 | had periods without regular contact. She was diabetic with other health issues. This was her reality, and it became her killer's greatest weapon. When Kelly disappeared, there was no frantic employer calling emergency contact numbers, no landlord |
| 1:20.4 | wondering about rent. |
| 1:22.3 | Her absence folded quietly into the background in Sturgis, Michigan. |
| 1:26.8 | What Kelly had was a sister who refused to |
| 1:29.5 | accept that silence. Lisa knew something was wrong. She kept pushing, kept asking questions. That relentless |
| 1:36.8 | pursuit is why we're talking about this case at all. Wade Allen was 35 years old when police came |
| 1:43.4 | knocking in May 2019. |
| 1:46.0 | He lived at 2.29 North Maple Street in Sturgis, small town near the Indiana border. |
| 1:52.2 | His apartment was apparently always a mess, which becomes relevant when you realize that |
| 1:57.1 | mess was perfect camouflage for concealing a murder. |
| 2:01.4 | A forensic psychologist who analyzed the case |
| 2:03.9 | labeled Alan a classic sexual psychopath. |
| 2:08.0 | Psychopaths get stimulated by harming or manipulating people. |
| 2:12.1 | They have no remorse. |
| 2:13.4 | They have no empathy. |
| 2:15.0 | The psychologist theorized that Alan may have a small amygdala, the brain region that processes |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Joe, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Joe and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.