A Florida man has been charged with killing the mother of his children nearly 15 years ago. His ex-fiancée went missing just hours after their pre-taped appearance on ‘The People’s Court’ aired, police said. Orlando police announced the arrest Wednesday (Oct. 14) of Dale Smith Jr. The 55-year-old is charged with second-degree murder.
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Details About The Florida Case
Police have not yet recovered the body of 33-year-old Michelle Parker. However, all evidence leads to Dale Smith Jr. as the person responsible for her death, police said. A judge ordered Smith to be held without bond pending a detention hearing. It wasn’t immediately scheduled.
Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith, who is not related to Dale Smith Jr., said during the news conference on Wednesday that the case never stopped being a priority. Smith was the last known person to see or hear from Michelle Parker before she went missing on Nov. 17, 2011. That’s when she dropped their children off at his home, the chief said.
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“Over the past year, we expanded our investigative team looking into this case and took a fresh, focused look at all the evidence,” the police chief said. “We reexamined testimony and conflicting statements made by the suspect and used advances in digital forensics to uncover and analyze additional evidence.”
On the day of Parker’s disappearance, an episode of ‘The People’s Court’ featuring Michelle Parker and Smith aired. Smith had sued Parker, claiming that a $5,000 engagement ring that he bought for her got lost when she threw it at him during an argument. Judge Marilyn Milian ultimately ruled that both parties were responsible for the ring’s loss and ordered Parker to pay $2,500 to Smith for half of it.
What Evidence Do Police Have?
Police gave few details about what evidence they had against Dale Smith Jr. But Detective Phillip McMican confirmed that police had collected new evidence in the past year, as well as new insights into old evidence thanks to technological advancements.
“Vehicles, electronic devices, phones, computers — we’re able to better interpret that evidence today than what we were able to do back in 2011,” McMican said.
Police continue to search for Michelle Parker’s body. Her vehicle was found abandoned a day after her disappearance. Additionally, her cellphone was later recovered from an Orlando-area lake. Investigators have not publicly stated a motive for Parker’s murder.
Dale Smith Jr.’s Lawyer Speaks Out
Smith’s attorney, Rajan Joshi, said during a hearing Thursday afternoon that he didn’t believe the state could meet its burden of proof to convict Smith. He based his comment on the information in the criminal complaint.
Joshi said later Thursday during a phone interview that the prosecution’s case has many challenges that he plans to explore. Also, the defense attorney said the investigation focused almost exclusively on Smith from the beginning and ignored other potential leads.
“Michelle Parker worked at a bar. She was a very attractive young lady,” Joshi said. “They (police) did not go out and investigate other possibilities that could have happened to her. This is one of those cases where they go and they immediately target the usual suspect, which is the ex.”
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Associated Press writer David Fischer contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
