Authorities in Orlando, Florida, have arrested a man on a murder charge related to the disappearance of his ex-fiancée nearly 15 years ago. The case involves Michelle Parker, who was 33 years old when she vanished on November 17, 2011. This date coincided with the airing of a ‘The People’s Court’ episode featuring Parker and her ex, Dale Smith Jr., disputing over an engagement ring.
The Orlando Police Department disclosed on Wednesday that Smith has been charged with second-degree murder. Her SUV was found abandoned the day after her disappearance, but Parker has never been located. She and Smith shared two children. During a press conference, Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith confirmed that Dale Smith Jr. was the last person confirmed to have seen or communicated with Michelle on the day she went missing. She had dropped their children at his residence.
In the past year, the police department intensified its efforts on the case, rekindling scrutiny of all existing evidence. Chief Smith stated, ‘We reexamined testimony and conflicting statements made by the suspect and used advanced digital forensics to uncover and analyze additional evidence.’ Investigators interviewed Smith Jr. multiple times. Orlando police Detective Phillip McMican noted, ‘Very specific questions were asked of him numerous times over the years, where he gave different answers to those same questions.’
Recent strides in forensic technology enabled investigators to better interpret evidence, helping them examine vehicles, electronic devices, phones, and computers more thoroughly than before. McMican also mentioned that ‘new evidence has been found in the last year,’ though specific details leading to Smith Jr.’s arrest remain undisclosed.
The police stressed that although Parker remains missing, all evidence implicates Dale Smith Jr. in her murder. According to CBS affiliate WKMG-TV, surveillance footage captured Parker dropping her children at Smith Jr.’s residence on the night of her disappearance. Her vehicle was discovered abandoned in an Orlando parking lot the next day, while her cellphone was retrieved from a lake in December 2011. Smith Jr. has been a suspect since around that time.