The ex-fiance of a missing Florida mom was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday \u2013 nearly 15 years after she vanished following their appearance on \u201cThe People\u2019s Court,\u201d police said.<\/p>\n
Dale Smith, considered a prime suspect since the early days of the investigation into fianc\u00e9e Michelle Parker\u2019s disappearance, was hauled into custody at his workplace, Orlando Police announced.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmith was the last known person to see or hear from Michelle on Nov. 17, 2011, after she dropped their children off at his home,\u201d said Orlando police chief Eric Smith at a press conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dale Smith was charged with murdering his ex-fiancee Michelle Parker \u2014 who disappeared nearly 15 years ago<\/p>\n
Dale Smith, left, and Michelle Parker appear on \u201cThe People\u2019s Court\u201d back in October 2011. YouTube\/The People’s Court<\/p>\n
Smith is escorted by police on Wednesday. Orlando Police Department<\/p>\n
New digital forensics technology \u2014\u00a0 allowing law enforcement to more thoroughly examine evidence on electronic devices \u2014 helped clear the way for second-degree murder charges against Smith, the father of Parker\u2019s twins.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suspect has taken part in depositions related to this case and very specific questions were asked to him numerous times over the years where he gave different answers to those same questions,\u201d said detective Phil McMicken.<\/p>\n
Parker disappeared in November 2011 after dropping off her then-3-year-old twins at Smith\u2019s home \u2014 the same exact day a TV episode aired that showed the couple fighting over their pricey engagement ring.<\/p>\n
Parker\u2019s remains have never been found.<\/p>\n
Smith and Parker had a dispute over an engagement ring on the show. YouTube\/The People’s Court<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Michelle has not yet been located, all evidence leads to Dale Smith Jr as the person responsible for Michelle\u2019s murder,\u201d Orlando Police said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue pursuing justice for Michelle, her family, and every victim we serve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The police chief said he called Parker\u2019s mother, Yvonne Stewart, into his office after securing the warrant and arresting Smith.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it felt good,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Parker and Smith seen after the birth of their twins in a photo posted to Facebook on Sept. 13, 2010. Facebook\/Michelle Parker<\/p>\n
\u201cFor our department and community to get some sort of closure on this \u2014 nothing we can ever do will bring Michelle back, but in cases of homicide and things of that nature to get some sort of closure for [the] family is what we want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a post memorializing Parker nearly two years ago, Stewart reminded friends and family that Dale was the prime suspect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMemories of the saddest day in our lives 13 years ago, today,\u201d wrote Stewart on Facebook on Nov. 17, 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne year after the breakup with her ex fianc\u00e9e was Nov 17th 2011,\u201d the post continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smith is seen in his mugshot after he was arrested for Parker\u2019s murder. Orlando Police Department<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is 13 years ago. Ex is still [the] primary and only suspect according to an extensive investigation by the Orlando Police Dept.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parker and Smith were known to have a rocky and sometimes violent relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gets pretty malicious and vindictive,\u201d Parker said on \u201cThe People\u2019s Court.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a mean person, especially when he\u2019s drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back in August 2009, Parker filed for a domestic violence injunction against Smith, alleging in court documents that he smashed her truck window during a heated argument while holding their then-15-month-old daughter.<\/p>\n
The order was tossed out a month later for unknown reasons.<\/p>\n
Parker was last seen dropping off the twins at Smith\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Cops later recovered her Hummer SUV on Nov. 18 on Orlando\u2019s west side. Her final text message was sent a day earlier from the city\u2019s Waterford Lakes area, according to police.<\/p>\n
Smith had a lengthy rap sheet dating back to the 1990s, including arrests for battery and marijuana possession.<\/p>\n
During his time in the US Marine Corps, he was court-martialed and convicted of drug and domestic battery charges in 2001.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ex-fiance of a missing Florida mom was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday \u2013 nearly 15…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,6888,4538,4278],"class_list":["post-428107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-missing-persons","tag-murders","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}