Florida man charged with murdering ex-fiancée hours after TV court show aired

Dale Smith Jr., 55, arrested in Orlando for the 2011 disappearance of Michelle Parker, who vanished hours after their 'People's Court' episode broadcast.

Florida man arrested over 2011 disappearance of ex-fiancée, hours after TV appearance

A Florida man has been charged with the murder of his former fiancée, nearly 15 years after she vanished on the same day their appearance on a televised courtroom programme aired, wusf.org reports.

Orlando police announced Wednesday the arrest of Dale Smith Jr., 55, on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of Michelle Parker, then 33. Parker went missing on 17 November 2011, hours after a pre-recorded episode of "The People's Court" — in which she and Smith had appeared together — was broadcast.

The body of Parker, who was the mother of Smith's children, has not been recovered. Investigators said all available evidence points to Smith as responsible for her death. Her vehicle was found abandoned the day after she disappeared; her cellphone was later retrieved from a lake in the Orlando area.

Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith, who is not related to the suspect, said the case had remained a priority throughout. Parker was last seen dropping her children off at Smith's home on the evening of her disappearance.

"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 analyse additional evidence."

Detective Phillip McMican confirmed that new evidence had been collected in the past year, alongside fresh analysis of older material made possible by technological advances. "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 have not publicly disclosed a motive, nor provided detailed specifics of the evidence gathered against Smith.

Smith's defence attorney, Rajan Joshi, challenged the strength of the case at a hearing Thursday afternoon, arguing the state would struggle to meet its burden of proof based on what had been presented in the criminal complaint. A judge ordered Smith held without bond pending a detention hearing, which had not been scheduled as of Thursday.

In a subsequent phone interview, Joshi said the investigation had focused almost exclusively on his client from the outset, dismissing other potential leads. "Michelle Parker worked at a bar. She was a very attractive young lady," Joshi said. "They 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."

On the day Parker disappeared, the episode of "The People's Court" featuring the pair was broadcast. Smith had brought the case to court after claiming a $5,000 engagement ring he had purchased for Parker was lost when she threw it at him during an argument. Judge Marilyn Milian ruled both parties bore responsibility for the ring's loss and ordered Parker to pay Smith $2,500 — half the ring's value.

Police continue to search for Parker's remains.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)