Police in Orlando, Florida, have arrested the ex-fiancé of Michelle Parker, the woman who disappeared in 2011 just hours after the pair’s dispute aired on “The People’s Court.”
Dale Smith Jr., 55, was arrested on Wednesday by the Orlando Police Department on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Parker. While her body hasn’t been located, police said “all evidence leads to Dale Smith Jr. as the person responsible for Michelle’s murder.”
The arrest comes 15 years after Parker was last seen on Nov. 17, 2011, when she dropped her twins off with Smith.
Parker disappeared the same afternoon that a prerecorded episode of “The People’s Court” aired showing her and Smith settling a dispute over a $5,000 engagement ring.
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In court, Parker said Smith “gets pretty malicious and vindictive,” adding that “he said that he wanted his ring, so I took it off, and I threw it at him.” Friends of the couple previously said the two had a tumultuous relationship.
Parker was reported missing after she failed to show up for work. When her brother, Dustin, texted to ask where she was, he immediately got a reply that read “Waterford.” This alarmed family members who said that Parker would never respond with one-word texts.
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Her abandoned Hummer was found several days later near an apartment complex west of the Mall at Millenia, and the decal promoting her airbrush-tanning business was removed from her car. Parker’s iPhone was found by a dive team in a lake around four miles from her home.
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Police considered Smith a prime suspect for years but lacked enough evidence to arrest him. Police said the break came after “years of investigative work and a renewed, focused effort over the past year,” crediting an “expanded investigative team” that reexamined evidence and used advances in digital forensics.
Detective Phil McMickin said on Wednesday during a news conference that Smith was interviewed many times by police.
“The suspect was interviewed more than once, and since then has taken part in depositions related to this case, and very specific questions were asked of him numerous times over the years where he gave different answers to those same questions,” McMickin said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Smith’s defense attorney.