Florida man charged with killing ex-fiancée 15 years after People’s Court episode

What happened

Dale Smith Jr., 55, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Michelle Parker, 33, who went missing on November 17, 2011, hours after a pretaped episode of The People's Court featuring both of them was broadcast. Smith was the last known person to see Parker when she dropped off their children at his home. Police say all evidence points to Smith as responsible, though her body has not been recovered. Over the past year, Orlando police expanded their investigative team and used advances in digital forensics to uncover and analyse additional evidence from vehicles, electronic devices, phones and computers. Parker's vehicle was found abandoned a day after her disappearance, and her cell phone was later recovered from an Orlando-area lake. A judge ordered Smith held without bond pending a detention hearing. Smith's defence attorney said the investigation focused exclusively on Smith and ignored other potential leads, characterising it as targeting "the usual suspect, which is the ex."

Key facts

• Dale Smith Jr., 55, charged with second-degree murder
• Michelle Parker, 33, missing November 17, 2011
• People's Court episode broadcast the day of her disappearance
• US$5000 engagement ring was subject of the court case
• Body never recovered; cell phone found in Orlando-area lake

What happens next

Detention hearing to be scheduled

Covered byStuff1NewsNot covered byRNZNZ HeraldNewstalk ZBOtago Daily TimesNewsroomThe SpinoffBusinessDeskinterest.co.nz

Coverage across the news outlets we track, as at publication.

What outlets are saying