Michelle Parker’s ex-fiancé is now formally charged in her murder following his arrest last month, nearly 15 years after the pair appeared in a reality TV episode that aired the day of her disappearance.
Prosecutors filed a second-degree murder charge against Dale Smith Jr. in Orange County Circuit Court in Florida on Tuesday, November 3, according to a criminal information viewed by Us.
The document states Smith, 55, “by an act imminently dangerous to another, and evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life, did kill Michelle Parker” on or around November 17, 2011.
Parker’s sister reported her missing that day to the Orlando Police Department, telling officers Parker had planned to drop off her twin children at Smith’s home, according to an affidavit unsealed on October 26 and obtained by Us.
Parker, a mother of three children, including the twins she shared with Smith, was never seen again, authorities said. Her body hasn’t been located to date.
Smith was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in Orlando on October 14 in connection with her death. He pleaded not guilty on October 15, records show.
Smith’s defense attorney, Rajan Joshi, didn’t immediately return a request for comment from Us on Wednesday, November 4.
The same day she disappeared, a pretaped episode of The People’s Court featuring Parker and Dale’s legal dispute over an engagement ring he claimed she had tossed off a balcony aired on TV.
During the episode, Parker accused Dale of infidelity and described him as “pretty malicious and vindictive.”
Smith was initially considered a suspect in Parker’s disappearance after her vehicle was found abandoned at an Orlando mall the day after she went missing, according to a 2012 report from the Palm Beach Post. A few weeks later, her iPhone was found underwater in Belle Isle.
In an interview with police on November 18, 2011, Smith claimed he “had no idea” where Parker was after she dropped off her children at his home a day earlier. He also said he wasn’t involved in her disappearance, per the affidavit.
He confirmed he had watched The People’s Court episode when asked, according to the filing.
At the end of the interview, Smith told police he believed Parker “was embarrassed” by the episode airing, the affidavit states.
“He stated she was just laying low and had no idea if anything happened to her at all,” adding that “he wanted her to come home safe because his kids need their mom,” the filing continued.
Following the interview, Smith allowed investigators to take photos of scratches and abrasions that are now suspected to be defensive wounds caused by Parker, according to the affidavit, which includes the images.
An analysis of cellphone location data, text messages and other records helped support Smith’s recent arrest, according to the affidavit.
Earlier this year, on March 10, an investigator met with one of Parker’s close friends, who revealed Parker was worried about seeing Smith on November 17, 2011, when The People’s Court episode was going to air, according to the affidavit.
“She described the victim as a ‘nervous wreck,’” the affidavit states.
“She said the judge on the show was very insulting and she knew it would not sit well with the suspect because everyone would see it,” the filing continued. “The victim found it embarrassing.”
Smith is seeking a specialized bond hearing after he was ordered to be held without bond, according to a motion filed November 3.
The filing states he’s “entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence in this case,” arguing that prosecutors cannot link him to Parker’s murder.
The motion also argues for his immediate release on monetary bond.
