Florida man killed ex-fiancee hours after their 'People's Court' episode
aired, police say
[October 16, 2026]
By DAVID FISCHER
A Florida man has been charged with killing the mother of his children
nearly 15 years ago, after his ex-fiancee went missing just hours after
their pretaped appearance on “The People’s Court” was broadcast, police
said.
Orlando police announced the arrest Wednesday of Dale Smith Jr., 55, on
a charge of second-degree murder. The body of 33-year-old Michelle
Parker has not been recovered, but all evidence leads to Smith as the
person responsible for her death, police said.
Smith's attorney, Rajan Joshi, said during a hearing Thursday afternoon
that he didn't believe the state could meet its burden of proof to
convict Smith based on the information presented in the criminal
complaint. A judge ordered Smith to be held without bond pending a
detention hearing, which wasn't immediately scheduled.
Joshi said later Thursday during a phone interview that the
prosecution's case has many challenges that he plans to explore. The
defense attorney said the investigation focused almost exclusively on
Smith from the beginning and ignored other potential leads.
“Michelle Parker worked at a bar. She was a very attractive young lady,”
Joshi said. “They (police) 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.”
Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith, who is not related to Smith, said
during the news conference on Wednesday that the case never stopped
being a priority. Smith was the last known person to see or hear from
Parker before she went missing on Nov. 17, 2011, when she dropped their
children off at his home, the chief said.
“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 analyze additional evidence.
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In this image taken from video released by the Orlando Police
Department, Dale Smith Jr. is taken into custody in Orlando, Fla.,
on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (Orlando Police Department via AP)
Police gave few details about what evidence they had against Smith, but
Detective Phillip McMican confirmed that police had collected new
evidence in the past year, as well as new insights into old evidence
thanks to technological advancements.
“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 continue to search for Parker's body. Her vehicle was found
abandoned a day after her disappearance, and her cellphone was later
recovered from an Orlando-area lake.
Investigators have not publicly stated a motive for Parker’s murder.
On the day of Parker's disappearance, an episode of “The People's Court”
featuring her and Smith was broadcast. Smith had sued Parker, claiming
that a $5,000 engagement ring that he bought for her was lost when she
threw it at him during an argument. Judge Marilyn Milian ultimately
ruled that both parties were responsible for the ring's loss and ordered
Parker to pay $2,500 to Smith for half of it.
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