Left: Dale Smith (Orange County Jail). Right: Michelle Parker (Orlando Police).
A 46-page affidavit sheds light on how cops in Florida finally arrested the man long suspected of killing his ex-fiancee after they appeared on "The People's Court."
Dale Smith II, now 55, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge, Orlando police announced earlier this month.
Michelle Parker, 33, disappeared on Nov. 17, 2011, after she dropped her twins off at Smith's home. Among the new revelations that led to Smith's arrest was the enhanced analysis of cellphone location data not available 15 years ago.
Smith claimed that Parker was at his home for only about 10 minutes, but the newly analyzed data showed that Parker was at the home for over an hour, giving him ample time to kill her, cops said.
Investigators also allege that after Smith killed Parker, he sent a text message from her phone to her brother saying she was at a shopping center, when in actuality the phone was more than 10 miles away. The victim was likely already dead, cops said.
The affidavit also detailed the couple's tumultuous relationship, with multiple witnesses saying Smith was abusive. Parker would often have marks from Smith's alleged abuse. One friend said Smith told her "Oh, your time is coming" during a fight before her disappearance, cops wrote.
Parker also expressed concern to another friend about their portrayal on "The People's Court." The friend said Parker told her that she was a "nervous wreck."
"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 victim found it embarrassing," investigators wrote.
Detectives also recovered text messages of Smith and Parker insulting each other in the days and weeks leading up to her disappearance, including a text in which the victim apparently threatened to take custody of their kids away from Smith.
"Mourn for ur kids too! U lost em," Parker wrote two weeks before her death, according to officials. "They'll b goin with me a—hole."
A few days later, Smith allegedly texted her, accusing her of having a boyfriend. Three days later, the two were texting about Smith's apparent offer to pay Parker $2,000 so they could have sex "one last time." Parker rejected this offer, according to the affidavit.
Investigators did not specifically say how or why Smith allegedly killed Parker. Smith could have killed Parker because he was jealous she was dating other men, was upset about the TV show or her threatening to take away his kids, detectives concluded. Cops also noted that Smith texted Parker that he was "sexually frustrated" before she arrived at his house to drop off the kids and that he liked "rough sex."
Parker's body has never been recovered. She was declared dead in 2013.
Investigators also examined the suspect's inconsistent statements during depositions in a civil case, Orlando police Det. Phil McMican told reporters at a press conference.
"Very specific questions were asked of him numerous times over the years, where he gave different answers to those same questions," McMican said.
Smith said in his deposition that Parker had arrived about an hour before he had initially told police she arrived.
In the days and weeks after she vanished, police found clues, but no sign of her.
Investigators recovered her Hummer in a parking lot not far from where she disappeared. They also found her phone under a bridge a few weeks later.
Parker and Smith were set to be married, but the engagement was called off following numerous arguments. Smith sued his ex, alleging she threw her engagement ring off a ninth-story hotel balcony during a convention in Georgia. He rushed downstairs to look for it but could not find it.
The pair appeared on an episode of "The People's Court," during which Judge Marilyn Milian ordered Parker to pay $2,500. It aired on TV the day she went missing. During the episode, Parker accused Smith of being physically abusive and unfaithful to her. She said she tried to stay together for the benefit of their twins, who were 3 years old at the time, but the couple was unable to make it work.
Police took Smith into custody on Oct. 14, days before he was set to board a flight to Colombia. He remains in the Orange County Jail without bond.