Woman Who Vanished After “The People’s Court” in 2011 Was a ‘Nervous Wreck’ About Ex’s Reaction to Episode: Police
Michelle Parker; Dale Smith Jr.Credit: The People's Court/YouTube; Orlando Police Department
A close friend of Michelle Parker told investigators the Florida mom who vanished in 2011 was a “nervous wreck” over how her ex-fiancé would react to their The People’s Court appearance, according to a newly unsealed arrest affidavit
Parker disappeared the same day the episode aired and now police believe her ex-fiancé, Dale Smith Jr., killed her; her body has never been found
Smith has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge
Before she disappeared in 2011, Michelle Parker was a “nervous wreck” over how her ex-fiancé would react to their The People’s Court appearance, her friend told police, according to a newly unsealed arrest affidavit.
Parker’s ex-fiancé, Dale Smith Jr., was arrested by the Orlando Police Department on Oct. 14 and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the case. The 55-year-old has pleaded not guilty.
On the afternoon of Nov. 17, 2011, Parker, 33, disappeared after dropping off her then 3-year-old twins at Smith’s condo in Orlando, Fla., according to police. An episode of The People’s Court featuring the couple disputing the loss of an engagement ring aired that same day.
According to the affidavit, which was unsealed on Oct. 27 and obtained by PEOPLE, Parker’s close friend told investigators Parker was a “nervous wreck” over how Smith would react to the episode.
“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 affidavit reads, citing the witness interview. “The victim found it embarrassing.”
Police say Smith was the last person to see Parker alive. During a 2011 interview, he told investigators that Parker spent about 10 minutes at his home while dropping off their children before he left for his parents’ house. He also claimed Parker told him, “The People’s Court thing was on today,” according to the affidavit.
“Both the raw footage and the aired footage were not flattering to either the suspect or the victim,” authorities wrote. When asked about watching the show, Smith allegedly told detectives, “...I watched it. I DVR’d it and watched,” per the affidavit.
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Authorities wrote that Smith “believed [Parker] was embarrassed by the People’s Court show airing. He stated she was just laying low and had no idea if anything happened to her at all,” per the affidavit. “He wanted the victim to come home safe for their kids,” authorities wrote.
According to the affidavit, surveillance footage allegedly showed Parker’s car remained at Smith’s home for at least 70 minutes after the time he claimed she had left. Authorities allege Smith has given multiple conflicting accounts of the timeline of events that day.
One day after Parker was last seen, her vehicle was found abandoned in a parking lot. Three weeks later, divers discovered her iPhone in a lake. Text messages from that day had been deleted, allegedly by Smith, per the affidavit.
Investigators now believe Smith killed Parker at his home after “days of offensive messages, declining sex for cash, the embarrassing People’s Court episode airing, and threatening to restrict his access to his children,” according to the affidavit.
“It is believed the suspect choked the victim to death, likely resulting in the scratches and abrasions observed on him while the victim fought back,” the affidavit adds. “He was known for this behavior, admitted he was sexually frustrated, the victim was never seen again, and there were no signs of a crime scene found at his home the same day.”
During Smith’s first court appearance on Oct. 15, a judge ordered him held without bond. Smith’s defense attorney, Rajan Joshi, subsequently told PEOPLE that the public should “not to come to any conclusion from this arrest that he is guilty and keep an open mind until they have actually heard all the evidence.”
Source: Crime
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