Florida man charged with murder in ex-fiancée's 2011 disappearance

A antheral has been arrested connected a execution complaint successful transportation with the disappearance of his ex-fiancée astir 15 years ago, authorities successful Orlando, Florida, announced Wednesday.

Michelle Parker, past 33, disappeared connected Nov. 17, 2011, the aforesaid time that an episode of the world tribunal amusement "The People's Court" aired that featured Parker and the suspect, Dale Smith Jr., successful a contentious quality implicit an engagement ring.

The Orlando Police Department reported Wednesday that Smith was taken into custody connected a azygous number of second-degree murder.

Parker's SUV was located abandoned 1 time aft she went missing, but she has ne'er been found. Parker and Smith person 2 children together.

Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said successful a quality league pursuing Wednesday's apprehension that Smith Jr. was "the past known idiosyncratic to spot oregon perceive from Michelle" connected the time of her disappearance aft she had dropped their children disconnected astatine his home.

The constabulary main said that implicit the past year, his section expanded its probe into the lawsuit and "took a fresh, focused look astatine each the evidence."

"We reexamined grounds and conflicting statements made by the fishy and utilized precocious integer forensics to uncover and analyse further evidence," Smith told reporters.

Smith Jr. has been interviewed by investigators aggregate times, Orlando constabulary Det. Phillip McMican said Wednesday, and helium had besides taken portion successful respective depositions related to the probe arsenic well.

"Very circumstantial questions were asked of him galore times implicit the years, wherever helium gave antithetic answers to those aforesaid questions," McMican said of Smith Jr.

McMican said that advancements successful forensic exertion allowed investigators to "better interpret" grounds — including vehicles, physics devices, phones and computers — than what was disposable to them 15 years ago.

McMican besides disclosed that "new grounds has been recovered successful the past year."

The nonstop details of what specifically prompted the apprehension were not provided, however.  

In a abstracted statement, constabulary said that though Parker has not been located, "all grounds leads to Dale Smith Jr. arsenic the idiosyncratic liable for Michelle's murder."

According to CBS affiliate WKMG-TV, connected the nighttime she disappeared, Parker was captured connected information video dropping her children disconnected astatine Smith Jr.'s home. Her conveyance was recovered abandoned the pursuing time successful an Orlando parking lot, WKMG-TV reports, and her cellphone was located by divers successful an country water successful December 2011. Smith Jr. had been a fishy successful the lawsuit since astir that time. 

In:

• Murder
• Florida
• Orlando