Text messages help lead to man’s arrest for murder in ex-fiancée’s 2011 disappearance, affidavit says

Updated on: October 27, 2026 / 11:07 AM EDT / CBS News

Court documents are revealing new details about Dale Smith Jr., the man recently arrested in connection with the disappearance of his ex-fiancée Michelle Parker in 2011, including newly recovered text messages and a history of domestic violence and injuries that police never asked about during their initial investigation.

Smith was taken into custody on a charge of second-degree murder earlier this month. Police said that new evidence in the case, as well as advancements in forensic technology, led to the arrest, though some of the exact details were not provided.

Parker, then 33, disappeared on Nov. 17, 2011, the same day that an episode of "The People's Court" about a dispute between herself and Smith aired. Her car was found the next day, but she was never located. Parker and Smith share two children. Parker was reported missing by her sister, who told police that Parker had stopped by her workplace before going to drop off the children at Smith's house. Smith told Parker's mother that Parker dropped the children off and left.

Smith told police that he and Parker "do not talk anymore" and that she had…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/