48 Hours - The People's Court Mystery: Michelle Parker's Case Reopened

A televised dispute over an engagement ring turned into one of Florida's most haunting missing persons cases. This week, CBS News correspondents Shanelle Kaul and Cristian Benavides examine the recent arrest of Michelle Parker's ex-fiancé, Dale Smith Jr., 15 years after her disappearance, and hear from the family members who never stopped fighting for answers.

Duration: 20m
Broadcast on: 23 Oct 2026
Audio Format: other

It was a gruesome discovery off a dirt road in Georgia. Hunters had found a body. Was it immediately clear to you that this woman had been murdered? Yes. But who was this mystery woman in the woods? That looks like Mindy. I'm Erin Moriarty, and from 48 hours, this is the woman in the woods. I've never wanted to be wrong like this in my whole entire life. Binge the full series The Woman in the Woods, Wherever You Get Your Podcast. On November 17, 2011, Orlando-based bartender Michelle Parker and her ex-fiancé Dale Smith Jr. appeared on an episode of the People's Court. It's a reality show that first aired back in 1981 and ran for 26 seasons. Their dispute, a $5,000 engagement ring, allegedly lost in a tense exchange. Dale Smith, you are suing your former fiancé Michelle Parker for $5,000 a statutory maximum for an engagement ring that according to you, she has not returned to you despite the fact that YouTube broke up. And then he said that he wanted his ring. So I took it off and I threw it at him. Well, she threw the ring in a bounce over the railing and down nine floors. So the episode ended with a judge ordering both Smith and Parker to pay $2,500 towards the ring. The couple had twins together, a three-year-old boy and a girl. The day this episode aired back in 2011, Michelle dropped the kids off at Smith's home before planning to head to work. He was the last person to see Michelle that day before she seemingly vanished. 15 years later now, Dale Smith Jr. has been arrested by the Orlando Police Department and charged with killing Michelle Parker. We re-examine testimony and conflicting statements made by the suspect and used advanced and digital forensics to uncover and analyze additional evidence. This case never stopped being a priority. Our detectives kept working. They kept asking questions. They kept examining the evidence. Smith has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second degree murder and his attorney states that Smith maintains his innocence and said, "We're going to go forward with defending him." Smith is currently being held without bond at the Orange County Jail. I'm CBS News correspondent Chanel Call and this is Case by Case. Joining us today to break down developments in this cold case is CBS News correspondent Christian Benavidez. Christian, thanks so much for being with us. There's so much that's so fascinating about this case. Absolutely. Chanel, thank you for having me. So I want to start with the timing of this, right? I know you've been covering this case since Smith was arrested last week. You even sat down with Michelle's brother and mother. And so how are they reacting to this huge new development 15 years later? Right. Chanel, there are a lot of emotions. The family has been waiting for this moment for 15 years. Michelle's mom told me that she had essentially no advance notice and found out just hours before the announcement. She said that police called her in and there was a large group of detectives that told her the news. She knew something was going on when she saw the large group of detectives. I asked her if she felt that this was justice and she said it is the beginning of justice. And what they really want is to find her remains. They believe that Dale Smith Jr. knows where Michelle's remains are and they're hopeful that he will tell authorities. So the People's Court episode that we were talking about, right, that was centered on the couple's missing ring. That seemed to have revealed some of the dynamics in their relationship. I want to play a bit of that sound here.

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