Man arrested in connection to ex-fiancée’s disappearance

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS, KYMA) - In 2011, Michelle Parker disappeared the same day she and ex-fiancée, Dale Smith Jr. were featured on an episode of "The People's Court."

The case went cold for 15 years, but now, Smith has been arrested in connection with Parker's disappearance.

After nearly 15 years of police work, Smith, 55, is behind bars. He was arrested Wednesday at his workplace, and has been charged in connection with the disappearance of Parker, 33.

She disappeared the same day she and Smith, her ex-fiancée, were featured on an episode of "The People's Court," where they argued about who was financially responsible for a lost engagement ring.

She was last seen on November 17, 2011, when she dropped off her twin children at Smith's condo in Orlando.

A fast-food restaurant drive-thru surveillance video was one of the last videos appearing to show Parker alive.

Her body has never been found, and police considered Smith a prime suspect since the beginning.

CBS News spoke to Parker's mother, Yvonne Stewart, and brother, Dustin Erickson, after Smith's arrest.

"15 years is a long time to wonder where your sister or your daughter is, and not knowing that is painful," Erickson expressed.

Police said there were some major breakthroughs in the case over the past year. New advances in technology allowed a more detailed analysis of digital evidence, including data from phones, computers, and vehicles associated with the case.

However, the lack of a body does provide an extra layer of difficulty when it comes to convincing a jury, said former prosecutor Dave Aronberg.

"The defendant had all the motivations in the world to do it, this is an easy motive for a jury to understand, it's a spurned ex, someone who was perhaps humiliated on national TV," Aronberg explained.

When asked to explain what's going through her hear and mind, Stewart said, "Michelle definitely didn't deserve to have her life ended, and the injustice of it, that the person responsible was free...so yeah this is a good day."

Smith, who has long denied any wrongdoing, appeared in court in Orlando, Florida Thursday, where his is charged with second-degree murder, but State Attorney Monique Worrell said the charges could escalate depending on the evidence.

In addition, the judge ordered Smith to be held without bond until a formal detention hearing can take place.