New information is shedding light on the events that preceded Michelle Parker’s disappearance in 2011.
According to a recently unsealed affidavit, Parker’s former fiancé, Dale Smith Jr., offered her $2,000 for sex roughly two weeks before he was arrested on a second-degree murder charge tied to her death. Parker reportedly rejected the offer.
Afterward, Smith sent Parker a text message on Nov. 10, 2011, apologizing and saying he had not intended to make her feel like a “whore,” the affidavit states. He wrote that he had wanted to help her financially and spend “one last time” with her, while insisting he did not view her negatively for refusing.
Parker vanished on Nov. 17, 2011—the same day she and Smith appeared in a recorded episode of The People’s Court over a dispute involving a $5,000 engagement ring.
Investigators say Parker was last seen after she dropped off the twins she shared with Smith at his Orlando condominium, according to the affidavit.
Her remains have never been found. Several years after her disappearance, a judge declared Parker legally dead.
FIND OUT MORE: Flight Instructor, 22, and Pilot, 38 Killed in Helicopter Crash
The affidavit also contains photographs taken the following day that show scratches and abrasions on Smith. Authorities believe the injuries could have been defensive wounds sustained during a struggle with Parker.
“It is believed the suspect killed the victim in his house 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,” the affidavit says. Investigators believe Parker was strangled and that she may have fought back, leaving the marks observed on Smith.
Smith was identified as a primary suspect in 2011, but police did not have enough evidence at the time to establish probable cause for an arrest, an Orlando detective told Fox News.
Authorities eventually arrested Smith 15 years later after advances in digital forensic technology helped uncover information stored on electronic devices.
Smith’s defense attorney, Rajan Joshi, has previously defended his client publicly.
“He maintains his innocence,” Joshi told WESH 2 News. “We’re going to go forward with defending him.”
Joshi did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Oxygen.