A man charged with murdering his former fiancée allegedly offered her $2,000 for sex a week before she disappeared, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Dale Smith Jr. is accused of killing Michelle Parker, a 33-year-old mother of three, who vanished in Orlando on November 17, 2011. Her body has never been found.
The documents refer to a text exchange between Parker and Smith on November 10, in which she rejected what she described as an offer of $2,000 in return for sex.
“Thought about your offer … & will have to decline. I’d rather have a personal legal loan than feel like a whore,” Parker wrote, according to the arrest affidavit.
Smith allegedly replied that he had not intended to make her feel that way and said he simply wanted to spend time with her. The affidavit states that Parker accused him of offering the money for sex, while Smith denied that the proposal was a sexual transaction.
The exchange came amid weeks of arguments over the couple’s relationship and custody of their children. Parker was last seen dropping off the twins she shared with Smith at his home in Orlando.
Her Hummer was found abandoned the following day. The same day Parker disappeared, an episode of The People’s Court aired featuring the former couple disputing ownership of a $5,000 engagement ring.
Investigators now allege that Smith killed Parker inside his home after she dropped off the children. They say he had scratch marks and abrasions which were believed to be defensive wounds.
Smith was arrested on October 14, nearly 15 years after Parker disappeared, and charged with second-degree murder after investigators revisited old mobile phone evidence using advances in digital forensics.
He has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
