Michelle Parker's ex-fiancé arrested for murder 15 years after their People's Court taping

A Florida cold case tied to "The People's Court" has a suspect behind bars. Orlando police have arrested Dale Smith and charged him with murdering his former fiancée Michelle Parker.

An arrest at work

The Orlando Police Department said Wednesday that officers picked Smith up at his job. He was booked into the Orange County jail on a murder charge and is being held without bond.

The arrest comes almost 15 years after Parker disappeared. Police say Smith was a leading suspect from day one and that the evidence has always pointed to him.

The day she vanished

Investigators say Parker went missing on November 17, 2011, after dropping off the twins she had with Smith. He was the last person known to have seen her alive. Her body has never been found.

That same day the former couple showed up as opposing sides on a prerecorded episode of "The People's Court." The dispute centered on a $5,000 engagement ring.

During the taping Parker described Smith as someone who "gets pretty malicious and vindictive." She also told the court she pulled off the ring and hurled it at him because he wanted it back.

The search and the break

Officers searched the area the next day. They located Parker's car on the west side of Orlando and found her cell phone in a lake south of the city.

Smith has denied for years that he had anything to do with her disappearance. Police now say newer digital forensic tools helped detectives find and study more evidence that pushed the case forward. Smith has not been convicted and the case will now go through the courts.