I've gone through a lot of missing person cases on this board in real time, just as I have been here from the beginning for this one. In the beginning, we sleuthed every angle, got all the information we could from LE via the media and a few local posters, one of whom saw Michelle in the Hummer that day prior to arriving at the condo and another who was kindly providing us with photos and her own search efforts. Through it all, for most of us, it became apparent, early on, that DSJr was most likely involved, if not the actual perpetrator. When LE made the announcement, it came as no surprise and we started to sleuth him in earnest. We all know the results of that and while past criminal history and character references cannot be used against someone in a court of law (something I vehemently disagree with) it can be used to make a common sense argument for why, in the absence of knowing all of the evidence that LE is withholding, it is likely that DSJr is responsible.
It is very rare, almost non existent, for LE to name a prime suspect. I believe I read on this thread that there are 770 missing people in Florida alone and Ill bet there are no prime suspects publicly announced in most if any of those cases. In this case, LE has stated in the media repeatedly, even months later, that they have a prime suspect and that they came to that conclusion with evidence and witness statements. The OPD, the FBI and now a specially trained SMART panel are involved in this case and they all are in agreement that the person most likely responsible for Michelle's disappearance (and likely death considering where they have searched) is Dale Smith Jr. His behaviour from the beginning, along with his past history of violence and abuse with not only the victim in this case but with a few others, led some of us to this belief. I'm sure it played a part in LE naming him too but it is the evidence that they have that makes them confident with this statement IMO.
Not even Josh Powell was given this designation if I recall correctly. So IMO, I no longer need to look at other angles to figure out who may be responsible. I trust those two different levels of law enforcement as well as a panel of people made up of some of the best LE in the country as they have not wavered from their position . They did all the work to find the who. So now the question is the how, when and where.
LE have evidence. They've said they have it. They have phone records, witness statements, over 700 tips, the phone, the Hummer and whatever they gathered from the searches of both the condo and the home of DSSr. We know DSJr lied to them regarding the timeline. We know he stopped talking to them and refused a lie detector when they confronted him about it. Apparently there was a lot of circumstantial evidence in the Powell case too. But they didn't have the forensics or the victim so they kept plugging away for two long years to try to find the victim and the forensics and evidence that may be with her. They were reaching the point where they had decided that the victim might never be found and were preparing for an arrest. Unfortunately, JP had a different plan for the end of the investigation stage and the start of the arrest stage in that case.
LE will not arrest as long as they believe there is a possibility that Michelle will be found IMO. And the DA probably feel the same way. Finding her is what they want to complete the investigation. The missing "dot" so to speak. The SMART panel was put together to come up with clues for them to hopefully do that and resolve this case.
MOO
