Case 01 / 10Orlando, FloridaUnited States

Dale Smith Jr. Formally Charged With Second Degree Murder in Michelle Parker Case, 15 Years After She Vanished

Location: Orange County, Orlando, Florida, United States

Legal status: Charged with second degree murder (information filed Nov. 3, 2026); pleaded not guilty; presumed innocent; motion for an Arthur bond hearing pending

The charge. Prosecutors in Orlando have formally charged Dale Smith Jr. with second degree murder in the death of Michelle Parker, the Orlando mother of twins who disappeared on Nov. 17, 2011. WESH reported that State Attorney Monique Worrell’s office filed the charge on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, turning the October arrest into a pending prosecution. Parker’s body has never been found. Smith, Parker’s former fiance and the father of her twins, is also identified in court paperwork as Dale Smith II. He was arrested on Oct. 14 and has pleaded not guilty. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance, and he is presumed innocent.

The bond fight. WESH reported that Smith’s defense has filed a motion for an Arthur hearing. In Florida, that hearing lets a judge decide whether someone charged with a serious offence can be held without bond, and prosecutors must show that the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption great. No date for a ruling had been reported by Wednesday.

The last day. According to the arrest affidavit, Parker was last known alive on the afternoon of Nov. 17, 2011, when she drove to Smith’s home near Goldenrod Road and Lee Vista Boulevard to drop off their twins. It was the same day the couple appeared on a pretaped episode of The People’s Court, arguing over a lost engagement ring. Her Hummer was found the next day, Nov. 18. Her iPhone was later recovered by sheriff’s divers under a bridge in December 2011.

What the affidavit alleges. The 46 page affidavit, unsealed in late October after News 6 in Orlando pushed for its release, sets out the investigators’ theory that Smith killed Parker inside his home after she arrived. WFTV reported that the document alleges he choked her to death. The station stressed that this is the investigators’ account and has not been proven in court. The affidavit also acknowledges that a search of Smith’s home on Nov. 18, 2011, found no evidence directly connecting him to her disappearance.

The phone records. According to WFTV, an Orlando police homicide analyst who re-examined the original cell records in 2026 found location and messaging data that had not been analysed before. Investigators wrote that the information was likely unreadable to detectives in 2011. At 4:26 p.m. on the day she vanished, Parker’s phone answered her brother’s question about where she was with the word “Waterford”. Detectives say the phone was actually using a tower near Hoffner Boulevard, about 11 miles west of Waterford Lakes. Investigators allege Smith likely sent that reply, but the affidavit does not rest that claim on any admission. Detectives also say cell data placed Smith’s phone and Parker’s phone together as they moved from his home toward Nela Avenue at Lake Conway, where her phone was later found.

Timing and injuries. WESH reported that surveillance footage shows Parker stayed at the home for more than an hour that afternoon, while earlier child exchanges lasted between three and 25 minutes. WFTV reported that Smith told detectives in his first interview that Parker arrived around 4 p.m. and left around 4:10 p.m. In a 2016 deposition in a civil suit brought by her family, he placed her arrival at 3:18 p.m., which investigators say matches the evidence. Photographs taken after his Nov. 18, 2011 interview show scratches near his mouth, on his lower lip and on his left wrist and forearm, plus abrasions on both elbows. Detectives now allege these were defensive wounds, and the affidavit notes no record that anyone asked him about them at the time. In September 2026, two witnesses were re-interviewed. Both recalled seeing Parker’s Hummer, with large stickers on its rear window, in the neighbourhood after the time Smith said he had left. News 6 reported that photos of the Hummer show dark mud on the tires and inside the vehicle, which her family says would not normally have been there. The affidavit also describes accounts from relatives and friends of prior threats and domestic violence.

The families. Parker’s mother is Yvonne Stewart, and Smith’s mother is Tamara Smith; both families have been part of the public story of the case since 2011. Orlando police have said that advances in digital forensics allowed them to re-examine the 2011 data.

What comes next. A judge will rule on the Arthur hearing motion. The case will then proceed toward trial in Orange County.

Case 03 / 10Lebanon, MissouriUnited States

Sidney Wilson V Pleads Guilty to First Degree Murder of Pregnant Estranged Wife Reagan Wilson and Their Son Silas

Location: Laclede County Circuit Court, Lebanon, Missouri, United States

Legal status: Pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder (Nov. 3, 2026); sentencing set for Dec. 14, 2026

The plea. Sidney Fredrick Wilson V pleaded guilty in Laclede County Circuit Court, in Missouri’s 26th Judicial Circuit, to two counts of first degree murder. He admitted killing his estranged wife, 21 year old Reagan Lynn Wilson, and their son, Silas, who was delivered after the shooting and died days later. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the plea was entered on Nov. 3, 2026, as reported by LakeExpo. KY3 in Springfield reported the same plea and said a circuit judge set formal sentencing for Monday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m.

What the sentence must be. KY3 noted that under Missouri law, first degree murder carries only two possible sentences: life in prison without the possibility of probation or parole, or death. The reports did not say whether the plea included any agreement on which of those penalties prosecutors would seek, or what happened to the two counts of armed criminal action filed alongside the murder charges. Wilson remains in custody until the December hearing.

The night of June 5, 2025. According to the probable cause statement summarised by LakeExpo, Lebanon police answered a shots fired call on June 5, 2025. KY3 placed the call at about 11:37 p.m., at a home in the 700 block of North Adams Avenue. Officers found Reagan Wilson with multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to Mercy Hospital in Lebanon and died shortly after midnight. She was pregnant. KY3 reported that emergency medical teams delivered her son, who was kept on critical life support. Silas died of his injuries on June 13, 2025, about a week after his mother.

The marriage. Investigators and family members told KY3 that Sidney and Reagan Wilson were legally married but living apart at the time of the shooting. LakeExpo identified him as a Stoutland man, while KY3 described him as being from Lebanon.KJLU’s headline also describes him as a Stoutland man.

How investigators built the case. The Lebanon police chief asked the Missouri State Highway Patrol to take on the homicide investigation. According to the probable cause statement, several kinds of evidence pointed to Wilson. There was camera footage placing him near the scene, along with recorded sounds of gunshots. Investigators also cited prior threats, a text message from Reagan Wilson, and a tracking device found on her vehicle. They said his own statements to them were inconsistent.

The arrest. LakeExpo reported that members of Operation Relentless Pursuit found Wilson at a home in Nixa and arrested him on July 31, 2025. The Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, the United States Marshals Service, and the Greene County and Christian County sheriff’s offices assisted. KY3’s account said police arrested Wilson shortly after the shooting. The two reports differ on timing, and this Ledger follows the more specific account drawn from the Highway Patrol. The Laclede County Prosecuting Attorney then charged him with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. KY3 reported that he had been held without bond in the Laclede County Jail before he changed his plea.

Why it matters. The plea means there will be no trial for the killing of a young pregnant woman whose own text messages and fears became part of the evidence against her husband. Prosecutors charged the death of Silas, who was delivered after the shooting and lived for eight days, as a separate count of first degree murder, and Wilson has now admitted both. The judge will impose sentence at the Dec. 14 hearing.

Case 05 / 10Vivonne, FranceFrance

Didier Laroche Brought Back to the Woods for Reconstruction of Jogger Agathe Hilairet’s Killing

Location: Vivonne, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France (south of Poitiers)

Legal status: Didier Laroche under formal investigation (mis en examen) in the killing of Agathe Hilairet; not tried; presumed innocent. Judicial reconstruction held Nov. 4, 2026

The reconstruction. Under heavy gendarmerie guard, an investigating judge on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, led a reconstruction of the killing of Agathe Hilairet. Hilairet was a 28 year old jogger who went out for a run in Vivonne, south of Poitiers, on April 10, 2025, and never came home. Her body was found almost a month later, on May 4. The main suspect, Didier Laroche, 59, who is under formal investigation in the case, was brought to the scene from his cell. La Nouvelle République reported that he arrived at about 8:45 a.m. in a van with tinted windows. It was the first time he had returned to the area since his arrest, ICI Poitou reported.

The security. An escadron of mobile gendarmes, 110 officers in all, blocked every dirt track and access point, notably around the Bois de la Brie in Vivonne, where investigators believe the attack took place. The investigating judge, magistrates, investigators and lawyers for both the defence and the family arrived early. Hilairet’s family did not attend.

The car. Laroche’s Renault Mégane was brought to the site shortly before 8 a.m. Investigators suspect he used it to hide and then move Hilairet’s body. Franceinfo reported that her DNA had been found inside the car. ICI Poitou said investigators believe that several weeks after the killing, once the searches had ended, he left her body under a pile of branches on the edge of Vivonne.

What he was asked to do. The reconstruction began with the moment of the encounter, in the undergrowth at the place called La Brie. Franceinfo placed that meeting along a railway line where Laroche came across Hilairet about a year and a half earlier. Investigators asked him to act out the moment he saw her jogging. He was also to drive the full route by car to show gendarmes how he operated, over several kilometres. The operation was expected to run into the late afternoon.

Two versions. Laroche was arrested on Sept. 10, 2025, according to La Nouvelle République. Franceinfo reported that at the time of his arrest he told investigators he had struck the young woman twice, with fatal blows. He later changed his account and now says two men forced him to hide her body. Jean Chevais, the lawyer for Hilairet’s family, said the family hopes the reconstruction will lead Laroche back to his first statements. “He is going to give us explanations that we will not believe, of course, because he is telling us anything at all,” Chevais told franceinfo. Laroche’s lawyer, Aurélien Bourdier, said that barring a dramatic turn, his client would maintain his current version.

His past. According to franceinfo, Laroche lived in Vivonne, the same commune where Hilairet went running. He had been convicted of rape in 1994 and in 2004 and had served a 20 year sentence of criminal imprisonment before he was released.

A town still waiting. Residents told franceinfo that they were still marked by the case. “For weeks and weeks everyone searched and we found nothing at all,” one man said, adding that he wanted the truth about how it happened. Another resident recalled being stopped repeatedly by gendarmes and filling in many questionnaires during the search. “We want to know why he did it, how, and I am waiting for the truth,” he said.

What comes next. The reconstruction is a key step in the judicial investigation, which will decide whether Laroche is sent for trial. He is presumed innocent.

Case 07 / 10Edenderry, IrelandIreland

Man Charged With Murders of Tadgh Farrell, 4, and Mary Holt in Offaly House Fire Sent Forward to Central Criminal Court

Location: Tullamore District Court, County Offaly, Ireland (fire at Castleview Park, Edenderry)

Legal status: Charged with two counts of murder and three further offences; sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court Nov. 4, 2026; presumed innocent

Sent for trial. Michael Dunne, 22, charged with murdering a four year old boy and the boy’s grand-aunt in a house fire in Edenderry, County Offaly, was sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. Ireland Live reported that Dunne, who has an address in County Kildare, appeared in custody before Judge Andrew Cody at Tullamore District Court that morning. Garda Stacey O’Brien told the court she had served him with the book of evidence, and that the Director of Public Prosecutions had consented to him being sent forward to the current sitting of the Central Criminal Court on five charges. Judge Cody was told there was no application for bail. He granted legal aid and sent Dunne forward. Dunne’s full address cannot be published by order of the court.

The five charges. Dunne is charged with the murders of Tadgh Farrell and Mary Holt at Castleview Park, Edenderry, on Dec. 6, 2025. He is also charged with intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Pauline Holt, Tadgh’s grandmother and Mary’s sister. A fourth charge alleges that he broke the front window of 29 Castleview Park and intentionally caused a fire that created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to four named males. The fifth charge is arson at the same address. Dunne has not entered a plea before the trial court, and he is presumed innocent.

The fire. TheJournal.ie, citing gardaí, reported that the fire was caused by a petrol bomb and that the attack happened shortly before 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2025. The bodies of Tadgh, who was four, and Mary Holt, who was 60, were later found in the front room of the house. Pauline Holt was in the house at the time. The Westmeath Independent described her as the sole survivor of the blaze and reported that she suffered serious burn injuries and spent months in hospital recovering. Tadgh had been visiting his grandmother and grand-aunt when the fire was set.

Arrests and charges. In late April 2026, gardaí arrested three men, two in their 20s and one in his 30s, followed by a fourth male, a teenager. All four were held under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007, the detention power used in murder investigations. The Westmeath Independent reported in October that Dunne had been in custody since May 1, when he was first charged with criminal damage by arson and endangerment. At a hearing on Oct. 7, 2026, he faced three further charges, including the two murder counts and the serious harm count, bringing the total to five. Detective Garda Tom Dunne of Tullamore Garda Station told that hearing that the accused made no reply after caution when the new charges were put to him. The court also allowed the endangerment charge to be amended to add the names of four men.

The investigation. The inquiry is led from Tullamore Garda Station, with support from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Gardaí have said it is continuing.

Why it matters. The killing of a small child and his grand-aunt in their own front room shocked Edenderry and the wider midlands. Wednesday’s order moves the case out of the District Court and onto the list of the Central Criminal Court, Ireland’s court for murder trials. No trial date was reported. Irish law limits what may be reported about the evidence before trial, so this card covers only the charges and what gardaí and the courts have stated in public.

Case 09 / 10Morata de Tajuña, SpainSpain

Supreme Court Upholds 36 Years for Dilawar Hussain Over Beating Deaths of Three Elderly Siblings

Location: Tribunal Supremo, Madrid, Spain (killings in Morata de Tajuña, Comunidad de Madrid)

Legal status: Convicted by jury; 36 year prison sentence confirmed on final appeal by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Chamber (reported Nov. 4, 2026). Separate proceedings pending over the death of a cellmate

The ruling. Spain’s Supreme Court has confirmed the 36 year prison sentence imposed on Dilawar Hussain for killing three elderly siblings in Morata de Tajuña, a town southeast of Madrid, on Dec. 17, 2023. The EFE news agency reported the ruling on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. EFE identified him as Dilawar Hussain F.C., and laSexta spelled his name Dilawar Hussein. He is a Pakistani national. The victims were Amelia, Ángeles and Pepe, elderly siblings from Torre de Juan Abad, in Ciudad Real. The Criminal Chamber upheld the judgment of the Madrid Provincial Court, which had already been confirmed by the High Court of Justice of Madrid, and rejected his appeal in line with the position of the public prosecutor.

The killings. A popular jury unanimously found that Hussain beat the three siblings to death “with extreme violence”, as he admitted after the crime, because they owed him money, according to EFE (laSexta describes the debt the other way, as money he owed them). LaSexta reported that he struck them hard on the head and face with a blunt object that was never found, and that all three died of head injuries. Two days later he returned to the house and set fire to their bodies.

The court’s words. The Supreme Court called the three killings “truly execrable” because of the circumstances in which they happened, the way they were carried out, and his return to the scene to burn the bodies. The justices said that return added “a plus of perversity to the crime”. They pointed to the “extraordinary use of violence” and “exorbitant violence” against three people of advanced age as “evident proof of the brutality and cruelty” of the crimes. The court also highlighted his “extraordinary aggressiveness”.

Why the appeal failed. Hussain argued that the trial judgment was not properly reasoned, that his right to effective judicial protection had been violated, and that he deserved a reduced sentence because he confessed. LaSexta reported that he had turned himself in to the Guardia Civil in Arganda del Rey and admitted the killings. The Supreme Court rejected the confession argument. It noted that he went to the police “35 days after the triple crime, when he already knew that the investigation had begun against him”. By then investigators had already marked him as a suspect.

His state of mind. The court upheld a mitigating factor, applied by the Madrid court, for a mental disturbance. At the time he had a personality disorder that mildly affected his capacities. But the verdict found that he had no cognitive impairment and that his faculties were not significantly altered. Psychiatric reports showed he was aware of reality and “understood the action as wrong”. The trial court also rejected a mitigating factor for rage or blinding passion.

The motive found by the jury. The jury found that the killings were “a decision matured while he was in prison”, after an earlier assault on one of the sisters, Amelia. It found that he may have been driven by “a settling of scores, for the harm suffered” over the debt and over the death of his mother in Pakistan. He had been under a restraining order since February 2023 for hitting Amelia over the same debt, and he was also convicted of breaching it.

A fourth death. EFE reported that after he was jailed, Hussain also killed his cellmate. That case is being handled in separate proceedings.