Authorities tell CNN affiliate WTLV that the body of a white female has been found on the side of the road in southern Georgia.

The body, which was not immediately identifiable, was discovered off I-95 near Woodbine around 2:30 pm on Wednesday. The area is about 190 miles north of Orlando, where missing mother Michelle Parker was last seen.

Camden County Sheriff Tommy Gregory told WTLV that the possibility that the body could be Parker’s is one they are considering, but he cautioned that it is too early to speculate about the ID. WJXT reported that investigators believe the body had been in this location for at least a few days.

Parker was reported missing on November 17, the same day an episode of “The People’s Court” aired where she and ex-fiance Dale Smith argued over a lost engagement ring. Smith has been named as the primary suspect in her disappearance.

The body found in Georgia is being transported to Macon, where an autopsy is planned for Thursday.

The Florida Dept. of Children and Families has taken custody of the 3-year-old twins belonging to a missing woman and the ex-boyfriend who is now the prime suspect in her disappearance.

A department spokeswoman told a Nancy Grace producer that Michelle Parker’s twins were placed in protective custody around 4:00 pm on Tuesday. There will be an emergency hearing on Wednesday morning to determine whether they will be returned to their father, placed with other relatives or put in foster care.

Police announced Monday that the father, ex-fiancé Dale Smith, is the primary focus of their investigation. Smith and Parker appeared on an episode of “The People’s Court” that aired hours before she was reported missing on November 17.

DCF Communications Manager Carrie Hoeppner said the agency got involved with the case on November 19 after calls were made to their abuse hotline alleging past domestic violence between Smith and Parker. The children, who have reportedly been staying with Smith’s family, were interviewed on multiple occasions before the decision was made to take them into custody.
Smith’s attorney, Mark Nejame, spoke to reporters for the first time on Tuesday.

“Mr. Smith wants Michelle found,” he said at a press conference. “…He is specifically requesting and asking for a full-scale search team to come into central Florida headed by Tim Miller…What guilty person would do such a thing?”

Nejame brushed off suggestions that the “People’s Court” episode could have provided a motive for Smith to harm Parker, noting that the show was taped months ago and the judge ordered Parker to pay Smith half the value of a lost engagement ring.
“He didn’t look bad. He won,” he said. “So there’s no motive…There’s not like saying, ‘Ah, I looked like an idiot in front of the world because of what you put me through.’”

Nejame also defended Smith’s behavior since Parker was reported missing, saying he refused to take a polygraph because they are not 100% reliable but he did voluntarily give at least three statements to law enforcement. He said Smith had not been out searching because he was taking care of the twins.

“By all accounts, he’s been a wonderful father,” Nejame said.

Watch Nancy Grace Tuesday at 8 pm ET on HLN for the latest developments in the search and an exclusive interview with Michelle Parker’s father.

Conrad Murray has been sentenced to four years in jail for involuntary manslaughter in connection with Michael Jackson’s 2009 death.

On Tuesday morning, Judge Michael Pastor handed down the maximum sentence possible for the charge. It is unclear how much of the four-year sentence Murray will actually end up serving in Los Angeles County Jail, but he was credited 46 days for time served and good behavior.

Prosecutor David Walgren had sought incarceration because he argued that Murray submitted Jackson to a “pharmaceutical experiment” and “the defendant was playing Russian roulette with Michael Jackson’s life every single night.”

He also focused on one of the comments Murray made in a documentary that aired after the trial. In it, according to Walgren, nine days before he was convicted, Murray was asked if he felt guilty for what he had done and he responded, “I don’t feel guilty because I did not do anything wrong.”

A statement read by a representative for Jackson’s family at the sentencing requested a “sentence that reminds physicians that they cannot sell their services to the highest bidder.”

Defense attorney Ed Chernoff focused on Murray’s life prior to his two months as Jackson’s personal physician, pointing out all of the other people he helped and saved during his career in medicine. He submitted 35 letters of recommendation and support from friends, family and former patients.

“Does any of that matter to the court at all?” Chernoff asked.

In delivering the sentence, Pastor said that Murray’s treatment, or lack of treatment, of Jackson is more significant than the good deeds he did prior to that. He said one piece of evidence that stood out to him was the recording Murray made of Jackson apparently under the influence of drugs that was played early in the trial, which he called a “horrific violation of trust.”

He also said it did not appear from Murray’s comments that he had any remorse about what happened and that makes him “dangerous.”

“Why give probation to someone who is offended by the whole idea that that person is even before the court?” he asked.

He said the maximum punishment was necessary because the “experimental medicine” and “money-for-medicine madness” that Murray engaged in with Jackson cannot be tolerated.

The issue of restitution to Jackson’s family will be dealt with at a later hearing because the judge and defense wanted more information about the more than $100 million that prosecutors were seeking.

Police announced Monday that the ex-fiancé of a missing Florida mother of three is now the “primary focus” of their investigation.

“We are officially naming Dale Smith, the ex-fiancé, as the primary suspect” in Michelle Parker’s disappearance, Orlando Police Chief Paul Rooney said at a press conference.

The announcement came two days after a SWAT team raided Smith’s father’s home to execute a search warrant. Several people were restrained outside the house with flex cuffs during the search, which police said was standard procedure.

Rooney would not comment Monday on whether any evidence was discovered at the father’s house, although police had told WESH earlier in the day that nothing significant was found. Rooney did not respond to questions about whether he believes Smith has lied to investigators, but he did say that Smith refused to take a polygraph test.

He said it took 11 days for police to name Smith as a suspect because it was their “investigative strategy” to look at every other aspect of the case first. Parker, 33, was reported missing on November 17 after she was last seen dropping their 3-year-old twins off at Smith’s home that afternoon.

Her disappearance came just hours after an episode of “The People’s Court” aired in which she and Smith argued over an engagement ring that was lost when she threw it from a hotel balcony. On the show, which was taped months earlier, Parker described Smith as mean and vindictive. The judge ultimately ordered her to pay Smith $2,500, half the value of the ring.

Parker had obtained a temporary restraining order against Smith in 2009, accusing him of breaking her car window during an argument and throwing car seats at her truck. The order was later dismissed and no charges were filed over the incident. Smith pleaded guilty to a battery charge in 1997 and was dishonorably discharged from the Marines in 2003 after he was found guilty by a general court martial on several charges including domestic battery, according to official records.

Rooney told reporters Monday that this is still a missing persons case and Smith is not a murder suspect at this point.

“We will not rest until Michelle is found,” he said.

Members of Parker’s family also spoke at Monday’s news conference.

Her mother, Yvonne Stewart, addressed Smith directly and pleaded for his cooperation. “Help us,” she said. “If you know something, let her be a mother to her children. Work with us…You loved her at one point. Try to love her again.”

Lauren Erickson, Parker’s sister, said, “You could have avoided this, Dale, if you cooperated with police…Unfortunately you brought this on yourself.”

Her brother emphasized that Monday’s announcement did not diminish the need for volunteers to assist with the search for Parker.

“The fact remains that she is still missing and I still need help to find her,” Dustin Erickson said.

Asked how he maintains hope that Parker is still alive, he said, “I have no reason to believe she’s dead.”

“If she’s not, then may God have mercy on the soul who did it,” Lauren Erickson added.

Police released a photograph Wednesday of a cross necklace that a missing Florida mother was wearing when she was last seen nearly a week ago, and they asked anyone who has seen the necklace to contact them.

Orlando Police Dept. Sgt. Jim Young said family members have confirmed that 33-year-old Michelle Parker was wearing the necklace at the time of her disappearance. In a press release, he stated that it could potentially be a key piece of evidence.

Parker was reported missing last Thursday, hours after an episode of "The People's Court" aired in which she and her ex-boyfriend argued over paying for the cost of a lost engagement ring.

Parker's current boyfriend told CFNews13 that he received a text message from her around 3:15 that afternoon.

According to Nate Mitchell, the text said, "'A song came on the radio and I was thinking about you,' then I replied back with a smiley face and a heart."

Mitchell said he last had contact with Parker after she dropped off her 3-year-old twins at her ex-boyfriend's home. Court records indicate that the ex-boyfriend, Dale Smith, has a history of violence.

Parker obtained a temporary restraining order against Smith in 2009 alleging that when she went to pick up their twins from him one day, he demanded to talk to her. She refused and he broke the passenger side window of her car, according to her petition.

Smith then allegedly threw car seats from his truck at her vehicle. At one point, he was yelling and cursing at her while holding their daughter. She wrote that he said, "Your day is coming."

The injunction was dismissed after a hearing and no criminal charges were ever filed related to the incident.

Smith pleaded guilty to aggravated battery in a 1997 case. No additional details were available from the court on that charge Wednesday.

Military officials confirmed that Smith was dishonorably discharged from the Marines in 2003. In 2001, he was convicted by a court martial on several charges, including domestic battery.

Orlando police told a Nancy Grace producer Tuesday that Smith is not a suspect in Parker's disappearance and investigators have not identified any persons of interest in the case. WFTV reported that Smith's home was searched last Friday and a field nearby was searched on Saturday.

Anyone with information about Michelle Parker's disappearance or who has seen her necklace is asked to call Central Florida Crimeline at 800-423-8477.