Police on the scene after Destini Smother’s body was found in the trunk of a car on March 10, 2021 in Queens (Photo: Christina Santucci/Queens Post)
April 11, 2022 By Czarinna Andres
The police arrested a man last week who allegedly killed his girlfriend and dumped her body in the trunk of a car in Queens about 18 months ago, according to reports.
Kareem Flake was arrested last week in Kissimmee, Fla., for allegedly murdering his girlfriend Destini Smothers. He has been in a correctional facility in the Sunshine state since Friday.
The investigation began after cops found Smothers, 26, dead in the trunk of an abandoned car in South Ozone Park on March 10, 2021, after being missing for four months.
Kareem Flake (NYPD)
Smothers, who was from Troy in upstate New York, was discovered by a tow truck driver who had been called out to pick up an abandoned vehicle.
Police on the scene after a woman’s body was found in the trunk of a car (Photo: Christina Santucci)
The driver began towing the vehicle and discovered the grisly sight soon after he stopped his truck outside 150-08 Lefferts Blvd. when the tires on the Camry stopped moving. He looked for a spare tire in the trunk of the Camry and found her body.
Smothers had been missing since Nov. 3, 2020, and was last seen outside Bowlero bowling alley, located at 69-10 34th Ave in Woodside. She had been celebrating her birthday with Flake and friends.
Smothers’ friends were actively looking for her following the party and had set up a Facebook page as a means to find her.
The page said that she went missing shortly after she got into a heated argument with Flake outside the bowling alley.
The page noted that she owned a black 2011 Toyota Camry and was a mother of two. Flake is reportedly the children’s father.
The case was ruled a homicide when the medical examiner determined Smothers was killed by a blunt impact injury to the head.
Destini Smothers and police at the scene on March 10, 2021 (NYPD and Citizen)
