A man has been arrested for allegedly killing his upstate girlfriend and stuffing her body in the trunk of a car parked in Queens, Florida. According to reports, Kareem Flake, who was the last person to see Destini Smothers alive, was busted in the Sunshine State and is being held at a correctional facility in Osceola since Friday, April 8, 2022, a source said, according to the New York Post.
Flake had been roaming freely since the 2020 murder of his girlfriend Destini Smothers, who hails from Troy, New York. She had two young children with the accused Flake and was only 26 when she went missing in November 2020. The news of Smothers death came to light four months after she went missing as a tow truck operator in March 2021 popped the trunk of the car to find her decomposing body inside a sedan in South Ozone Park.
Reports reveal that Smothers, a mother-of-two had died of a blunt impact to her head, which lead to a skull fracture and brain injury, according to medical records released by the city medical examiner's office.
According to reports, Flake has been booked for domestic battery against a different woman. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is awaiting the outcome of the Florida charges filed against Flake before an extradition hearing.
However, it is currently unclear how much time it will take to transfer the accused to New York and prosecute him for the alleged 2020 murder of Smothers.
Speaking of Flake's arrest, the victim's mother Loretta King told media, "I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy that he was finally caught, and still sad about the murder of my daughter. It's been very hard."
Reportedly, the victim was last seen attending a birthday party with her long-time murder accused boyfriend Flake and leaving a Bowlero bowling alley in November 2020.
According to family members, Flake insisted that he had no idea what had happened to Smothers. However, he did mention that they had an argument as they drove along the Grand Central Parkway, when Smothers ran away from the vehicle without taking her purse, keys and wallet. Flake was also the last person to see Smothers alive.