NY woman’s boyfriend is arrested after her body was found in Queens trunk

The boyfriend of an upstate New York woman who was last seen alive in November 2020 has been charged with her murder more than a year after the woman’s body was found in the trunk of an abandoned car in Queens, authorities said.

Kareem Flake, 30, was arraigned Wednesday on charges including murder and kidnapping in the death of 26-year-old Destini Smothers, a mother of two from Troy whose body was found March 10, 2021, Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

Flake fled to Florida and was arrested in Osceola County on April 9, Katz said. He was extradited to New York early Wednesday.

NEW YORK CITY MAN SHOT AND KILLED WHILE LEAVING QUEENS RECORDING STUDIO

Smothers was last seen with Flake after leaving an outing with friends at a bowling alley Nov. 3, 2020, Katz said.

After a tow truck driver found Smothers’ body in the trunk of a car four months later, investigators linked the car to Flake. An autopsy determined that the victim had been shot in the head, Katz said.

“On the run for more than year, this defendant is now in custody and charged with the brutal murder of his girlfriend, who was also the mother of his two young children,” Katz said in a news release. “This is the worst possible outcome for any individual experiencing intimate partner violence, and we express our condolences to the victim’s family.”

NEW YORK MAN ARRESTED IN MURDER OF QUEENS DELIVERY DRIVER

A message seeking comment was left with an attorney for Flake.