The man who allegedly killed his common-law wife and left her body inside the trunk of a car in Queens was charged with her murder on Wednesday after being extradited from Florida, police said.
Kareem Flake, 30, was hit with the murder rap after the decomposing corpse of his 26-year-old partner, Destini Smothers, was discovered by Department of Sanitation workers in March 2021 in South Ozone Park, authorities said.
Smothers, who shared both of her children with Flake, had been missing since November 2020, when she was last seen leaving Bowlero bowling alley in Woodside after a birthday party.
That night, the couple got into a “heated argument,” according to the missing person’s report filed at the time
The city medical examiner’s office determined that Smothers died of blunt force trauma to the head, causing a skull fracture and brain injury.
The NYPD had sought to arrest Flake, who was in a common-law marriage with Smothers, in connection to her murder.
Destini Smothers’ body was found by sanitation workers in the trunk of a car in Queens. Paul Martinka
Relatives mourn at the scene where Smothers’ body was found. Paul Martinka
Smothers’ body was found in March 2021. Paul MartinkaFlake was arrested April 7 in Kissimmee, Florida on domestic battery charges against a different woman. The outcome of that case was unclear.
He was picked up by NYPD detectives at JFK airport upon his return to the city on Wednesday, sources said.
