Killer Gets 22 Years for Killing Woman, Dumping Her Body in Queens

New York City Medical Examiner on scene.
New York City Medical Examiner on scene.

QUEENS, NY – Kareem Flake has been sentenced to 22 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, for the 2020 killing of Destini Smothers, the mother of his two children.

Flake, 31, of Troy, N.Y., pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in July.

Ms. Smothers was last seen with Flake on November 3, 2020, after a birthday celebration at a Woodside bowling alley.

Days later, she was reported missing. Her decomposing body was discovered on March 10, 2021, in the trunk of an abandoned Toyota Camry, owned by Flake, in Springfield Gardens. An autopsy confirmed she died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Flake’s arrest occurred on April 9, 2022, in Osceola County, Florida, before his extradition to New York.