GUILTY NY - Destini Smothers 26, found inside a car trunk, Queens, 3 Nov 2020 *Arrest*

[katydid23]

Nothing? Still nothing?! Grrrrr...

I find it infuriating...her family must be beside themselves with grief and anger. How obvious is this ?

 

[PommyMommy]

I find it infuriating...her family must be beside themselves with grief and anger. How obvious is this ?

I would say blatantly obvious...?

 

[crhedBngr]

I find it infuriating...her family must be beside themselves with grief and anger. How obvious is this ?

Darned obvious.

Destini is not garbage. She shouldn't be treated as such.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 4, 2021
Mom desperate for justice, daughter found dead in NYC car trunk - New York Daily News (nydailynews.com)
[...]

Frustrated by a lack of information from the NYPD on the unsolved homicide, LK has relocated from Binghamton to the Rockaways in Queens, where her daughter grew up, to search for answers in person.

“Since this whole thing’s been going on, NYPD has not reached out to me one time,” she said, her voice pained. “I called the detective and every time it’s, ‘Oh, he’s not in.’ I need to know where you’re at with this case, because it’s my daughter.”

[...]

The only update LK has gotten from the NYPD, she says, is a new finding on her daughter’s cause of death — a bullet to the head instead of the initial conclusion of a blow to the head that cracked her skull. The detective told LK it might make her feel better knowing that her daughter hadn’t suffered as much.

[...]

Flake showed up in a relative’s car at his grandmother’s funeral on the day his girlfriend went missing. When asked why he wasn’t driving Smothers’ car, he said it was in a shop being repaired, according to Smothers’ relatives.

A relative of Flake’s told the Daily News Sunday that no one has heard from him since the funeral.

[...]

“My grandson told detectives that a few times he heard his father say he was going to kill his mother,” LK said. “He tells me stories.”

“They’re in therapy,” she added. “The 4-year-old really doesn’t know, he just knows he hasn’t seen his mother. But the 10-year-old, he knows. He saw the abuse in the household.”

[...]

LK plans to stay in Queens until an arrest is made and is hoping to meet with detectives from the 113th Precinct.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

SEP 28, 2021
NYC family of mother found dead concerned cases of missing Black women lack media attention (news12.com)
[...]

"We believe that he should have been questioned immediately,” says Maurice Williams, Smothers’ cousin. “Destini was found in the car that he said she jumped out of on the highway, the night that she went missing. He was supposed to be questioned. To us, he is the number one suspect."

However, Flake hasn't been questioned to the families’ knowledge and hasn't been seen or heard from since last year.

As the highly publicized search continues for Brian Laundrie, Gabby Petito's boyfriend, Smothers’ family asks why the police hunt for Smothers’ boyfriend and father of her children is radio silent.

"It breaks my heart. This bothers me tremendously - that there is a big search for this guy who killed Gabby and not the same attention paid to my family,” Williams says.

[...]

... Smothers’ family says they are suffering, and there doesn’t seem to be an answer in sight.

Smothers’ family will be rallying outside of the Queens District Attorney's Office on Oct. 1 to demand answers.

Also see: Missing persons not all in national news | Queenswide | qchron.com

 

[PommyMommy]

NOV 3, 2021
NY State Assembly Bill A8412 (nysenate.gov)
Assembly Bill A8412
2021-2022 Legislative Session
Enacts "Destini Smothers' law"; requires collaboration between law enforcement agencies in missing persons investigations and provides support for relatives of such missing persons

NOV 24, 2021
Black and Missing | Official Website for the HBO Series | HBO.com
Scroll down to the section entitled "Additional Missing Persons Cases." Destini's is the second video.

 

[NYanon]

Another article, regarding Destini's mother speaking about the case, and the updated cause of death.

A more recent update, regarding the arrest of the boyfriend (father of Destini's children) in Florida. Note this article still states cause of death as the head injury.

Edit to add quotes from the second article:

"The boyfriend of an upstate mom killed ... [and found] inside a car trunk in Queens was arrested in Florida, a high-ranking police source told the Daily News on Saturday." [The article uses language a bit less sensitive, imo.]

"Kareem Flake, the father of two sons with victim Destini Smothers, was nabbed [arrested] Thursday in Kissimmee, Fla., with charges pending as New York authorities sought his extradition, the source said."

" “Once he is convicted, once justice is served and he’s brought to trial, that will be it,” [Destini's mother] said [regarding whether or not the arrest brought 'closure']. "

Also, i apologize, i haven't followed this case closely; I'm not sure if Destini has other children, in addition to those with the man who has been arrested.

 

[NYanon]

NOV 3, 2021
NY State Assembly Bill A8412 (nysenate.gov)
Assembly Bill A8412
2021-2022 Legislative Session
Enacts "Destini Smothers' law"; requires collaboration between law enforcement agencies in missing persons investigations and provides support for relatives of such missing persons

(snipped)

Thank you for including the link to the Bill.

It seems common sense that loved ones should receive trauma-informed care and regular updates regarding their Missing loved one. If laws are needed to ensure this, then I'm glad such a Bill is in the works.

 

[PommyMommy]

Another article, regarding Destini's mother speaking about the case, and the updated cause of death.

A more recent update, regarding the arrest of the boyfriend (father of Destini's children) in Florida. Note this article still states cause of death as the head injury.

Edit to add quotes from the second article:

"The boyfriend of an upstate mom killed ... [and found] inside a car trunk in Queens was arrested in Florida, a high-ranking police source told the Daily News on Saturday." [The article uses language a bit less sensitive, imo.]

"Kareem Flake, the father of two sons with victim Destini Smothers, was nabbed [arrested] Thursday in Kissimmee, Fla., with charges pending as New York authorities sought his extradition, the source said."

" “Once he is convicted, once justice is served and he’s brought to trial, that will be it,” [Destini's mother] said [regarding whether or not the arrest brought 'closure']. "

Also, i apologize, i haven't followed this case closely; I'm not sure if Destini has other children, in addition to those with the man who has been arrested.

Thank you for the links. So glad to hear they finally got him...per the second link, arrested 4/7/2022 in FL.

#Justice4Destini!

 

[crhedBngr]

I've been thinking about Destini quite a bit. Hope the Bill passes very soon.

I'm very glad to see KF has been arrested.

JMVHO.

 

[Vedder]

So glad for the arrest! Destini needs justice.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 11, 2022
Boyfriend of murder victim Destini Smothers arrested | Eastern/Southeast Queens News | qchron.com
[...]

According to a 2017 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 55 percent of murders of women are linked to an intimate partner, and of those, 94 percent are at the hands of that partner, past or present.

And police say Destini Smothers, a mother of two who went missing in November 2020 and was discovered dead in the trunk of a car with no plates parked on 134th Avenue in March 2021, is among their number.

They’ve been seeking to charge Smothers’ boyfriend and father of their two children, Kareem Flake, with killing her. Just days ago he was arrested in Florida on an unrelated case — also an alleged violent act against a woman — and “the NYPD is waiting to hear the results of the Florida charges brought against him before an extradition hearing is held,” the New York Post reports.


[...]

APR 11, 2022
Man awaiting extradition back to Queens a year after girlfriend’s remains were discovered in South Ozone Park – QNS.com
Kareem Flake was arrested Friday in Kissimmee on a domestic battery complaint against a woman and is awaiting an extradition hearing at a correctional facility in Osceola for the murder of Destini Smothers, a 26-year-old mother of two from Upstate Troy, NY.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A New York man was indicted on murder and kidnapping charges after his girlfriend, with whom he shared two children, was found dead and stuffed inside the trunk of her car in Queens, the district attorney said.

In addition to two counts of second-degree murder, 30-year-old Kareem Flake was charged with kidnapping, weapon possession and tampering with evidence, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a press release Wednesday.

Boyfriend of NY Mom Found Dead in Car Trunk Indicted on Murder, Kidnapping Charges

A New York man was indicted on murder and kidnapping charges after his girlfriend, with whom he shared two children, was found dead and stuffed inside the trunk of her car in Queens, the district attorney said

www.nbcnewyork.com

 

[PommyMommy]

A New York man was indicted on murder and kidnapping charges after his girlfriend, with whom he shared two children, was found dead and stuffed inside the trunk of her car in Queens, the district attorney said.

In addition to two counts of second-degree murder, 30-year-old Kareem Flake was charged with kidnapping, weapon possession and tampering with evidence, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a press release Wednesday.

Boyfriend of NY Mom Found Dead in Car Trunk Indicted on Murder, Kidnapping Charges

A New York man was indicted on murder and kidnapping charges after his girlfriend, with whom he shared two children, was found dead and stuffed inside the trunk of her car in Queens, the district attorney said

www.nbcnewyork.com

Noting:

He is next scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 11.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 6, 2022

Family members of Destini Smothers say they feel closer to justice after coming face to face with accused killer in Queens court

The 26-year-old disappeared on Nov. 3, 2020, after celebrating her birthday with friends and her boyfriend, Kareem Flake.

www.cbsnews.com

[...]

Wearing purple for domestic violence awareness, family and friends clutched onto photos of Smothers in Queens Criminal Court for a moment they waited almost two years for -- seeing Flake in handcuffs. ...

[...]

"It's important to be here because we're telling her story. We're her support. We are her voice. She heard it. Her hurt was our hurt. We are her voice," cousin DW added.

[...]

Flake showed no emotion as Smothers' mother wept while hearing the Queens district attorney say Smothers was discovered with the same shirt, pants and boots she was last seen wearing.

[...]

JUL 7, 2022

Man Indicted For Murder Of Destini Smothers - The Wave

Destini Smothers, first reported missing, was found dead in an abandoned car. Her boyfriend is now being charged with her death. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Wednesday, July 6, that Kareem Flake, 30, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Supreme...

www.rockawave.com

Flake, of Troy, New York, was arraigned today before Queens Supreme Court Justice Donna Golia on a seven-count indictment. The defendant is charged with two counts of murder in the second degree, kidnapping in the first degree, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. Justice Golia set the defendant’s return date for August 11, 2022. Flake faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

 

[PommyMommy]

What is it with this case? I can't find a single thing on Flake's Aug 11 court appearance.

This beautiful young lady was brutally murdered and left in a car trunk to rot. Where is the outrage? Where are the cries for justice?

#justice4Destini

 

[PommyMommy]

I can't find a thing on Flake's trial.

 

[Beachlife926]

I think I found him on NYC inmate lookup, almost everything matches.

Next court date 28-12-2028

(Sorry about the error on page)

P.I.C Lookup

 

[crhedBngr]

I think I found him on NYC inmate lookup, almost everything matches.

Next court date 28-12-2028

(Sorry about the error on page)

P.I.C Lookup

2028???

Really?

Good grief. Destini deserves justice sooner than this!

JMVHO

 

[LookingForClues]

2028???

Really?

Good grief. Destini deserves justice sooner than this!

JMVHO

I can't make the screenshot work, but it now says July 6, 2023, for next court appearance.