Man Cops to Killing Girlfriend | The Forum Newsgroup

By Forum Staff

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz recently announced that Kareem Flake pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing the mother of his two children in November 2020.

Flake, 31, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise indicated he would sentence Flake on Sept. 28, 2023, to a determinate term of 22 years in prison to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.

According to the charges, Destini Smothers, 26, was last seen in a car with Flake after celebrating her birthday with friends at a Woodside bowling alley on Nov. 3, 2020. On Nov. 8, Smothers was reported missing.

Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
“Hopefully this plea will afford some comfort to [Smothers’] loved ones,” Katz said.

On March 10, 2021, a Toyota Camry that had been abandoned at the intersection of 134th Avenue and 151st Place in Springfield Gardens was being towed when the tow truck operator saw a flat tire on the vehicle. The operator pulled over and opened the trunk to look for a spare. In the trunk, he discovered the decomposing remains of the victim and immediately notified authorities. It was determined that the car belonged to Flake.

An autopsy performed by the City Medical Examiner found that Smothers died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Flake was arrested on April 9, 2022, in Osceola County, Fla., and later extradited to New York.

“This young mother was brutally murdered and her family left to agonize, not knowing what happened to her as her body lay in the trunk of an abandoned car for months. Hopefully this plea will afford some comfort to her loved ones,” Katz said.