destinismothers
(Queens, NY/77WABC)-A four-month-long search for 26-year-old Destini Smothers of Troy, NY ended Wednesday when a tow truck operator opened the trunk of her boyfriend’s missing and abandoned vehicle discovering her remains at 134th Ave and Lefferts Blvd. in Queens.
Police say the tow truck operator was looking for a spare tire prompting him to open the trunk of the vehicle. NYPD Asst. Chief Ruben Beltan of Queens South said, “the vehicle was experiencing mechanical difficulty, prompting the operator to open the trunk in search of a spare tire.” He added, “upon opening the trunk the operator observed a deceased individual positioned on their side.”
The NYPD from the 106th Precinct held a press conference Tuesday near where the woman’s body was discovered:
The NYC medical examiner will determine an official cause of death.
Smothers disappeared the evening of her 26th Birthday. The mother of two had gone bowling in Woodside on November 3rd, 2020, the last night she was seen alive. Her longtime boyfriend originally told police Smothers fled his vehicle the night of her disappearance after they argued.
The 2011 Toyota Camry was found abandoned without license plates.
“He actually got in my car and took me to where he said she jumped out in Astoria. Took me and my family,” said Tima Fowler, a cousin of Smothers’. “I don’t understand how he did that. But he did it and we found the car, the car is found now, she’s found.”
Smothers body was found fully clothed with identification. Her boyfriend is missing.
The woman’s two young children had been staying at Smothers’ mother’s home in the Bronx at the time of her disappearance.
An investigation is ongoing.
