Authorities discovered a woman’s body inside the trunk of a car parked in South Ozone Park Wednesday morning.
The woman, believed to be 26-year-old Destini Smothers, was found inside a black Toyota Camry, parked outside of 149-57 Lefferts Blvd., around 9:51 a.m. on Wednesday, March 10.
A tow truck operator discovered the body after they had come to move the abandoned car, which didn’t have any license plates, according to the NYPD.
“Upon arrival, uniformed members were met by a flatbed truck operator who was removing said vehicle,” said Assistant Chief Ruben Beltran, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South. “The vehicle was experiencing mechanical difficulty, prompting the operator to open the truck in search of a spare tire. Upon opening the trunk, the operator observed a deceased individual positioned on their side.”
Officers from the 106th Precinct cordoned off the residential block as the investigation began.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz arrived at the crime scene around mid-day on Wednesday.
Smothers, who was from Troy, New York, went missing in November 2020 in Far Rockaway, Queens. She was last seen at Bowlero, a bowling alley in Woodside, Queens, according to the NYPD.
Her body was transferred to the Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, police said.
The investigation is ongoing.
This story first appeared on our sister publication qns.com.
