Police declined to release specific details of the case to reporters. However, the NYPD said the investigation is active and no arrests have been made. King said the only update she heard is when police reported that Smothers was hit by a bullet to the head.

“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,” King said.

It was initially believed that the mother of two died from a bullet to the head that cracked her skull. Officers have also confirmed that Smothers' body was decomposing when it was found in the trunk.

Police told the grieving mother that her daughter didn't suffer much before she died.

“That don’t ease my pain,” King said. “It was like I found out my daughter was killed for the first time all over again. I had to relive that trauma.”

Help me understand. Brian Laundrie is being hunted down. Yet the murderer of Destini Smothers still roams free. She went missing 4 months before her body was found. Went out one night with boyfriend and he came home w/o her. Sound familiar? Yet no manhunt. https://t.co/1UDpXXKq8Z

— Anne (@BalloonStrings) September 21, 2021

Loretta-King

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