Found Deceased MI - Wynter Cole Smith, 2, kidnapped and murdered, suspect Rasheed Malik Trice, 28, arrested, Lansing, 2 July 2023

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Now, Trice will stand trial on April 16, 2024.

“My office is ready and fully prepared to make our case against Mr. Trice at a fair trial as we seek a measure of justice for Wynter Cole-Smith and her family,” said U.S. Attorney Totten.

The district attorney's office said Trice has been charged with kidnapping two-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith, resulting in her death and kidnapping a minor.

Trice pleaded not guilty to all charges on August 2. He remains in custody awaiting trial.
 
OCT 31, 2023
[...]

Nessel charged Trice with the following:

One Count First Degree Premeditated Murder, a mandatory life-sentence felony without the possibility of parole;
One Count Felony Murder, a mandatory life-sentence felony without the possibility of parole;
One Count Assault with Intent to Murder, a life-sentence felony;
Two Counts 1st Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, a life-sentence felony that would mandate lifetime sex offender registration and electronic monitoring;
Two Counts Kidnapping, a life-sentence felony;
One Count Home Invasion, first degree, a 20-year felony;
One Count Disarming a Peace Officer, a 10-year felony;
One Count 2nd Degree Fleeing and Eluding, a 10-year felony;
One Count Receiving and Concealing Stolen Property, valued between $1,000-$2,000, a 5-year felony;
One Count Receiving and Concealing Stolen Property, motor vehicle, a 5-year felony;
One Count Unlawfully Driving Away an Automobile, a 5-year felony;
One Count Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, a 4-year felony;
One Count Resisting and Obstructing Causing Injury, a 4-year felony;
Three Counts Resisting and Obstructing, a 2-year felony;
One Count Domestic Violence - Second Offense, a 1-year misdemeanor; and
One Count Stalking, a 1-year misdemeanor.
 
OCT 31, 2023
[...]

In addition to state charges, Trice also faces federal charges of one count of kidnapping and one count of kidnapping resulting in death. On Oct. 26, federal prosecutors announced they would not seek the death penalty against Trice.

Trice is currently being held at the Newaygo County Jail. His next appearance in the 30th Circuit Court in Lansing has not been determined.
 
Rashad Trice, the Detroit man accused of kidnapping and strangling 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith, has agreed to plead guilty, according to a federal court filing Thursday.

Trice, 27, has agreed to plead guilty to kidnapping resulting in death, a felony punishable by up to life in federal prison, according to terms of the deal filed in federal court in Grand Rapids.

According to the plea deal, Trice admitted kidnapping Smith from her home in Lansing on July 2 because he was fighting with the girl's mother. Trice took her to an alley between Olympia Street and Edgewood Avenue in Detroit where he strangled her with a pink cell phone cord, according to the plea deal...
 
Rashad Trice, the Detroit man accused of kidnapping and strangling 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith, has agreed to plead guilty, according to a federal court filing Thursday.

Trice, 27, has agreed to plead guilty to kidnapping resulting in death, a felony punishable by up to life in federal prison, according to terms of the deal filed in federal court in Grand Rapids.

According to the plea deal, Trice admitted kidnapping Smith from her home in Lansing on July 2 because he was fighting with the girl's mother. Trice took her to an alley between Olympia Street and Edgewood Avenue in Detroit where he strangled her with a pink cell phone cord, according to the plea deal...
From the article:

Trice also is facing homicide charges in state court. Attorney General Dana Nessel's office has charged Trice with first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder along with 18 other charges stemming from three different counties and consolidated in one case in Ingham County.

"The federal proceedings do not impact our state case," Nessel spokeswoman Kim Bush told The Detroit News. "We will proceed as planned."
 
Trice’s guilty plea means he’s admitting to kidnapping the 2-year-old girl from her Lansing home, where she lived with her mother, on July 2, 2023. Trice is separately accused of assaulting and raping the child’s mother before the kidnapping, but that charge is not being handled federally.

The 26-year-old man is also admitting to driving to the Detroit area and strangling the young girl to death. Trice admitted to several details about the kidnapping and killing of Wynter Cole Smith in the plea agreement, including the following:

  • Trice kidnapped the toddler “because of a dispute with the victim’s mother.”
  • Trice “repeatedly played a YouTube video on the internet” to keep the child calm while in the car.
  • He took the child to an alley between Olympia Street and Edgewood Street on Detroit’s east side.
  • In the alley, Trice strangled the child to death with a pink cellphone cord.
In exchange for pleading guilty to kidnapping resulting in death, the government is dropping any remaining federal charges against him. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is also agreeing “not to oppose” Trice’s request to have his offense level reduced by two levels, the agreement reads.
 
MAR 21, 2024
[...]

...The plea agreement resolves only the federal case against Trice, who also faces 18 felony counts and two misdemeanor counts in state court...

He is accused of stabbing and sexually assaulting Wynter's mother, with whom he had a previous relationship, on July 2 at her Lansing home, kidnapping Wynter and fleeing in a car that police said he stole.

[...]

Charges against Trice had been filed in three separate counties before the state Attorney General's Office consolidated them into a single prosecution in Ingham County Circuit Court, where the charges are still pending. ...

[...]

He will admit, according to the filing, that he kidnapped the girl on July 2023 after "a dispute" with the girl's mother. He then drove to the Detroit area with the girl and played a YouTube video on a phone "in an attempt to pacify" her. Trice then drove to an alley in Detroit where he strangled the girl with a "pink cell phone cord," according to the plea agreement.
 
MAR 21, 2024
[...]

"We’re waiting to see if he can plead guilty in the second court," Eddings said. "He would’ve got the same charges if we would’ve went to court for a plea deal."

[...]

Eddings said the guilty plea spares them from trial.

"This just eliminates the family having to be traumatized again," she said. "It’s no words I can say. It’s been terrible, it’s been bad, and I don’t want nobody to ever experience what we’re going through. I don’t think there’s a word that exists for this."

[...]

 
Trice’s guilty plea means he’s admitting to kidnapping the 2-year-old girl from her Lansing home, where she lived with her mother, on July 2, 2023. Trice is separately accused of assaulting and raping the child’s mother before the kidnapping, but that charge is not being handled federally.

The 26-year-old man is also admitting to driving to the Detroit area and strangling the young girl to death. Trice admitted to several details about the kidnapping and killing of Wynter Cole Smith in the plea agreement, including the following:

  • Trice kidnapped the toddler “because of a dispute with the victim’s mother.”
  • Trice “repeatedly played a YouTube video on the internet” to keep the child calm while in the car.
  • He took the child to an alley between Olympia Street and Edgewood Street on Detroit’s east side.
  • In the alley, Trice strangled the child to death with a pink cellphone cord.
In exchange for pleading guilty to kidnapping resulting in death, the government is dropping any remaining federal charges against him. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is also agreeing “not to oppose” Trice’s request to have his offense level reduced by two levels, the agreement reads.
The monster calmed and comforted her with a video (perhaps her favorite). During the ride, his anger didn't subside. He didn't see her as a child, nor her own separate person from her mom. He wanted to hurt and destroy mom.
I hope he rots in prison and never has an ounce of peace and all his nights are restless.
 
JUL 1, 2024
He pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Trice will be sentenced Aug. 16. He faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.

Rashad Trice pleaded guilty in state court to first-degree murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with last year's murder of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith, and her mother's sexual assault and stabbing, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Monday. The pleading occurred a day before the one-year anniversary of the abduction.

"The scars left by Mr. Trice’s horrific and brutal crime spree will forever etch themselves on the lives he shattered," said Attorney General Dana Nessel. "While nothing can ever fully heal the grief of Wynter’s family and loved ones, I hope today’s plea can be a step toward healing."
 
JUL 1, 2024
Trice was initially charged with 20 different crimes, including offenses committed during the ensuing police chase. However, as part of a plea agreement, the other 18 charges were dropped in exchange for Trice pleading guilty to the assault and murder.

“I would like to thank Prosecutors Dewane, Lucido, and Worthy for their assistance and coordination in this case,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “By consolidating the prosecution and securing a life sentence through plea, we have ensured the safety of the community while protecting surviving victims from the trauma of a lengthy trial.”

Earlier this year, Trice pled guilty to a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death and will be sentenced for it on July 19. He faces a mandatory life sentence.

He will be sentenced on the state charges on Aug. 16.
 
JUL 5, 2024
riday marks one year since 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith’s body was found in an alley on Detroit's east side. She was kidnapped and murdered by her mother’s ex-boyfriend last year.

Her father, Almount Smith, says the pain still cuts deep.

[...]

The man who killed Wynter pled guilty to murder in both federal and state courts. He will be sentenced later this year.

But Smith says it doesn’t bring any comfort because his baby is still dead.

[...]

“She liked pizza, macaroni and cheese and ribs,” he said. “One of the funniest things, just waking up and then I’ll leave the room, come back and her head just up looking. That was probably one of my most favorite memories.”

JUL 6, 2024
Trice will be sentenced on Aug. 16.
 
Lansing — A Lansing man will spend the rest of his life in prison after kidnapping and killing a 2-year-old girl, dumping her body in Detroit, but not before the toddler's grandfather questioned why his granddaughter was killed and "used as collateral."

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk on Friday did not say much when she sentenced Rashad Trice to life without parole in prison for murdering Wynter Cole Smith. She said while she could not sentence Trice to anything except life without parole — the sentence is mandatory with a plea of first-degree murder — she believes the sentence is appropriate. She sentenced Trice to 60 to 90 years in prison for the sexual assault of Wynter's mother...
 
...Trice was initially charged with 20 counts in connection with the crime and police pursuit that followed. He pleaded guilty in a Michigan court to first-degree murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct on July 1, 2024, almost exactly a year after the crimes were committed. Trice was sentenced Aug. 16 to life without parole.

In a federal court, he pleaded guilty in March to kidnapping resulting in death and was sentenced Friday to life imprisonment...
 

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