Wynter Cole-Smith kidnapping suspect sentenced to life without parole for toddler's murder
Rashad Trice. Inset: Wynter Smith
LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - The man who kidnapped and killed 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith last summer will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Rashad Maleek Trice, 27, pleaded guilty in Ingham County circuit court to one count each of first-degree murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the death of the 2-year-old and the assault of her mother. As a result of the plea, more than a dozen other charges were dismissed against him.
He was sentenced to life without parole on Friday.
Trice also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death.
Family of Wynter Cole-Smith gather in her memory on anniversary of her death
Family, friends gather to honoring murdered 2-year-old on anniversary of her being found in Detroit.
After being charged federally, he could have faced the death penalty, but the U.S. Attorney's Office did not seek this punishment.
Authorities say Trice sexually assaulted and stabbed a woman before kidnapping her 2-year-old daughter, on July 2, 2023 in Lansing. The kidnapping prompted an Amber Alert for the little girl.
Trice was arrested in St. Clair Shores after a police chase, and Wynter's body was found in Detroit a few days later.