A Michigan man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping his former girlfriend’s child and murdering her with a cellphone charger.
According to the Michigan Department of Attorney General, Rashad Maleek Trice, 27, of Lansing, pleaded guilty Monday at the Ingham County 30th Judicial Circuit Court to murdering 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith, and criminal sexual conduct for assaulting her mother.
A federal criminal complaint stated that on July 2, 2023, Trice’s ex-girlfriend called the Lansing Police Department after a heated confrontation in her apartment. She said she stabbed Trice in self-defense during the altercation, and he responded by stabbing her multiple times and sexually assaulting her.
The woman managed to escape the apartment, leaving behind her children, Wynter and a 1-year-old boy. When police arrived, they found the boy, but Wynter was missing.
An AMBER Alert was issued, including a photo of Wynter and a description of an Impala that Trice stole. Around 4:50 a.m. on July 3, a police officer in St. Clair Shores spotted the Impala and attempted a traffic stop. Trice fled, leading to a brief chase that ended when he crashed into another police car.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police arrested him hours after the kidnapping, but didn’t find the child’s body until days later, in an alley near Young International Airport.
Trice, who was not the toddler’s father, acknowledged that he kidnapped Wyhnter from her Lansing home following a dispute with her mother. He then drove toward the Detroit area and said he repeatedly played a YouTube video “in an attempt to pacify the victim.”
Trice then drove to the alley, “where he strangled the victim to death with a pink cell phone cord.”
“The scars left by Mr. Trice’s horrific and brutal crime spree will forever etch themselves on the lives he shattered,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “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.”
“I would like to thank Prosecutors Dewane, Lucido, and Worthy for their assistance and coordination in this case,. 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.”
Trice is scheduled for sentencing on August 16 at 9 a.m. A conviction for first-degree murder requires a life sentence without parole.
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[Featured image: Wynter Cole-Smith/Handout]
