GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced Friday night that a trial date has been set for 26-year-old Rashad Maleek Trice.
Trice is accused of kidnapping two-year-old Wynter Cole Smith. The child was reported missing back in July, days later her body was found near the Coleman A. Young Airport on Detroit's east side.
Authorities said Trice had gotten into an altercation with his ex-girlfriend, Wynter's mother, which ended in him stabbing her.
Wynter, along with her 1-year-old brother, were in the apartment at the time of the violence. Police say Trice abducted Wynter.
Wynter's mother, who is 22, was able to get away from him to call for help and was taken to the hospital for treatment. She was later released.
Trice is accused of stealing her white 2013 Chevrolet Impala that he later crashed. He was arrested in St. Clair Shores, which is about 90 miles from Lansing. Trice was charged with attempted murder for the stabbing.
While he was arrested, Wynter was nowhere to be found. Search crews spanned I-96, a major highway between Lansing and Detroit, looking for her.
A state-wide Amber Alert was sent, and a $25,000 reward was offered for information on her disappearance. Law enforcement went canvassing door-to-door, used drones, flew helicopters with heat-sensing technologies and deployed dive teams to no avail.
Her body was finally discovered after three days by a federal search party.
"This is not the outcome anyone had hoped for," said Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee at the press conference. "I promise law enforcement will see that the family gets the justice that they so deserve."
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.
The first charge Trice faces, kidnapping resulting in death, carries a minimum sentence of life in prison. The second, kidnapping of a minor, carries a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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