DETROIT – Officials believe Wynter Cole Smith was killed with a pink cellphone charging cord that was found on her body days after the Amber Alert.
A charging document accuses Rashad Maleek Trice, 26, of Detroit, of abducting Wynter after he stabbed and sexually assaulted her mother, Trice’s ex-girlfriend.
Trice was named in the Amber Alert for Wynter, and St. Clair Shores police arrested him hours later. He was driving his ex-girlfriend’s stolen Chevrolet Impala, according to authorities.
Wynter was not in the car with Trice, and authorities spent days trying to figure out where she had gone. Her body was ultimately found Wednesday evening in a Detroit alley.
On Friday, authorities charged Trice with kidnapping resulting in death and kidnapping a minor victim.
“Based on my training and experience, there is probable cause to believe that (Wynter) was kidnapped from her home and transported to Detroit,” FBI special agent Christopher Rodolico wrote. “There is probable cause to believe that (Wynter) was murdered by Trice and left in the alley, where her body was discovered.”
The charging document includes pictures showing parts of a pink cord inside the stolen Impala. Officials said they believe Wynter was strangled to death with that cord.
“(Wynter’s) cause of death appeared to be strangulation with a pink cellphone charging cord that was recovered with the body,” the document reads. “The pink cellphone charging cord was consistent with the pink cord parts recovered from the Chevrolet Impala. A medical examiner’s final report of the cause of death is still pending.”
