GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The man accused of kidnapping and killing a 2-year-old girl from Lansing is admitting to the federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death, according to a new plea agreement.
A plea agreement was filed Thursday, March 21 between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Rashad Trice, the man accused of kidnapping Wynter Cole Smith and killing her shortly after in July 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, which was filed in a U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Trice is pleading guilty to one count of kidnapping resulting in death.
He originally pleaded not guilty to all federal charges in August 2023.
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.
Trice faces a minimum sentence of life in prison for the singular federal charge, though the court will ultimately decide on sentencing. The plea agreement explicitly states that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has not made any agreement with Trice regarding sentencing.
“Both parties reserve the right to seek any sentence within the statutory maximum, and to argue for any criminal history category and score, offense level, specific offense characteristics, adjustments and departures,” the agreement says.
You can read the entire agreement down below.
Trice is still facing a series of charges in Michigan brought by state Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Because the kidnapping occurred in Ingham County, the killing occurred in Wayne County, and Trice’s arrest occurred in Macomb County, he faced several charges in each jurisdiction. With the agreement of local prosecutors, Nessel consolidated the charges to one case.
Trice pleaded not guilty to 20 charges, and was ordered in October 2023 to stand trial in Lansing. As of Thursday, March 21, it was unclear how the federal plea agreement would affect his local charges, if at all.
No trial date was set in October when Trice was bound over for trial.
---> How the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team helps in kidnapping cases
Details from the case
At 11:19 p.m. on Sunday, July 2, 2023, police were called to the Lansing home where Trice is accused of assaulting the 22-year-old mother of 2-year-old Wynter before the kidnapping occurred. Authorities said Trice and the 22-year-old woman used to be in a relationship.
That night, Trice reportedly arrived at the home and sexually assaulted and stabbed the woman several times. The woman was able to escape from the house and call for help. Trice then kidnapped Wynter, stole the mother’s vehicle, and fled to the Detroit area, officials said.
Wynter’s 1-year-old brother was left at the home unharmed.
An Amber Alert was issued early in the morning on July 3, 2023. At around 4:45 a.m. that day, Trice was spotted by St. Clair Shores police, who attempted to pull him over. Trice sped away but crashed into another police patrol car not far away. He was arrested.
Police said Trice actively resisted arrest while being taken into custody at the crash scene. He was brought to a nearby hospital to be treated for injuries from the crash, according to officials.
Wynter was not in the car when Trice was arrested, and authorities said he did not “offer up anything to police” regarding the investigation.
Detroit police, Lansing police, and the FBI worked together to establish the route traveled by Trice from Lansing to Metro Detroit, and where he may have stopped. After three days of searching, Detroit police found Wynter’s body around 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, in an alley on the city’s east side.
Investigators said Trice killed the 2-year-old girl with a pink cellphone charging cord that was found with her body. Part of that same cord was found in the mother’s stolen vehicle that was driven by Trice, officials said.
---> See more: Timeline of Wynter Cole Smith case
Read: Full plea agreement
You can read the entire plea agreement between Trice and the U.S. government below.