Trice receives second life sentence for killing Wynter Cole Smith

Rashad Trice was sentenced Friday to life in a federal prison for kidnapping and killing 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith last year. The crime sparked a massive manhunt and initially exposed the Detroit man to the federal death penalty.

Five months after 27-year-old Trice pleaded guilty to kidnapping resulting in death, U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker imposed the mandatory prison term in federal court in Grand Rapids. The ruling came a week after Trice was sentenced in Ingham County District Court to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder – plus 60 to 90 years for the attack on Wynter's mother.

“This was a senseless tragedy that has shaken our community to its core,” Lansing Police Chief Rob Backus said in a statement. “While nothing can replace the loss of Wynter Cole Smith, I hope today's sentencing provides some comfort to Wynter's family, who have endured unimaginable pain.”

According to the federal court agreement, Trice admitted to kidnapping Smith from her Lansing home on July 2 because he had a fight with the girl's mother. Trice took her to an alley between Olympia Street and Edgewood Avenue in Detroit, where he strangled her with a pink cell phone cord, according to the agreement. Her body was found by investigators three days later.

“Today we achieved a measure of justice,” Mark Totten, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said in a statement. “We cannot bring back Wynter Cole Smith's precious life, but we can do our best to make sure her killer is found guilty and spends the rest of his life in prison, and that is exactly what we did today.”

Trice agreed to the deal eight months after he was indicted in the high-profile kidnapping case, which initially charged him with a crime for which he faced the death penalty if convicted. But prosecutors later said they would not seek the death penalty, in line with President Joe Biden's campaign pledge to abolish the death penalty. However, federal prosecutors continue to seek the death penalty in some cases.

“Mr. Trice has accepted responsibility and understands that he must face the consequences of his actions,” his lawyers Helen Nieuwenhuis and Sharon Turek wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Before the verdict, Trice's lawyers tried to explain his traumatic childhood in Detroit. Trice's father was in prison after being convicted of murder. His mother served nearly two years in prison for a weapons offense.

Since the charges were filed, Trice has lost parental rights to another child he has with Wynter's mother.

“The loss of his son and the knowledge that his son will suffer the effects of the current offense was emotionally overwhelming for Mr. Trice and he stated that he tries not to think about it,” his lawyers wrote. “Prior to the current offense, Mr. Trice tried to provide support and love to his son.”

Trice was accused of stabbing and sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Wynter's mother, in Lansing on July 2 and then driving away with Wynter's daughter. An Amber Alert was issued, sparking an extensive manhunt involving multiple agencies.

Federal prosecutors argue that Trice kidnapped Wynter and fled to seek revenge for a fight between him and her mother. A 1-year-old was also at the scene, authorities said.

Trice initially refused to tell police where Wynter was and denied kidnapping her. Police used his cellphone location data to track him down, which led them to the girl's body on July 5, 2023.

According to court records, Trice has a criminal history that includes domestic violence, assault, and resisting and obstructing police in at least five Michigan counties.

“Rashad Trice will spend the rest of his life in prison and we are confident that this sentence will have a deterrent effect and prevent another family from having to endure the pain that Wynter Cole Smith's family has endured,” Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI in Michigan, said in a statement.

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