A man has been sentenced to life in prison for the abduction and murder of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith last summer.
A 27-year-old man named Rashad Maleek Trice has admitted his guilt in Ingham County Circuit court. He pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
These charges are related to the tragic death of a 2-year-old child and the assault of her mother. Due to the plea, he was able to have over a dozen other charges dropped against him.
On Friday, he received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Trice has also admitted guilt to a federal charge of kidnapping that led to a tragic loss of life.
Despite facing federal charges, he was spared from the death penalty as the U.S. Attorney’s Office opted not to pursue this severe punishment.
Officials report that Trice committed a heinous act, sexually assaulting and stabbing a woman, before abducting her 2-year-old daughter on July 2, 2023, in Lansing. An Amber Alert was issued for the little girl following the kidnapping.
Trice was apprehended in St. Clair Shores following a police pursuit, and Wynter’s remains were discovered in Detroit a few days thereafter.