Authorities released new details about the death of a two-year-old Michigan girl as they filed federal charges Friday in the kidnapping of her mother’s ex-boyfriend.
The body of Wynter Cole Smith was found in a Detroit alley on Wednesday after she was allegedly abducted from her mother’s Lansing home earlier in the week, sparking an intense search. On Friday, Rashad Trice, 26, was charged with kidnapping a minor and kidnapping resulting in death, according to a federal complaint obtained by HuffPost. He has already been charged with eight other charges, including criminal sex conduct, assault with intent to murder, burglary and unlawful detention.
“The allegations in this case are heartbreaking,” said Mark Totten, the US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, in one opinion notification of the indictment. “My thoughts are with Wynter’s family as we have all prayed for her safe return home.”
Lansing Police Department
According to an FBI agent’s probable cause statement included in the federal complaint, Trice is accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Wynter’s mother, multiple times and then sexually assaulting her on Monday.
Seriously injured, she fled to her mother’s apartment, which is in the same complex, leaving Wynter and her one-year-old brother behind, authorities said.
When Lansing police arrived at the scene, Wynter and Trice were gone, but the one-year-old was still at the home. A 2013 Chevy Impala that belonged to Wynter’s grandmother was also missing, and authorities issued an amber alert for the girl, Trice, and the vehicle.
Later that day, officers in St. Clair Shores spotted the Impala and attempted to stop it. But the driver, whom authorities identified as Trice, led police in a chase that ended in an accident. Trice was arrested, but Wynter wasn’t in the car, leading to an increased search effort for the girl and a $25,000 reward for any information leading to their location.
On Wednesday night, police said they found the girl’s body in the alley after checking data from Trice’s phone, surveillance video and license plate reader. According to the FBI agent’s probable cause statement, her death appeared to have been caused by strangulation with a pink cell phone charger.
The statement added that the cord found on Wynter’s body matched the pink pieces of cord found in the Impala. A photo accompanying the document shows pieces of a pink cord inside the vehicle, as well as blood from wounds Trice allegedly received when the girl’s mother was stabbed.
“It’s so hard to imagine the final moments of little Wynter’s life,” Dawn Ison, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in one opinion.
During his detention, Trice allegedly admitted that he and Wynter’s mother stabbed each other during an argument over money.
Trice told investigators he knew about the Amber Alert and intended to kill himself, the FBI agent said.
“I’m already a monster,” Trice allegedly told investigators.
When he was charged in state court on Wednesday, he was calculated with eight felonies and denied bail.
If Trice is convicted of kidnapping resulting in death, he faces life imprisonment and the death penalty.
Wynter’s family had previously announced a vigil for Friday night to honor the girl and mourn her death.
“We are heartbroken at the loss of our beautiful daughter, granddaughter, cousin, niece and big sister,” the family said. according to ClickOnDetroit. “Wynter’s short but bright life was needlessly taken from her and we will forever mourn her passing.”
