The search for a two-year-old Lansing, Michigan toddler has reached a tragic conclusion.
Wynter Cole Smith was found in a remote Detroit alleyway, roughly 100 miles from her home, after a search operation lasting three days.
On July 2, Symari Cole, 22, Wynter’s mother, fell victim to an attack at her home. Rashad Trice, 26, her former boyfriend and the main suspect in the incident, is believed to have assaulted her, forcing her to escape and leave behind Wynter and her one-year-old sibling. Despite not being Wynter’s biological father, Trice took off with the toddler in Cole’s car.
The FBI implicates Trice, a four-time habitual offender already on probation for multiple crimes, in the violent stabbing and sexual assault on Smith’s mother. He now faces charges in federal court for kidnapping the toddler and murdering her with a phone charger cord, along with many other charges related to the kidnapping and the assault on Symari. He previously served time in jail in 2022 for domestic violence against Symari.
Trice was apprehended in St. Clair Shores on Monday when a patrol officer spotted the car and tried to intercept it. In his attempt to evade arrest, Trice crashed into another police vehicle following a chase. He then attempted to seize an officer’s firearm, resulting in police deploying a Taser to subdue him before he was transported to the hospital. He refused to give the police Wynter’s whereabouts and she was found using cell phone data.
If Trice is found guilty of a kidnapping that resulted in death, he could face the death penalty. The minimum sentence for such a charge, if conviction occurs, is life imprisonment.