Lansing man receives a second life sentence for the murder, kidnapping of two-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith

LANSING (WWJ) The Lansing man who pled guilty to kidnapping and murdering 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith has received a second life sentence, according to U.S. Attorney for Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten.

“Today we have achieved a measure of justice,” Totten said in a news release. “We can’t bring back the precious life of Wynter Cole-Smith, but we can do our best to ensure her killer is found guilty and spends the rest of his life in prison, which is what we’ve done today.”

Rashad Trice’s federal sentencing comes only one week since an Ingham County judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, after he pled guilty in July to one count each of First-Degree Murder and Criminal Sexual Conduct. The Ingham County judge also sentenced him to a concurrent 60 to 90 years for stabbing and sexually assaulting Wynter’s mother.

In March; Trice, 27, pled guilty in federal court to Kidnapping Resulting in Death.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by WWJ Newsradio 950 ; on Sunday, July 2nd 2023, Trice got into an argument about money with Wynter’s mother at her Lansing apartment. He stabbed her and sexually assaulted her, the complaint said.

She and Trice had a one-year-old son together, but he was not Wynter’s father.

Prosecutors said Trice kidnapped Wynter in a stolen white Chevrolet Impala. Authorities issued an Amber Alert. The following day, police attempted to stop the Impala in St. Clair Shores, leading to a pursuit. Police arrested him, but Wynter was not in the car.

Federal, local, county and state law enforcement agents from approximately 30 departments and agencies joined forces with the hope of bringing her home safely. The search spanned from Lansing to Detroit—guided by data from Trice’s cellphone, prosecutors said.

That Wednesday, their efforts came to a heartbreaking end. They found Wynter’s body near Coleman A. Young International Airport in downton Detroit. Her cause of death was listed as strangulation--and authorities alleged Trice used her mother’s phone charger as the murder weapon.

“Our hearts still break for little Wynter. She should still be here,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Dawn N. Ison, said in the release. “The tireless search and coordination by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across the state, over several days, to bring her home safely, truly demonstrated the committed, collaborative effort with which we work every day to protect and serve our citizens. Although nothing will bring little Wynter back, I hope her family takes some solace in that effort and today’s sentence.”

Trice’s federal charges initially made him eligible for the death penalty despite the fact that Michigan had abolished it in 1846. However, in October of 2023, the feds announced they would not seek capital punishment in this case.

In an earlier statement, Wynter’s family said they would “grieve her death forever.”