Rashad Trice, the Detroit man who was accused of the heinous kidnapping and murder of 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith, has struck a deal with federal prosecutors. Trice, 27, agreed to plead guilty to the kidnapping that ended in the child’s death, a federal court filing in Grand Rapids revealed Thursday. This dramatic twist comes after Trice could have faced the death penalty for his crimes but, following President Joe Biden's campaign promise, the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to seek such punishment, The Detroit News reported.
In an emotional statement, the toddler’s grandmother, Sharen Eddings, commented on the relief that Trice’s guilty plea brings, sparing the family more trauma, "This just eliminates the family having to be traumatized again," Eddings told FOX 2 Detroit. Trice will face up to life in prison when he appears for a plea hearing, scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday. The harrowing case unfolded on July 2, 2023, when Trice also allegedly attacked Wynter's mother before kidnapping the child from her Lansing home, prompting an Amber Alert.
Trice's admission involves him acknowledging he took the little girl because of a fight with her mother. In a gruesome detail, he confessed to using a pink cell phone cord to strangle Wynter in an alley in Detroit, as per details contained in the plea agreement. Further, Trice conceded to trying to keep the child calm by playing YouTube videos during the abduction, clickondetroit noted in their coverage.
Despite this federal plea, Trice is still grappling with a bevy of state charges, which were consolidated by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The staggering list includes first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, among 18 other charges across three different counties. "The federal proceedings do not impact our state case," Nessel's spokeswoman, Kim Bush, stated to The Detroit News. Though the federal agreement marks a significant development, it's still unclear how it may influence the upcoming state proceedings.
