Rashad Maleek Trice has entered a guilty plea in the brutal 2023 murder of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith, as well as for the violent sexual assault and stabbing of her mother. Trice has conceded to charges including first-degree murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct before Ingham County's 30th Circuit Court, a conviction that brings with it a mandatory life sentence without the prospect of parole, as announced by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and reported by Michigan Department of Attorney General.
According to The Detroit News, Nessel described the impact of the crimes stating, "The scars left by Mr. Trice’s horrific and brutal crime spree will forever etch themselves on the lives he shattered," also expressing hope that Trice's plea could represent a step towards the healing process for the affected family and community. Following Wynter's tragic death after Trice kidnapped her on July 2, 2023, Trice, who had previously had an altercation with the girl's mother, fled to an alley between Olympia Street and Edgewood Avenue in Detroit. There, he sadly strangled the child with a pink cellphone cord. An Amber Alert sparked a three-day search by both law enforcement and volunteers. They eventually found her body in an alley on Detroit's east side. The toddler's kidnapping led to a widespread manhunt, which concluded with Trice's arrest in St. Clair Shores.
The consolidation of the cases into one charge was a collaborative effort involving the Attorney General's Office, along with the prosecutors from Ingham, Macomb, and Wayne Counties, in a strategic decision to mask potential juridical overlap and streamline the conclusion of a case that rippled throughout the state, which now pending sentencing for Trice is scheduled for August 16 as stated in the information from the Michigan Department of Attorney General.
