LANSING (WWJ) -- The man accused of kidnapping 2-year-old Wynter Cole- Smith has now been charged in her death, and could potentially be facing the death penalty.
Rashad Maleek Trice, 26, has been charged in a criminal complaint with two federal counts: Kidnapping a Minor and Kidnapping Resulting in Death.
In announcing these new charges on Friday, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten noted that that second offense is "death penalty eligible."
If convicted of Kidnapping a Minor, the statutory mandatory minimum is 20 years in prison with a maximum possible sentence of life in prison, Totten said.
Trice was arrested Monday morning in Metro Detroit after allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping Wynter — leading to a desperate, statewide search.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WWJ Newsradio 950, Trice allegedly stabbed and sexually assaulted Wynter's mother — who is also the mother of his 1-year-old son — after they got into an argument about money at her Lansing apartment.
In the complaint, an FBI agent said the wounded woman fled to her mother's neighboring apartment, and Trice left in her white Chevy Impala, taking Wynter with him and setting off an Amber Alert.
The toddler was not with Trice when he was arrested, after he led police on a chase that columnated in a crash in St. Clair Shores.
The search for the child then ended in tragedy Wednesday evening, when her body was found in an alley, near Coleman A. Young International Airport on Detroit’s east side.
According to the criminal complaint, the FBI believes Wynter was strangled with a pink cell phone charging cord, which was found in the Impala. However, the Medical Examiner's final report is still pending.
A large amount of blood was also found in the car, the FBI said, but investigators believe the blood came from Trice, who was wounded by Wynter's mother in self-defense. DNA analysis is ongoing.
“The allegations in this case are heart-wrenching,” said Totten. "My thoughts are very much with Wynter’s family, as we were all praying for her safe return home. I would like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lansing Police Department, Michigan State Police, and the countless law enforcement agencies who worked relentlessly to find Wynter. I would also like to thank U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison of the Eastern District of Michigan and her office for all their hard work in this investigation. The media and the public played a critical role in sharing accurate information and submitting tips as well. I commend everyone in law enforcement and the community for working together to pursue justice in this case.”
Trice was arraigned Wednesday on a long list of charges for what authorities are calling a “brutal physical and sexual assault” on Wynter’s mother. These new federal charges announced Friday are in addition to those state charges.
Speaking live with WWJ's Brooke Allen and Tony Ortiz, Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, Matthew Schneider explained why this would be a federal case.
"Most of the time a kidnapping case is a state case, and so is a murder case. But here the federal government is alleging that there are some connections to interstate commerce," Schneider said.
"In other words, there's something that brings in federal jurisdiction...and what they're saying is a few things: They're saying, number one, that the vehicle which that kidnapper was driving, that was actually made in Canada, and it was an instrumentality of interstate commerce; and the defendant got into this car and drove to Detroit in that car. They're also saying that he drove on an interstate highway, which was highway 96, I-96, and that is an connection to interstate commerce...Not necessarily rock solid theories, but then again this is just the beginning of the case. This is only the complaint."
Schneider said there will be an indictment to follow, which will likely have additional information.
Trice's next scheduled court appearance is a detention hearing set for July 11, in Grand Rapids.
Meanwhile, a vigil was underway Friday evening in Detroit, as the family and community mourns the toddler’s death.
“It is so difficult to imagine the final moments of little Wynter’s life,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Dawn Ison, in a statement. “I commend Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Rawsthorne of my office, FBI, Detroit Police, and all the other law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly for days to find Wynter in Detroit and return her home. My heart breaks for her family, and all of us mourn with them.”
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