GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) – Rashad Trice, the man accused in the kidnapping and death of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith last month, has pleaded not guilty.
Trice, 26, was formally arraigned Monday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids on charges of kidnapping resulting in death and kidnapping a minor. If convicted of the first charge, Trice could be eligible for the death penalty.
Trice had been charged by criminal complaint on July 7 to secure his immediate detention, days after he was arrested in connection with the disappearance of the toddler, who was the daughter of his former girlfriend.
He is also facing a number of charges at the state level, including kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, fleeing police and other charges across from multiple local jurisdictions. Those charges have all been consolidated into one case to be prosecuted by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
"The alleged facts in this case are staggering and my deepest sympathies go out to the mother, to the father, to the family in this case," Totten said after Monday's arraignment.
Trice is accused of sexually assaulting and stabbing Wynter's mother at her Lansing home on July 2 before allegedly kidnapping the toddler and fleeing the area.
The alleged kidnapping led to a statewide Amber Alert as authorities searched for the girl. Trice was arrested the next morning in St. Clair Shores after leading police on a chase through the city.
Wynter was not in the car when he was arrested.
She was found on July 5 in an overgrown alley on Detroit's east side after an intensive search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.
"The sadness for those of us working the case is outmatched by our resolve and focus on the continued, careful work supporting the prosecution," said Devin J. Kowalski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "Over 30 law enforcement agencies banded together on this case, culminating in tremendous heroism by those Eastpointe and St. Clair Shores Police officers apprehending the accused and by those FBI Agents who recovered Wynter."
Trice remains held without bond.
