Feds: 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith strangled with cellphone charger cord

The man accused of beating and sexually assaulting 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith's mother has also been charged in federal court with kidnapping the toddler and strangling her to death with a phone charger, according to the FBI.

The charging complaint filed Friday accuses 26-year-old Rashad Trice of kidnapping Wynter after stabbing and sexually assaulting Symari Cole, his ex-girlfriend, in a Lansing apartment on Sunday.

The FBI said Wynter was strangled to death with a pink cellphone charger that was recovered Wednesday evening with her body in a field-like alley in the east part of Detroit. Parts of the cellphone charger were found in Trice's car after he was arrested, according to the filing.

Trice has been charged with kidnapping and kidnapping resulting in death. He also was charged in state court in Lansing with beating and sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Trice will be eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted of kidnapping resulting in death. The mandatory minimum for that charge, if convicted, is life in prison.

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Wynter's disappearance late Sunday evening spawned a massive search, which ended in her body being found Wednesday evening on Detroit's east side near the Coleman A. Young International Airport.

On Sunday evening, Wynter's mother fled the apartment after Trice allegedly stabbed and sexually assaulted her, leaving Wynter and Cole's 1-year-old son behind. Trice, who is not Wynter's biological father, allegedly kidnapped the toddler and drove off in her mother's car. An Amber Alert was issued at 2:41 a.m. Monday when Wynter couldn't be found.

In a text message to Trice at 3:06 a.m. Monday, after Trice allegedly kidnapped Wynter, his uncle said: "It's not your fault the girl is the devil," according to federal law enforcement officials. Trice's uncle told Trice he loved him and said he could help if he came to him.

Trice responded with: "I love y'all but I have to end this s--- man."

Trice was arrested in St. Clair Shores later Monday after a patrol officer saw the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, according to police. Trice tried to flee and crashed into another police vehicle after a quick chase. He tried to grab an Eastpointe officer's gun before police used a Taser on him and took him to the hospital.

Wynter was not in the car at the time. FBI found a significant amount of blood in the vehicle, which FBI officials said was consistent with the stab wounds Trice had gotten after assaulting Wynter's mother.

Trice refused to tell police where Wynter was and denied kidnapping her. Police used cellphone location data to find Wynter's body, which was in a field-like alley in Detroit. Medical examiners have not determined an official cause of death, according to the FBI.

Trice told police he and Wynter's mother had been arguing about money and they stabbed each other when the argument became violent. He said words to the effect of "I am already a monster" and said he wanted to kill himself, according to the FBI complaint.

Lansing police Chief Ellery Sosebee said in a statement that the department's top priority is to get justice for Wynter and her family.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten said in a statement that “the allegations in this case are heart-wrenching."

"My thoughts are very much with Wynter’s family, as we were all praying for her safe return home," he said.

Wynter's relatives called Thursday for tougher legislation so suspects convicted of violent crimes remain in prison after Trice, the four-time habitual offender, was initially charged in the assault of Wynter's mother.

"We are heartbroken over the loss of our beautiful daughter, granddaughter, cousins, niece and big sister, Wynter Cole Smith," the family said in a statement. "Wynter's brief but bright life was taken from her unnecessarily; and we will grieve her death forever."

The federal charges came after news that Trice had previously been convicted of domestic violence involving Wynter's mother in Monroe County, according to court records. He was sentenced in 2022 to 224 days in jail, according to court records.

Monroe County court records reviewed by The Detroit News show that Trice was charged with assaulting his then-girlfriend Symari Cole and for resisting, obstructing or assaulting police in May 2021. He was convicted in 2022.

Wynter is listed as a victim or complainant in the domestic violence case but was not listed in the charging information. Court records do not indicate how Wynter, an infant at the time, was a victim in the incident.

The Monroe County charges add to the picture of Trice's criminal past, which includes charges of domestic violence, assault, and resisting and obstructing police in at least five Michigan counties, according to court records.

At the time of Wynter's death, Trice was on probation from an August 2021 incident in Livingston County in which he pleaded guilty to five felonies, including assaulting/resisting a police officer and felonious assault.

“It is so difficult to imagine the final moments of little Wynter’s life,” said Dawn Ison, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. “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.”

kberg@detroitnews.com