Rashad Trice enters plea in killing of Lansing toddler Wynter Cole-Smith
GRAND RAPIDS — Rashad Trice has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing a 2-year-old Lansing girl last year.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors and Trice's attorneys filed notice in federal court that they had reached a plea agreement. On Friday morning, Trice, 27, officially pleaded guilty to a charge of kidnapping resulting in death in for killing Wynter Cole-Smith.
He faces life in prison and will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker on July 19 in Grand Rapids.
"What happened is heart-wrenching, but today marks an important step forward as we seek justice for Wynter Cole-Smith’s family and the people of Michigan," Mark Totten, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said in a release after Friday's hearing. "I'm incredibly grateful to FBI Michigan, the Lansing Police Department, and the more than two dozen other local, state, and federal partners who came running to help."
A message seeking comment from Trice's attorneys was not immediately returned.
Trice also faces criminal charges in state court following the kidnapping and statewide search that began in Lansing and ended in Detroit, where police found Wynter's body. Trice admitted to taking the girl and strangling her with a cellphone cord, according to the plea agreement.
State charges against Trice had been filed in three separate counties before the state Attorney General's Office consolidated them into a single prosecution in Ingham County Circuit Court, where the charges are still pending. He would face up to life in prison if convicted as charged in that case.
"My hope is this will give Wynter's family, friends, and all of the law enforcement partners who were and are still affected by this tragedy a sense of closure," Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said in a release.
Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or mjmencarini@lsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Rashad Trice enters plea in killing of Lansing toddler Wynter Cole-Smith
