A Michigan man apparently strangled his ex-girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter with a cellphone cord and left her body in a Detroit alley, according to a federal complaint filed Friday.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Grand Rapids charged 26-year-old Rashad Trice with kidnapping a minor and kidnapping resulting in death in connection with Wynter Cole Smith’s disappearance, adding to a litany of state charges that include attempted murder and fleeing police.
“There is probable cause to believe (Smith) was murdered by Trice and left in the alley, where her body was discovered,” FBI Special Agent Christopher Rodolico wrote in the complaint.
SEARCH FOR KIDNAPPED TODDLER WYNTER COLE SMITH ENDS TRAGICALLY IN DETROIT ALLEY: POLICE
Investigators determined that Trice had stolen a car and issued an Amber Alert for Smith. Police located the car early the next morning in St. Clair Shores, a Detroit suburb. The driver, later identified as Trice, fled and crashed into a police vehicle. He then tried to disarm an officer and was arrested. Smith wasn’t in the vehicle.
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING 2-YEAR-OLD GIRL WITH $25K REWARD POSTED
Trice initially told investigators that he last saw the girl at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment. Police reviewed cellphone data that showed Trice traveling from Lansing to Detroit, which led them to a Detroit alley on Wednesday where they found Smith’s body and a pink cellphone cord they believe was used to strangle the girl. They also found portions of a pink cellphone cord in the stolen car.
Trice was scheduled to appear in federal court in Grand Rapids on Tuesday for a detention hearing.