Federal prosecutors say they will not pursue the death penalty for a Michigan man charged with kidnapping and strangling his former girlfriend’s daughter.
Although he was eligible for federal death consideration, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced Thursday that prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty for Rashad Maleek Trice, according to ClickonDetroit. He’s accused of murdering his former girlfriend’s daughter, 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith, in July.
Without an applicable state death penalty in Michigan, the maximum sentence for Trice is now life without parole.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, investigators believe that Trice strangled Wynter with a pink cell phone cord after stabbing her mother during an altercation at a Lansing home on July 2. Trice was arrested the next day after an AMBER Alert was issued for the victim. Police captured him following a chase that led to him crashing his vehicle in St. Clair Shores.
Wynter’s body was later found in a Detroit alley.
“(Smith’s) cause of death appeared to be strangulation with a pink cellphone charging cord that was recovered with the body,” the charging document stated.
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Trice, who pleaded not guilty in August, is facing charges that include:
- Kidnapping a minor (federal level)
- Kidnapping that resulted in death (federal level)
- Murder (state level)
- Kidnapping (state level)
- Assault (state level)
- Stalking (state level)
“The alleged facts in this case are staggering, and my deepest sympathies go out to the mother, to the father, to the family,” Totten said in August. “My office is fully prepared to do everything necessary to establish the facts beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Trice is also charged with sexually assaulting and trying to kill the Wynter’s mother, who survived the attack.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Wynter Cole Smith/Handout]
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