GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A grand jury will soon review Rashad Maleek Trice’s case and determine if it will move forward federally.
Trice has been charged in connection to the death and disappearance of two-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith, the daughter of his ex-girlfriend. Last week, Trice was charged with multiple felonies in connection to the incident in Ingham County courts.
Tuesday morning, Trice appeared at the federal court building on Ottawa Avenue for his federal preliminary hearing. Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom. However, FOX 17 attended the hearing, took notes of it and observed Trice as he walked in the courtroom handcuffed, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and escorted by two U.S. Marshals.
Trice sat next to his defense attorneys for the duration of the preliminary hearing, and before magistrate Judge Ray Kent.
U.S. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Roth called his first and only witness to testify, FBI special agent Christopher Rodolico.
Rodolico testified about the timeline of events that happened, beginning on the night of July 2, when police received a 911 call from Wynter’s mother that there had been a “stabbing, beating” and a sexual assault at her apartment in Lansing.
Rodolico said her children were also in the home at the time.
“She was able to escape,” Rodolico said, and added that she ran into a bystander outside.
However, he said that when she returned to the apartment, she saw that Trice, Wynter, her car keys and her Chevy Impala were gone.
Within hours, an Amber Alert was issued, he said.
Rodolico said the FBI was able to track Trice’s movement through his cell phone, and found data activity on the east side of the state.
Then, on Monday, July 3, police saw Trice driving in the St. Claire Shores area, Rodolico said. When they attempted to stop him, he sped away. A police chase ensued and when they were arresting him, police said he resisted arrest and attempted to grab an officer's gun. They also found him with stab wounds.
Rodolico said that once Trice was arrested, investigators took pictures of the vehicle. Roth showed them on a screen in the courtroom. The pictures were of the inside of the vehicle, and showed a bloody towel and a pink cell phone charging cord.
Rodolico also added that police seized Trice's cell phone and obtained an emergency search warrant to go through it. That’s when they saw text messages that he sent to his father.
Roth showed those text messages on screen in the courtroom. They read:
“Call me man so we can figure this s*** out”
“I gotta finish this”
“How you want to end things”
“She’s gone,” which he said was sent at 4:01 a.m. on Monday, July 3.
Around 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5, Wynter’s body was found in a grassy area in an alley in Detroit. Rodolico said she was found with a cord wrapped around her neck.
Rodolico added that the FBI believes the cause of death was strangulation.
Throughout the hearing, Trice looked over to family that was sitting in the gallery of the courtroom.
When his criminal defense attorney cross examined Rodolico, she asked if they had any surveillance video of Trice at the apartments.
“We do not have video of Mr. Trice,” Rodolico said.
However, he said they had video of the vehicle.
During cross examination, Rodolico also mentioned that Trice corresponded with two uncles via text message as well, that he had stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, and that when Wynter’s body was found, she was fully clothed.
“There were marks after the cord was removed,” he testified. “They look like the cord had been removed.”
After both sides delivered their final arguments, Judge Kent said the “facts provide plenty of evidence for probable cause.”
He also mentioned the statements Trice made to law enforcement after he was arrested, that he admitted he’d been aware of the Amber Alert, that he wanted to kill himself, and said to them “I am already a monster.”
“I find probable cause,” Judge Kent said. “I find jurisdiction.”
He added that in the next three weeks, a Grand Jury will review the case and determine if it’ll move forward federally.
Trice also has multiple charges in Ingham County and Macomb County. He is expected to return to court in Ingham on July 20.
