A missing Michigan toddler’s body was discovered in Detroit on Wednesday evening, according to Lansing police, only days after a man suspected in her abduction was jailed on unrelated counts.
Wynter Cole-Smith, 2, was recovered by a federal search team approximately 6:50 p.m. near the Coleman A. Young International Airport, according to Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee.
“This investigation has progressed from a missing child case to a homicide investigation,”
Sosebee stated at a brief press briefing.
“Right now, our hearts are with the family of Wynter Cole-Smith,” he stated.
According to the FBI, Wynter went missing about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday after her mother was brutally abused in her residence by an ex-boyfriend. The lady fled the apartment to seek assistance and contact authorities, but Wynter was nowhere to be found when officers arrived.
According to the Lansing Police Department, Wynter’s mother, who has not been identified, suffered many stab wounds and has since been released from the hospital.
The FBI stated that Wynter’s brother, who was also in the flat, was uninjured.
Rashad Maleek Trice, the ex-boyfriend, is suspected of stealing a white 2013 Chevrolet Impala and wrecking it 90 miles away.
Following the incident, he was taken into custody and was being guarded by officers at a hospital, Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Trice, 26, is accused with murderous assault, first-degree home invasion, illegal imprisonment, aggravated domestic violence second offense, unlawful driving away from a car, felonious assault, and two charges of first-degree criminal sexual assault.
According to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, he is being detained without bond following his arraignment on Wednesday. Trice’s court records were not immediately accessible, and it is unknown whether he has engaged a counsel.
Trice is not Wynter’s biological father, according to NBC station WDIV in Detroit, citing officials.
Wynter’s grandma, SharenEddings, told the station that she had heard Wynter’s mother fight back.
“When he stabbed her, according to what I understand from her sister, she was able to stab him back, right, wound him back,” Eddings added. “That’s when he grabbed Wynter and threatened to harm her, and then he left.”
Eddings has already expressed her hope that her grandchild will be found safe.
“I went through something I’ve never felt before,” Eddings explained. “I’ve lost some folks. I was raised in Detroit. I’ve seen some things, but I’ve never had a child in jeopardy. And so it was, for reasons I can’t even understand. “My bones were trembling.”
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