GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The 26-year-old man accused of killing a Lansing toddler appeared again in a federal courthouse in Grand Rapids on Monday.

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Rashad Trice pleaded not guilty to kidnapping a minor and kidnapping resulting in death at arraignment, according to the U.S. attorney. Trice is accused of kidnapping 2-year-old Wynter Smith in July after assaulting her mother in her home. Wynter’s mother was Trice’s ex-girlfriend and he fathered another child with her.

Trice also faces 20 state-level charges that have been merged from three different counties into one case being handled by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.

Trice faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison and would eligible for the death penalty under federal law. Police say he lead them on a two-day manhunt. Wynter’s body was discovered in a Detroit alley three days after she was kidnapped. An autopsy report from the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office shows Wynter died from strangulation with a cell phone cord.