A mother has been given a life sentence after selling her six-year-old daughter – who is still missing.
Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, 35, was convicted of kidnapping and trafficiking along with her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn.
Little Joshlin Smith, who has a fair complexion and turquoise eyes, disappeared last February after vanishing outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town.
A court heard during the six-week trial how she was sought out by a ‘healer’ for her ‘light eyes and skin’, with the mother reportedly only receiving around £800 for her.
‘On the human trafficking charge, you are sentenced to life imprisonment. On the kidnapping charge, you are sentenced to 10 years imprisonment,’ Judge Nathan Erasmus told the trio.
He said he ‘drew no distinction’ from eachother in their evil crime and the cold-hearted group showed no emotion as their sentences were read out.
The shocking trial has captivated South Africa for the last few months with Joshlin still missing despite a major search operation.
Joshlin’s grandmother, Amanda Smith-Daniels, pleaded with her daughter ahead of the sentence to ‘bring my [grand]child back or tell me where she is’.
Little Joshlin Smith, who has a fair complexion and turquoise eyes, disappeared last February after vanishing outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town
Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith (right) was convicted of kidnapping and trafficiking along with her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis (left) and their friend Steveno van Rhyn (centre)
A court heard during the six-week trial how Joshlin was sought out by a ‘healer’ for her ‘light eyes and skin’, with the mother reportedly only receiving around £800 for her
She later told local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that ‘I don’t feel that any sentence they get will bring my grandchild back’.
Her family has been left ‘broken’ and blasted her daughter for blaming others over the tragedy when she ‘was the person that did the deed’.
Smith and her accomplices refused to testify during the trial or call on any witnesses for their defence but more than 30 people were brought in to tell the court about Joshlin’s troubled life and disappearance.
Lourentia Lombaard, Smith’s friend and neighbor, told the court that Smith had admitted to her she had done ‘something silly’ in a shocking confession.
in the days before Joshlin disappeared, the mother confessed to her that she had sold her child to a ‘sangoma’ – a traditional healer.
Ms Lombaard said she later saw Smith pack some of Joshlin’s clothing into a black bag, which she was carrying when she met a woman she believes was the sangoma.
Smith climbed into a white car with Joshlin and the sangoma and they drove away, according to Lombaard.
One of Joshlin’s teachers said Smith told them suring one of the searches for Joshlin that she was already ‘on a ship, inside a container, and they were on the way to West Africa’.
The shocking trial has captivated South Africa for the last few months with Joshlin still missing despite a major search operation
Pictured: Kelly Smith’s home where she lived with Joshlin in Saldanha, South Africa
Smith has been found guilty of orchestrating her daughter’s kidnapping
A social worker tasked with writing a report on the trio wrote that it would not be a ‘stretch to conclude that Smith is the mastermind behind the trafficking of her own daughter’.
The court also heard from a local pastor who said that he heard Smith, who has three children, talk about selling them for 20,000 rand, which is the equivalent of £827.
Smith had allegedly been happy to settle for even less, willing to sell Joshlin for £200.
A woman believed to be the sangoma was arrested alongside the other defendants last year, but the charges against her were dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Sangomas are recognised in South Africa under the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007. It is believed they can access ancestral spirits who guide their healing.
In March, police said children’s clothing had been recovered near the settlement of small houses where Joshlin lived and was sent to a laboratory for forensic examination.
Community members who are also involved in the search said the clothing was spattered with blood and a knife was also found. Police didn’t give any more details on what was discovered.
Western Cape province police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told reporters during the trial that more arrests could be made, but authorities also had to re-focus on the search for Joshlin.
‘At this stage, we do not have a child,’ he said. ‘Our ultimate goal is to find the child. We still want to find that child alive.’
This is a breaking story, more to follow.
