CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A South African woman was found guilty Friday of kidnapping and trafficking her 6-year-old daughter, a case that has horrified the nation and left many still searching for answers more than a year after the child's disappearance.
Racquel Chantel Smith, known publicly as Kelly Smith, was convicted alongside her boyfriend, Jacquin Appollis, and their friend, Steveno van Rhyn, on charges of kidnapping and human trafficking in connection with the February 2024 disappearance of Smith’s daughter, Joshlin. The young girl has not been seen since.
Initially portrayed as a grieving mother, Smith had drawn sympathy from her local community in Saldanha Bay, a coastal town roughly 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Cape Town. Neighbors joined police in searching for Joshlin, combing through nearby sand dunes and rallying around Smith in the days following the child's disappearance.
Images of Joshlin, smiling with her hair in pigtails, were widely circulated by South African media as authorities launched a national search.
Smith told investigators she had left her daughter in the care of her boyfriend on the day she vanished. But the case took a dark and unexpected turn when she and the two men were arrested.
During the trial, a witness testified that Smith admitted to selling Joshlin for approximately $1,000 to a traditional healer, allegedly for ritual purposes involving the child's body parts. While the judge did not confirm exactly what happened to the girl or who may have bought her, the court found sufficient evidence to convict the trio.
They now face life imprisonment. Sentencing hearings are set to begin next week.
The trial took place in a local sports center in Saldanha Bay to accommodate the large number of community members who came to witness the proceedings. Cheers erupted in the venue as Judge Nathan Erasmus announced the guilty verdicts, marking a moment of closure — but not peace — for a community still grappling with the horror of Joshlin's fate.
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