Joshlin Smith: ‘No, I didn’t sell her’, says pregnant mom Kelly
“NO, I didn’t sell her”, those were the words of Kelly Smith, the mother of missing Joshlin Smith, in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
A visibly pregnant Kelly appeared in the dock alongside her boyfriend Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis and their friends Steveno van Rhyn and Lourentia Lombaard.
The four were arrested and charged with kidnapping and human trafficking following the disappearance of six-year-old Joshlin.
The Diazville Primary School learner disappeared from her Middelpos home 85 days ago, on February 19, and it has been claimed that she was sold for R20,000.
On Monday, Saldanha Bay residents showed up in numbers outside the court house, in the hopes that they would finally hear the location of the missing girl.
Dressed in Patriotic Alliance T-shirts, the crowd got out of a chartered bus, chanting: “Where is Joshlin?”
Inside the court, State advocate Aradhana Heeramun said they are in the process of finalising the case.
The prosecutor said: “All information that is received by the police is being followed up. I can further confirm that forensic reports have been received.
“On completion of this investigation, this court will be informed of the forum that the matter will be tried. The State’s request today is for postponement until July 15.”
When the DFA’s sister publication the Daily Voice asked Kelly where Joshlin was and if it was true that she had sold her daughter, she replied: “I don’t know, ask Boeta [Appollis], and no, I didn’t sell her.”
Appollis replied that he “didn’t know anything”.
Joshlin’s paternal grandmother, Lauretta Yon, said she was disappointed about the postponement.
“I was hoping we would find out where Joshlin is. Now we have to wait for another two months to go back to court,” Yon said.
Yon revealed that she paid Smith a visit in jail on May 4 and begged her to spill the beans on Joshlin.
“I asked Kelly, when I visited her on that Saturday, to talk or else she is going to be locked away for a long time. ‘Where is your child?’ I asked, and she maintained she didn't know. She insisted that she was not part of this. Her mood was very cool.
“I only heard [on Monday] that she was pregnant. I didn’t see that when I visited her, I was late for court, so I couldn’t see that.
“She wanted to know why I didn’t bring her young daughter. I told her that I don’t want her to visit her in jail. Joshlin’s father came from Springbok on Sunday night, he is not talking to us about how he feels,” Yon said.
Dad Jose Emke refused to comment on his daughter’s disappearance, only saying: “I am not feeling well, I don’t want to talk.”
The accused will remain in custody and are expected back in court on July 15.