[imagesource: Carlo Petersen/Eyewitness News]

Eight months after Joshlin Smith vanished, and just as her family celebrated her seventh birthday on Wednesday, chilling details have surfaced about what could have happened to the little girl.

As the case heads toward pre-trial in the Western Cape High Court on 31 January, the State has unveiled a series of compelling facts surrounding Joshlin’s mysterious disappearance, including how her mother and her co-accused allegedly masterminded a human trafficking plot months before the girl went missing.

Joshlin, a Grade 1 learner at Diazville Primary School, vanished on 19 February 2024 in Saldanha Bay. Her mother, Racquel Chantel Smith, better known as “Kelly,” claimed that she had left Joshlin with her boyfriend around 8AM that morning before heading off to work. By the time she returned at 5PM, Joshlin had disappeared.

However, in a dramatic turn of events on Monday, 21 October, prosecutor Aradhana Heeramun laid out the State’s case against Kelly, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their associate, Steveno van Rhyn, in the Vredenburg Magistrates’ Court, per Daily Maverick.

The State claims that Joshlin was “sold, delivered or exchanged”, and that Kelly allegedly orchestrated the little girl’s sale and then lied about her disappearance. The State has not provided any details on who Kelly and her co-accused might have given Joshlin to.

According to the State’s indictment, Kelly confided in her co-accused that she intended to sell not only Joshlin but also her eleven-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, in a shocking plan hatched in August of last year, EWN reports.

The State alleges that on 18 February, Smith met a mysterious woman in a white car, where she was handed an unknown package, with Joshlin by her side.

Afterwards, Smith and her co-conspirators reportedly discussed splitting the money, before Smith arranged for Joshlin to meet the same woman again—on the very day Joshlin disappeared.

The State has hinted that even darker revelations await, as the full weight of the evidence against co-accused Appolis and van Rhyn is yet to be revealed in court.

Court documents further claim that Kelly allegedly packed Joshlin’s clothes into a bag and left for work. Joshlin and her 11-year-old were allegedly left with Appollis. The State alleges that after Joshlin and her 11-year-old sibling were left with Appollis, he smoked dagga inside the house with Lombaard and Van Rhyn inside the house, with the children present.

“Later during the same day, Kelly arrived at the house. The mother took Joshlin and the bag she packed earlier. They left the house on foot. The mother and Joshlin got into a white motor vehicle that drove away.

“Later the same night the mother started looking for Joshlin and reported her missing to the police,” read the summary of facts.

The State asserts that the accused were united by a common goal, collaborating at every step to bring their sinister plan to fruition.

These allegations against Kelly, Appollis and Van Rhyn appear to have come to light after another accused, Lorentia Lombaard, turned State witness. Lombaard is a friend of Kelly and Appollis.

Heeramun revealed in court that the State had dropped all charges against Lombaard, without elaborating on the reasons behind the withdrawal, the summary of facts suggests that Lombaard will now testify as a State witness against Kelly, Appollis, and Van Rhyn. The trio faces serious charges, including kidnapping and trafficking of persons for exploitation.

[source:dailymaverick&ewn]