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RACQUEL 'KELLY' SMITH AND HER BOYFRIEND JACQUEN APPOLLIS HAVE BEEN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN JAIL AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY OF KIDNAPPING AND TRAFFICKING SIX-YEAR-OLD JOSHLIN SMITH KATY

HALLAM and LIAM DOYLE 14:20, 29 May 2025 A mother has been handed a life sentence after being found guilty of the heinous crime of abducting and trafficking her six year old daughter

"for her eyes and skin". Racquel 'Kelly' Smith, alongside her partner Jacquen Appollis, received life imprisonment after a gruelling six-week trial at a community centre

in Saldanha, South Africa. The court was told that little Joshlin Smith had been sold to a traditional healer for her body parts. READ MORE Comedian's show cancelled after

'horrific' joke about Liverpool parade crash During the trial, it emerged that Smith had allegedly discussed selling her children for 20,000 rand (£850) each, with another witness

claiming she intended to hand over her daughter to a "sangoma" healer who coveted the child for her "eyes and skin". A local pastor also gave evidence, stating he heard

Smith mention she would have settled for as little as $275 (£204). Article continues below Despite extensive searches since Joshlin's disappearance in February 2024, her whereabouts

remain unknown. Previously, Smith had garnered the sympathy of the nation following her daughter's vanishing, with locals rallying to scour the sand dunes near their home in Middelpos,

an impoverished area where she lived with her mother, her partner, her brother, and a younger half-sister. She maintained that she left Joshlin with Appollis on the day she disappeared and

hadn't seen her since that fateful day in February, reports the Mirror. Last week, Judge Erasmus stated that the mother's behaviour was "not that of a concerned parent".

Addressing Smith, he said: "The conduct of ... Ms Smith is not that of a concerned parent. And why not? In my mind, the only inference is that you knew (what happened)." Judge

Nathan Erasmus stated that he "drew no distinction" between Smith, her boyfriend, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn before delivering the verdicts. Article continues below He

announced: "On the human trafficking charge, you are sentenced to life imprisonment. On the kidnapping charge, you are sentenced to 10 years imprisonment." Amanda Smith-Daniels,

Joshlin's grandmother, made a final, desperate plea for her daughter to "bring my [grand]child back or tell me where she is".