South African mother sentenced to life in prison for selling daughter
South African mother Racquel "Kelly" Smith (R) w got life in prison Thursday for selling her daughter Joshlin for $1,100. She, her boyfriend and a friend of the couple were all convicted for kidnapping and trafficking the girl. Smith shown at trial May 2, 2025 in Saldanha, South Africa. Photo by EPA-EFE/STRINGER
May 29 (UPI) -- A South African mother who sold her 6-year-old daughter was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.
Racquel "Kelly" Smith was sentenced to life in prison for trafficking her daughter, Joshlin, and 10 years in prison for kidnapping her.
Smith's boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were also handed the same sentences.
"There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose," Judge Nathan Erasmus said in court.
Joshlin vanished Feb. 19, 2024, from the town of Middelpos in South Africa's Western Cape. She has still not been found.
Witnesses testified in court that Smith sold her daughter for $1,100 to a traditional healer called a Sangoma who sought out the girl due to her eyes and skin.
"We will not rest until we find [out] what happened to Joshlin. We are continuing day and night looking for her," Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told local news outlets.
Judge Erasmus said the case left the Middelpos community "fractured."
According to the BBC, Smith and the other defendants showed no emotion when their sentences were read out at trial in the Saldanha community center.
More than 30 witnesses testified in the eight-week trial.
Lourentia Lombaard, a neighbor and friend of Smith's, testified that Smith admitted to her that she sold Joshlin.
A local pastor testified he heard Smith talk of selling her children in 2023 for $1,100 each, but she said she was willing to accept $275 each.
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