Woman found guilty of kidnapping and selling her 6-year-old daughter for $1085

A South African woman, Kelly Smith—identified in court as Racquel Chantel Smith—was convicted Friday of kidnapping and trafficking her 6-year-old daughter, Joshlin, who disappeared in February 2024 and remains missing.

Smith, her boyfriend Jacquin Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were all found guilty in a case that shocked the nation. Initially seen as a grieving mother, Smith had claimed she left her daughter in the care of her boyfriend before the child vanished.

Public sympathy quickly turned to outrage after the woman was arrested. During the trial, a witness testified that Smith admitted to selling her daughter for approximately $1,000 to a traditional healer who allegedly wanted the child for body parts.

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However, the judge did not determine who exactly the child was sold to or what ultimately happened to her.

The case drew national attention, with images of Joshlin circulated widely and community members helping in the initial search near their impoverished settlement in Saldanha Bay, northwest of Cape Town.

The guilty verdicts were met with cheers from those attending the trial, which was held in a local sports center to accommodate the large number of community members. Smith and the two men face life imprisonment. Sentencing hearings are set to begin next week.