Judge Nathan Erasmus delivered the long-awaited sentencing for the suspects in the Joshlin Smith disappearance on Thursday, sentencing Kelly Smith and her co-accused, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, to life imprisonment.
Image: SihleMlambo/IOL
As the trial in the Joshlin Smith disappearance concluded, the search for the young girl from Saldanha, Western Cape, remains ongoing.
On Thursday, May 29, Judge Nathan Erasmus sentenced Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn, and Joshlin’s mother, Kelly Smith, to life imprisonment for human trafficking and an additional 10 years for kidnapping.
Timeline of Events
February 19, 2024 - Joshlin is reported missing after 9 pm, and searches for the then-six-year-old girl commence.
February 20, 2024 - the broader community gets involved and starts searching for Joshlin. Social media has also gotten wind of the Grade 1 learner from Diazville Primary School who just disappeared.
March 4, 2024 - A day after National Minister of Police Bheki Cele's visit to reassure residents, police reported a potentially crucial discovery.
Pieces of clothing, believed to be stained with blood, were found in an open field during late-night searches. Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie confirmed this development.
March 5, 2024 - Four people are arrested in connection with the disappearance of Joshlin Smith. Claims that Joshlin had been sold.
March 7, 2024 - Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn, Kelly Smith, and Phumza Siqaga make their first appearance in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court.
Hundreds gather outside the court, baying for their blood, demanding to know the whereabouts of Joshlin.
March 13, 2024 - The State withdraws charges against Phumza Siqaga. The trio abandoned their bid for bail.
March 25, 2024 - Laurentia Lombaard appears in the Vredenberg Magistrate’s Court, where she abandons her bail application. She will join her co-accused in the dock.
May 2024 - The group appears; however, outstanding evidence results in another delay, and the matter is postponed for a few months.
October 21, 2024 - Days after what would have been Joshlin’s seventh birthday, the four appear in court again. This time, the state throws a massive curveball and withdraws all charges against Laurentia Lombaard. This is also where it is known Lombaard has become a state witness in the matter. The indictment was also handed over to the court. It sent shockwaves through the gallery.
The indictment stated that Kelly communicated in August 2023 her plan to have her children taken away or sold. The plan was for this to happen in January or February 2024.
The day before Joshlin disappeared, Sunday, February 18, Kelly and Joshlin walked to a white vehicle parked near their home. The indictment further read that an unknown woman alighted from the vehicle, spoke to Kelly, handed her something, and she and Joshlin returned home. Later on the same day, the three accused, including Lombaard, had discussed the plan and how the money would be divided.
On the day of Joshlin’s disappearance (February 19), Kelly told her and her brother they would not be attending school and packed Joshlin’s clothes into a bag. She left for work and left the children in the custody of Appolis.
While Kelly was at work, Appolis, van Rhyn, and Lombaard were smoking inside the home while the children were present.
Later that day, Kelly is alleged to have returned home and taken Joshlin, along with the bag of clothes she’d packed and the pair left on foot.
The indictment stated Joshlin and Kelly got into a white vehicle and drove away.
Later that evening, Kelly started looking for Joshlin and reported her missing to police.
The matter was postponed until the new year for pre-trial.
January 31, 2025 - Pre-trial begins as the case is transferred to the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town.
March 3, 2025 - The trial begins at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha, where residents from the area will be able to attend proceedings. Searches for Joshlin continue.
March 17, 2025 - The much-anticipated testimony of Laurentia Lombaard grips the nation as she sits for a few days in the witness box. While her testimony is all over the place regarding her children, drugs, and even food cooked, the merits of the case remain the same, even during cross-examination.
April 23, 2025 - All accused elect to remain silent and not testify in their own defence.
April 29, 2025 - State closes its case
May 2, 2025 - Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn, and Kelly Smith are found guilty on charges of human trafficking and kidnapping.
May 27, 2025 - sentencing proceedings begin, and the State calls a human trafficking expert based in the US who testifies via Microsoft Teams. It is his expert advice that this was a calculated crime.
Probation Officer, Errol Pietersen, also read into evidence his pre-sentencing report after his interviews with the convicted traffickers. He described Boeta as a considerate person who could easily be influenced, van Rhyn as a menace to society,y and Kelly as a manipulator who most likely was the mastermind behind this crime.
May 28, 2025 - The victim impact statements are read into evidence. There is not a dry eye in the court as the court hears from Joshlin’s teacher, Edna Maart, who previously testified. A letter from Joshlin’s best friend and a painting done by her class, which shows a void in her place alongside them. The family who wanted to adopt Joshlin also broke the hearts of the nation as Joshlin’s sister’ poem tugged at heartstrings and her mother, Natasha Andrews’ painful letter left everyone distraught.
May 29, 2025 - Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn, and Kelly Smith are sentenced. Judge Nathan Erasmus noted their lack of remorse throughout the trial.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL