Did Kelly ask Joshlin where Joshlin was the day she disappeared?

The state’s latest witness, lead investigator Captain Wesley Lombard, has questioned whether Racquel “Kelly” Smith knew exactly which two of her children were home that fateful day.

Captain Wesley Lombard testified about the statements he had taken from Smith, Appollis and Joshlin’s brother.

Joshlin disappeared from the family’s home in Saldanha Bay on 19 February 2024.

Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis and his friend Stevano van Rhyn have since been arrested and charged with kidnapping and human trafficking.

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They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Taking the stand on Thursday in the Western Cape High Court in Saldanha, Lombard said Smith was unable to explain clearly what had happened to her child the day she went missing.

When he asked Smith where Joshlin was, he said she answered “in so many words” and said “my child is not here anymore”, adding that she must carry on with her life as she has two other kids. 

After asking her several questions about her child, Lombard sought to take another statement, to which Smith told him, she “did not have time for this”.

“I spoke to myself in my head: ‘How can a mother?… I was there to help in the search for Joshlin. Here we are, sitting together; you relay certain stuff to me. I wanted to bring that into a statement, but you tell me you don’t have time.’ It was shocking,” Lombard told the court.

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“They [Smith and Appollis] did not have the willingness to help in the search for Joshlin. Boeta was not prepared with answers about Joshlin as a father figure. I felt that to a certain measure, Kelly was protecting Boeta.

“I felt that she was the voice in the relationship because he never opened up about the living situation. He referred me to Kelly when I asked him about his relationship with Joshlin.”

Joshlin Smith trial: statements from family

Lombard questioned the contrasting details in the statements taken from the family the day Joshlin went missing.

Smith said: “On Monday at about 9am, I was at my house when I left for work, and I left my three children with their father Appollis. Joshlin did not go to school because she was not feeling well.

“At about 1.50pm, I returned from work, but my boyfriend was not home. I only found two children and asked them where Joshlin was. They said they didn’t know.

“I went out to look for her, and the father also looked for the child. When I found him, I was driving with the police, we were looking with friends.”

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Appollis told the police: “In the morning, at about 11am, I washed the children’s clothes. After I had washed the clothes, the kids went into the bathtubs outside the house.

“The mother came home from work for lunch. She was at the house for about 20 minutes. When their mother left, the children got out of the tubs, dried themselves, and Joshlin changed into a light blue T-shirt, jean shorts and pink flip-flops. I gave her bread to eat.”

At about 2pm, he saw Joshlin walk out of the house to her friend.

“I told her to get out of the sun, to which she got angry at me. She told me, ‘I’m not’, and walked away. This was the last time I saw her,” Appollis said.

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Joshlin’s brother said, “During lunchtime, my mother came home. She ate and went back to work. When my mother left, Jacquen made food for Joshlin and me. After I ate, I left.

“On the same day, at about 6pm, I got home. My mother and Jacquen were at the house. My mother asked me if I knew where Joshlin was. I told her that I didn’t.”

‘Inconsistencies’

Lombard said Smith left him wondering which two children were at the house when she arrived home just before 2pm that day.

He also questioned the inconsistencies, as Smith said her boyfriend was not home when she arrived from work, while he said he was home.

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“What worried me was that Kelly said she arrived at the house at 1:50pm and found the two children there. Boeta was not at the house.

“Boeta said that at 2pm, he saw Joshlin; that’s the time she left the house. [Joshlin’s brother] said his mother came home, finished eating, and returned to work.

“Boeta gave him and Joshlin food. The question I asked myself was: Which two children were at the house at 1.50pm when Kelly went home? She mentioned that Boeta was not at home, but he says he was there.

“We know from [Joshlin’s brother’s] statement that after his mother left, he went to brother Louw.

“He says he arrived home at about 6pm and was asked about Joshlin. Kelly said she found two children at home and asked them where Joshlin was.

“The young kid went to creche in the morning, so I believe she asked Joshlin where Joshlin was.”

The trial continues.