Western Cape police have confirmed that the case of missing six-year-old Joshlin Smith remains open, despite the recent conviction of three individuals linked to her disappearance more than a year ago.
This follows Judge Nathan Erasmus’s judgment delivered on Friday, 2 May, at the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha Bay, concluding an intense eight-week trial that began on 3 March 2025.
Joshlin’s mother, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were all found guilty on charges of trafficking in persons and kidnapping.
The trio has been remanded in custody pending sentencing.
Speaking to VOC Breakfast, crime expert Simon Howell said that while the guilty verdicts were expected, the most critical question remains unanswered: where is Joshlin?
“The verdict is not surprising, but what is interesting for me would be the sentencing and what type of sentencing will be applied in this instance,” Howell noted.
“Despite all that has been going on in the trial, all the hours of testimony, we are still no closer to understanding where Joshlin is and what her whereabouts are.”
He added that the absence of direct evidence regarding Joshlin’s fate continues to cast a shadow over the case.
“Although it is subject to a police investigation, the question still lingers—and also why there was no evidence presented that spoke to that concern directly.”
VOC News
Photo: Saawmiet Moos/Supplied
