Racquel "Kelly" Smith, the mother of Joshlin Smith, at her sentencing in the Western Cape High Court in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, May 29, 2025. Sumaya Hisham / REUTERS

A South African court on Thursday sentenced a woman to life in prison for kidnapping and selling her six-year-old daughter, in a case that horrified the country.

Joshlin Smith went missing in February last year from her home in Saldanha Bay, a fishing town 85 miles north of Cape Town, and has never been found.

Her mother, Racquel "Kelly" Smith, was found guilty of kidnapping and selling the young girl, reportedly for 20,000 rand ($1,100).

Judge Nathan Erasmus ruled that Smith, 35, and her two co-accused -- a boyfriend and mutual friend -- also be jailed for life for human trafficking.

They were all sentenced to a concurrent 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping.

"I am also ordering the entry of your names to the child protection register," Erasmus ruled. "There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose," he said.

Erasmus said the fact that Smith and her two co-defendants were drug users was no excuse, the Reuters news agency reported.

Smith was present in court and sat through the hour-long proceeding with an impassive gaze.

The judge said the mother of three was manipulative and had shown "no indication of remorse" or concern over Joshlin's disappearance.

The verdict drew cheers in the courtroom.

Joshlin's grandmother was also present in court in a white shirt emblazoned with images of the young girl.

Dramatic turns after Joshin vanished
Smith was initially a figure of sympathy when her child disappeared, sparking a massive nationwide search operation.

Photos showing Joshlin's striking green eyes, broad smile and brown pigtails flooded the internet.

The case drew national attention, including from a minister who offered a one-million-rand ($54,000) reward for her safe return.

But it took a turn when prosecutors alleged that Smith sold her daughter to a traditional healer, who was interested in her eyes and fair complexion.

The judge didn't say in his ruling who the girl was sold to or why.

Witnesses in the trial, which began in March, included the girl's teacher and a pastor, who said the mother had told him of the planned sale of her child in 2023.

Police said on Thursday they had extended the search beyond South Africa's borders.

South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world and the kidnapping of children is on the rise.

There were more than 17,000 kidnappings in South Africa in the 2023/2024 financial year, an 11 percent increase over the previous year, according to police statistics. The data doesn't specify the ages of the victims.


Amanda Smith Daniels, grandmother of Joshlin Smith, awaits the start of the sentencing hearing at the Western Cape High Court in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, May 29, 2025, for her daughter and two co-defendants. Sumaya Hisham / REUTERS

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