Joshlin Smith's mother breaks down in tears as court shows video of her children
On Wednesday, the state presented the court with social media evidence related to Joshlin's disappearance.
The accused in the disappearance of Joshlin Smith, Kelly Smith (foreground), Steveno van Rhyn and Jacquen Appollis, appeared in the Western CApe Ahigh Court sitting in the Saldanha Bay Multi-Purpose Centre on 23 April 2025. Picture: Carlo Petersen/EWN
CAPE TOWN - Kelly Smith, the mother of missing Joshlin Smith, broke down in tears on Wednesday when a video of her children was shown in court.
The State presented the court with social media evidence related to Joshlin's disappearance.
Smith and her co-accused, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, are charged with kidnapping and human trafficking in the Western Cape High Court, sitting in the Saldanha Bay Multi-Purpose Centre.
A forensics expert from the Commercial Crimes Unit, Colonel Riaan Morris, took the stand earlier on Wednesday as a State witness.
Morris presented the court with seven videos related to Joshlin Smith's disappearance that he collected from social media
Smith was seen sobbing, with her head in her hands, when Morris played a video of her two children, a four-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy.
The video showed Smith and her children meeting with prominent politician Gayton Mackenzie at a restaurant shortly after Joshlin disappeared.
Smith has opted not to testify in the trial after Judge Nathan Erasmus dismissed an application for her charges to be withdrawn.
The matter is set to proceed on Tuesday next week.
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