Joshlin Smith trial: Kelly Smith's attorney believes State has weak case against her
State prosecutors and defence attorneys wrapped up their closing arguments in the Joshlin Smith trial on Wednesday.
Kelly Smith, the mother of missing Joshlin Smith, in the Western Cape High Court sitting in the Saldanha Bay Multi-Purpose Centre on 19 March 2025. Picture: Carlo Petersen/EWN
CAPE TOWN - The defence attorney representing missing girl Joshlin Smith's mother believes the State has a weak case against his client.
State prosecutors and defence attorneys wrapped up their closing arguments in the Joshlin Smith trial on Wednesday.
Joshlin's mother, Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Ryn are charged with kidnapping and human trafficking for the little girl's disappearance.
READ:Joshlin Smith trial: Prosecutor says accused's choice not to testify could be pivotal to finding them guilty
Defence attorney Rinesh Sivnarain on Wednesday centred his closing arguments around the credibility of the State's main witness, Lourencia Lombaard.
Lawyers for the accused in the Joshlin Smith trial are to present their closing arguments today. The missing girl’s mother Kelly Smith, Steveno Van Rhyn and Jacquen Appollis are charged with kidnapping and human trafficking related to the child’s disappearance. CP pic.twitter.com/86uKBr7Jx9
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) April 30, 2025
Lombaard implicated Kelly Smith as the mastermind in a plot to sell Joshlin to a sangoma for R20,000.
However, the former accused buckled under cross-examination and often refused to answer questions during her testimony.
The State argued that details in Lombaard's testimony relating to the R20,000 for Joshlin are corroborated in the confession statement of Jacquen Appollis and the testimony of another State witness, Steven Coetzee.
Sivnarain believes Smith still has a chance.
"Even if the court finds there's some kind of corroborating, I submit that even that does not prove the case against accused number three beyond a reasonable doubt."
Presiding Judge Nathan Erasmus will take Thursday to decide on his ruling before delivering his judgment on Friday.