Joshlin Smith trial: Prosecutor says accused's choice not to testify could be pivotal to finding them guilty

CAPE TOWN - A prosecutor in the Joshlin Smith trial says the accused's choice not to testify could be pivotal to finding them guilty of the charges they face.

Legal teams have wrapped up their closing arguments in the trial for Presiding Judge Nathan Erasmus to make his ruling on Friday.

Joshlin's mother, Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn are charged with kidnapping and human trafficking for the little girl's disappearance.

Despite legal teams wrapping up their closing arguments in the trial this week, authorities still remain clueless as to the whereabouts of Joshlin Smith.

READ: Joshlin Smith trial: Defence adamant State doesn't have solid case against accused

The little girl was six years old when she disappeared from her Middelpos home in Saldanha in February last year.

State prosecutor Zelda Swanepoel told the court Joshlin's mother, Kelly Smith, and her co-accused had a case to answer for.

Swanepoel says the accused's decision not to testify could prove pivotal to Judge Nathan Erasmus' ruling on Friday.

"If the prosecution makes out a case that the accused needs to answer to, it's then a choice they make when they don't answer to it, and the court may then accept the evidence that was produced as conclusive and convict."

The accused could be handed life sentences if they are found guilty of the charges they face.