Topics: Crime, World News, Parenting
The authorities have made a horrifying discovery about a mom after her six-year-old girl 'vanished' last year.
Joshlin Smith went missing from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town in South Africa, in February last year.
The first grader's disappearance sent shockwaves across the country and despite a high-profile search, the six-year-old is yet to be found.
Now, the girl's mom, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno Van Rhyn, have been convicted of kidnapping and trafficking the young girl, reports BBC News.
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Their conviction on Friday (May 2) comes after local authorities suspected the trio had possibly sold the girl to a local healer, who allegedly wanted the child for her eye and skin color.
All three had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied their involvement, but were found guilty by trial at Saldanha's Multipurpose Centre in March.
Prosecutors accused Smith of having 'sold, delivered or exchanged' Joshlin and that she had lied about her daughter's disappearance.
A neighbor, Lourentia Lombaard, also testified in the trial that before the girl's disappearance, Smith had confided to her about plans to sell her daughter to someone who 'wanted her for her eyes and skin,' the news outlet reported.
Lombaard then claimed that Smith had told her she had done 'something silly' and sold Joshlin to a traditional healer, known in South Africa as a 'sangoma'.
Sangomas are legally recognised in the country as 'traditional health practitioners' under the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007, which form a broader group of traditional healers like herbalists, traditional birth attendants and traditional surgeons.
A local pastor also testified that in the year prior, he had heard the mom-of-three talk about selling her children for 20,000 rand (around $1,100) each and would even accept a lower offer of $275.
Joshlin's teacher similarly took to the stand to accuse Smith of selling her daughter, saying that Smith had told her the girl was 'on a ship, inside a container, and they were on the way to West Africa'.
However, Smith's attorney, Rinesh Sivnarain, tried to cast doubt on the allegations, citing inconsistencies with the allegations, while dubbing the neighbor an 'opportunist.'
South African police have said they will continue to search for Joshlin, while Smith's mom and the girl's grandmother, Amanda Daniels-Smith, stated she was 'angry' with her daughter after the trial.
Speaking to reporters, she said: "She must tell me where my grandchild is."
Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn could face up to life in prison though a date for their sentencing is yet to be set.
The news outlet had previously reported that a woman who is believed to be a healer was arrested amid the search, but was released due to a lack of evidence.
