Mum sold 6yo daughter to have her eyes and skin cut out, gets life in prison

A mum has been jailed for selling her 6-year-old daughter to a “traditional healer” in a bid to fund her drug habit. Warning: Distressing.

Warning: Distressing.

A mum who sold her six-year-old daughter so her skin and eyes could be cut out and used by a “traditional healer” had been sentenced to life in prison in South Africa.

Racquel “Kelly” Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were all handed life sentences more than a year after the mysterious disappearance of Joshlin Smith from outside her home near Cape Town, the on New York Post reports.

When Joshlin first disappeared, her mother was a figure of sympathy, and pictures of the girl’s striking green eyes, pigtails and broad smile were shared across the country.

6-year-old Joshlin Smith mysteriously vanished from outside her home near Cape Town last year. Picture: Facebook / Executive Mayor Andrè Truter

Racquel "Kelly" Smith, Steveno van Rhyn, and Jacquen Appollis listen to proceedings in court in Saldanha Bay on May 29, 2025. Picture: Rodger Bosch / AFP

Smith showed no emotion as her sentence was handed down, bringing an end to an eight-week trial that had to be moved to a local stadium so horrified members of the community could bear witness.

She admitted to selling her daughter to a traditional healer, or sangoma, for 20,000 rand (around $1742 Australian Dollars), and said the girl was desired for her “eyes and skin,” a witness told the court.

Joshlin’s body has still not been found despite an extensive nationwide search since she went missing in February 2024.

The trio are believed to have sold the little girl to the healer to fund their drug addictions, the court heard.

Raquel "Kelly" Smith stands in court while the judge hands down sentences to her and her co-accused. Picture: Rodger Bosch / AFP

Amanda Smith-Daniels, mother of unseen Kelly Smith and grandmother of missing child Joshlin Smith. Picture: Rodger Bosch / AFP

Mum-of-three Smith was described as manipulative and had shown “no indication of remorse” or concern over her daughter’s disappearance, Judge Nathan Erasmus said in court.

All three were also sentenced to a concurrent 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping.

“I am also ordering the entry of your names to the child protection register. There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose,” Judge Erasmus told the defendants.

There were cheers in the courtroom as the verdict was read out.

Joshlin’s distraught grandmother, Amanda Smith Daniels, was present in court for the verdict.

During the initial search for the girl, one government minister offered a one-million-rand reward ($A87,000) for Joshlin’s safe return.

The girl was desired for her “eyes and skin,” a witness told the court. Picture: Facebook / Executive Mayor Andrè Truter

But sympathy for Smith evaporated when prosecutors first alleged that she had sold her daughter to a healer.

Since the start of the trial in March, witnesses, including the girl’s former teacher and a pastor, said that Smith had told them of the planned sale of her child as far back as 2023.

The ongoing search for Joshlin has now been extended beyond South Africa’s borders, police said on Thursday.

South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with soaring rates of child kidnapping.

In the last year, the Rainbow Nation saw more than 17,000 kidnappings, an 11 per cent increase on the previous year, according to police statistics.

This story originally appeared on the New York Post and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as Mum sold 6yo daughter to have her eyes and skin cut out, gets life in prison