A woman who helped raise Joshlin Smith told the Western Cape High Court that she had tried to adopt the child years before she disappeared on 19 February last year.
Natasha Andrews (54) testified on Monday at the Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha Bay, recalling how she had taken care of Joshlin since infancy. She said she had wanted to adopt her as far back as 2018 but was refused by the child’s parents, Raquel ‘Kelly’ Smith and Jose Emke.
Joshlin went missing while in the care of Kelly’s boyfriend, Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis. Kelly and Appollis were later arrested along with their friends, Steveno van Rhyn and Lourentia Lombaard. Charges against Lombaard were dropped after she turned State witness.
Andrews told the court that Kelly frequently left Joshlin in her care, sometimes for extended periods. ‘Joshlin was always clean when she was with me, and her hair would be combed,’ she said. She added that she had even gone to social workers with the hope of adopting the child, but her parents refused, as EWN has reported.
She described Joshlin’s home life as unstable, saying her parents often fought, and that Kelly had a drug problem. She believed she could provide a better life for the child and even wanted to include her in a funeral policy to secure her future.
Andrews said she was devastated when Joshlin disappeared. She recalled Kelly arriving at her house late on 19 February and returning in the early hours of the morning to ask for pictures of Joshlin, presumably for the police.
‘I went to search for the child. Kelly was only part of the search on one occasion,’ Andrews said.
The trial resumes today. News24 has reported that judge Nathan Erasmus ordered that Van Rhyn and Appollis remain in custody at Malmesbury Prison, while Kelly would be held at Langebaan police station.
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Picture: The Instigator / X
