Kelly Smith sobs as Joslin video is shown in court

Kelly Smith, the mother of the missing six-year-old, broke down in tears and sobbed uncontrollably after a short video of her daughter was played in court.

The clip, which captured Joslin’s laughter before her disappearance in February last year, temporarily halted proceedings in the Western Cape High Court sitting at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha Bay.

Smith and her co-accused, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, were convicted of kidnapping and human trafficking earlier this year and are due to be sentenced on Thursday.

Court preparation officer Deonett Boltney presented several written victim impact statements, including from Joslin’s Grade 1 teacher, Edna Maart, who described the trauma endured by the little girl’s classmates.

A personal poem from Joslin’s 14-year-old friend Taylor Andrews was also read, painting a moving picture of an interrupted life.

In a direct and emotional letter, Joslin’s grandmother, Amanda Daniels, accused her daughter, Kelly, of destroying the family’s peace and inflicting lasting emotional harm.

" You don't want to take responsibility for your actions, now you want to play victim. You looked at me in the face and said, 'Mommy, I will talk the next time when we appear’.

"I believed you because you said your lawyer said you would speak, but now you will speak after I've pleaded with you, but you lied again. How do you sleep? How do you live with yourself?"

Daniels said she would not rest until her granddaughter was found.

"Where do I go when I cry over Joslin? I just have to go on my knees and pray and cry.  I'm also a mother, always worried about my children and my grandchildren. I'll not rest nicely before Joslin is found."

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