Over 30 witnesses testified sharing details about Joshlin Smith, who remains missing
A South African woman has received her sentence after she was one of three found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter.
In February 2024, six-year-old Joshlin Smith disappeared from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, not far from Cape Town.
Joshlin has still yet to be found, however, the young girl’s mother Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and friend Steveno van Rhyn ended up on trial, accused of selling Joshlin to a ‘sangoma’ – traditional healer – who ‘wanted her for her eyes and skin,’ BBC reports.
Over 30 witnesses shared horrifying insights into what may’ve happened to Joshlin and earlier today (May 29), the judge revealed the trio’s sentences.
The trial of the trio lasted eight weeks (RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images)
One friend and neighbor called Lourentia Lombaard was a state witness in the case.
She alleged Smith had told her she’d sold her daughter to a sangoma for 20,000 rand ($1,100).
“[The] person who [allegedly took] Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin,” Lombaard said.
A local pastor also claimed he heard Smith talking about selling her children in 2023.
He said he heard her stating figures as much as $1,100 but also said she’d accept $275.
It was also alleged by Joshlin’s teacher Smith had said her daughter was ‘inside a ship container’ and ‘on the way to West Africa’.
The trial – held at White City Multipurpose Centre – lasted eight weeks before concluding earlier today.
Joshlin went missing in 2024 (RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Dr[awing] no distinction’ between them, Judge Nathan Erasmus sentenced each of the trio to life imprisonment.
Breaking the sentence down, he stated: “On the human trafficking charge, you are sentenced to life imprisonment. On the kidnapping charge, you are sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.”
The search for Joshlin continues, with police releasing a statement to local media.
Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile stated: “We will not rest until we find [out] what happened to Joshlin. We are continuing day and night looking for her.”
Joshlin remains missing (SABC News)
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) resolved the sentence proves the six-year-old was ‘sold [and] delivered to the intended buyer’ for the purpose of ‘exploitation, namely slavery or practices similar to slavery’.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.Featured Image Credit: Executive Mayor Andrè Truter/ Facebook
Topics: Crime, Parenting, True crime
Published 15:57 19 Apr 2025 GMT+1
50-year-old cold case solved after mother was found dead in ditch with daughter left abandoned next to her
Phyllis Bailer was traveling 100 miles to visit her family with her three-year-old daughter
A 50-year-old cold case of a mom who was killed and her body left beside her daughter has finally been solved.
There have been a couple of cold cases that have been solved in the last few years, and each one brings closure to those who have waited a long time to get it.
But this one focuses on a mother who was murdered and left by the side of a road in Indiana, with her three-year-old daughter beside her, unharmed.
On July 7, 1972, Phyllis Bailer, and her child were driving from Indianapolis to Bluffton, a 100-mile journey to see her parents.
However, the 26-year-old never made it there.
The Indiana State Police said that at 10:30am the next morning, Bailer’s car was found in Grant County, Indiana, with no sign of the mother or her child.
Indiana State Police issued a fresh update on the 53-year-old case (Ashley Cooper / Getty)
Sadly, just one hour later, a woman driving would make the discovery of Bailer’s body and her daughter in a ditch in Allen County.
According to the police, Bailer had been sexually assaulted and shot, but her daughter was left unharmed.
At the time, no arrests could be made, even though they had a suspect in mind.
But after a partial DNA profile taken from the mom’s clothing eliminated the person, they were left with no clues as to who really killed her.
Left to go cold for decades, it may have seemed as though nobody would ever find out the truth of that night, until now.
Last year, police shared that ‘a much stronger DNA profile’ was developed from the victim’s clothing, which allowed investigators to work with a forensic genealogy company called Identifinders International, a forensic genealogy company in California, founded by Colleen Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick stated: “Identifinders is proud to have supported the Indiana State Police with bringing long overdue answers to Phyllis and her family. This case is an example of still another homicide that would never have been solved without Forensic Genetic Genealogy.”
Phyllis Bailer was murdered over 50 years ago and no criminal was ever caught (Indiana State Police)
This allows unknown DNA from crime scenes to be used and compared to family members of the suspect, after they voluntarily submit DNA samples to a database.
Thanks to this tool, police were able to confirm that Fred Allen Lienemann was the person who left DNA on Bailer’s clothing.
In an announcement on Wednesday 16 April, they stated that: “Phyllis Bailer never made it to Bluffton to visit her family.”
State police spokesperson Sgt. Wes Rowlader continued on a social media post: “After years of questions, this family finally has answers about what happened to her.”
Lienemann was 25-years-old when he murdered the mother, and while he ‘had no known connections to Phyllis Bailer but had a significant criminal history’.
As for closure and criminal justice, Lienemann was killed in Detroit in 1985, but if he had survived, police state that prosecutors would charge him with Bailer’s murder.
Providing a news clipping of his murder in a press release, it states that two men were charged with beating him with a baseball bat, throwing his body in a dumpster and setting it on fire whilst he was still alive.Featured Image Credit: Indiana State Police
Topics: True crime, Crime, US News, Science
Published 12:17 2 Aug 2024 GMT+1
Mom burnt daughter’s rapist alive after he taunted her following prison release
Mom María del Carmen García set alight to her daughter’s rapist after he was allowed out of prison early and spoke to her
A mom set fire to a man who raped her daughter and was sent to prison for killing him.
In October 1998, 13-year-old Verónica Rodríguez García from Benejúzar in Alicante, Spain, was raped at knifepoint by her 63-year-old neighbor Antonio Cosme.
Cosme was found guilty and sentenced to prison, however, the ordeal was far from over.
Hell on Earth: The Verónica Case – Trailer
Credit: HBO Max
It’s reported at the time the teenager accused her neighbor of rape, local residents were left divided, many refusing to believe it could have occurred and others standing by her, Meaww reports.
Verónica’s mom María del Carmen García was left to support her traumatized daughter, alongside withstanding negative viewpoints, all while trying to seek some sort of justice.
Antonio Cosme was later found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison, but upon his release seven years later on parole, he reportedly bumped into María.
Around June 2005, Cosme allegedly ran into María and asked her, as quoted by El Pais: “How’s your daughter?”
María del Carmen García set her daughter’s rapist on fire (YouTube)
María reportedly then went to buy a bottle of gasoline, found Cosme, poured the fuel all over him and set him alight.
It’s reported Cosme died a week later as a result of the burns he suffered.
The mom was found guilty and sentenced for the rapist’s killing in July 2009, receiving nine-and-a-half years.
Petitions were started and numerous appeals were launched, many outraged by the mother’s conviction and sentencing given what Cosme had done to her daughter.
In 2010, her sentence was reduced to five-and-a-half years after her attorney pleaded she had acted under temporary insanity. Her sentence was placed on hold in 2011 pending a pardon application, however in 2013 it was rejected, The Mirror reports.
In 2018, it’s reported María was finally released.
The mom was sent to prison for killing him (Max)
García’s story inspired the HBO Max documentary series titled Hell on Earth: The Verónica Case.
According to a viewer who’s watched the documentary, María ‘wanted to make this doc to get the truth out because people in the village still believe he’s innocent, the mom is insane and the daughter is a w***e’.
“I am so angry at the world,” the viewer added.
In the docuseries, Verónica reportedly resolves: “My mom protected me and now that she’s free, i protect her from the media.”
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.orgFeatured Image Credit: Max
Topics: Crime, Parenting, World News, HBO
Published 09:24 23 Oct 2024 GMT+1
11-year-old girl ‘only survivor’ of shooting where software engineer, wife and children were ‘killed by 15-year-old son’
Five people believed to be from the same family have passed away following a shooting in Fall City, with a 15-year-old taken into custody
Five people believed to be from the same family have passed away following a shooting in Seattle with a 15-year-old having been taken into custody, authorities say.
On Monday (October 21), police were called to a property in Fall City, Washington over reports of a ‘disturbance with gunfire at a residential house’.
When police arrived at the property, they discovered two adults and three teenagers passed away and another – reported as being aged 11 – with injuries on ‘at least two parts of their body’.
15-year-old suspect in custody after five killed in Fall City
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The injured child was immediately rushed to hospital and the King County Sheriff’s Office told NPR that those involved all appeared to be from the same family.
A 15-year-old was booked into King County’s juvenile jail later that same day.
The two adults who’ve passed away have since been named as Hargis Engineers software engineer, Mark Humiston, and his wife Sarah.
King County Sheriff Deputy Mike Mellis told reporters: “It does appear to be that this is a family incident. Clearly, a domestic violence incident that involves not only a young man who’s now in significant trouble, it involves firearms. A young man and firearm.
“What had happened here this morning had essentially concluded before the 911 call was made or before deputies arrived.”
Police were called to the property on Monday (FOX 13 Seattle)
Prosecutor John Castleton is reported as having asked the judge to find probable cause to hold the suspect in jail for five counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder.
Attorneys Molly Campera and Amy Parker from the King County Department of Public Defense argued they’d only received one page of allegations against the teen and that his name should not be publicly released.
The prosecution argued that the teenager is a ‘threat to community safety’ and the defense said in a statement: “We want the court to know that our client is a 15-year-old boy who enjoys mountain biking and fishing and has no criminal history.
“Again, the law says our client is presumed innocent of these charges, and we are grateful for a judicial process that requires proof and evidence before there is a judgment.”
It’s reported the teenager will be held in custody until he’s charged.
Police state they’ve never had any calls made in relation to the family’s house before and the suspect has no criminal record.
The two adults have been named as Mark and Sarah Humiston (Facebook/ Mark Humiston)
King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office official Casey Mcnerthney told FOX 13 Seattle: “That’s unusual to see these kinds of allegations with no previous contact with the prosecutor’s office. But that’s what we have here.”
Family and friends of those who passed away are reported as being set to gather at Fall City United Methodist Church to commemorate them later today.
Hargis Engineers told the Post in a statement to King 5: “We are blindsided and saddened by the tragic events that have led to the loss of a respected colleague, mentor, and friend, as well as the loss of immediate family members.
“Mark’s leadership and vision were integral within our firm, and he will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his surviving family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.”
The 15-year-old suspect is currently expected to next appear in court on Friday.
UNILAD has contacted King County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.Featured Image Credit: FOX 13 Seattle
Topics: Crime, Police, True crime, US News, Gun Crime
Published 13:42 18 Jul 2024 GMT+1
Heartbreaking footage captures moment father is informed his 13-year-old daughter had been killed
Amber Archuleta was described as a free spirit in the wake of her death
Bodycam footage caught by police investigating a shooting in New Mexico shows the moment a father learned his 13-year-old daughter had been killed.
The family of Amber Archuleta were blindsided when they learned the news of her death in July 2023, after she and her brother had gone to a friend’s house in Questa.
Man learns daughter has been killed
Credit: Law&Crime
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As the children hung out together, the 14-year-old boy whose house they were at pulled out his father’s gun and pulled the trigger.
The bullet struck Amber, killing her.
Bodycam footage caught by responding offers shows the moment her father, Joshua Archuleta, learned EMS workers had pronounced Amber deceased.
A woman could be heard screaming in the background as Archuleta passed on the news, all the while trying to get his head round the tragic events.
Archuleta told KRQE he was at work when he received a call from his 14-year-old son, who was panicking on the phone.
“He was like ‘dad, just get down here, Amber’s been shot,’ but I heard it in his voice, so I just threw everything down and came into Questa,” Archuleta recalled.
Upon arriving at the house, he found Amber dead.
“It was just awful, it was just completely horrible,” he said.
Amber was described as being ‘full of life’. (KRQE)
He added that the teen suspect was ‘close friends’ with his son.
“I never expected this to come out. I mean he spent holidays with us, and stuff and he seemed like a nice kid, but it’s turning out that he did have some really major issues,” he said.
The suspect in the case was charged with second-degree murder after the shooting, but when his case went to trial it ended in a hung jury.
In March 2024, family attorney Shane Maier told KOAT a date for a second trial had not yet been set, but was expected to take place in the coming months.
His father, William Brown, became the first person to be charged under a newly introduced state law known as ‘Bennie’s Law’, which requires adults to keep their guns out of the hands of minors.
Joshua Archuleta was stunned by the loss of his daughter. (Law&Crime)
His case went to trial earlier this year, during which prosecutors accused Brown of being partly responsible for Amber’s death.
They showed the jury photos of guns found unsecured inside his home, but the defense argued that the state did not show evidence that Brown owned the firearm related to the shooting.
The defense asked the judge to dismiss the case, but he said he would leave the decision up to the jury.
After about two hours of deliberation, the jury found Brown not guilty.
Remembering his daughter, Archuleta described Amber as a free-spirit, ‘outgoing’ and full of life.
“You know her and her brother […] riding their bikes, she was the one popping the wheelies and ramping and stuff like that,” Archuleta said.Featured Image Credit: Law&Crime
