The trial of Joshlin Smith’s mother, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their co-accused Steveno van Rhyn took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when all three presented their plea explanations in the makeshift court session held at the White City Multipurpose Centre.
Steveno reveals shocker about Laurentia Lombaard
While each accused gave conflicting accounts of the day Joshlin disappeared, it was Steveno’s claim that State witness Laurentia Lombaard was the last person seen with the six-year-old that caused the biggest stir in court.
With the accused now facing cross-examination, attention is shifting to the glaring contradictions in their statements and the allegations of police brutality, which two of the accused claim forced them into making false confessions.
In a significant twist, Steveno van Rhyn testified that Laurentia Lombaard—the State’s key witness—was the last person seen with Joshlin before she vanished.
According to Steveno, he arrived at Jacquen’s shack in the early afternoon of Monday, 19 February 2024, looking to sell a microwave.
He found Jacquen and Laurentia inside, and at that point, Joshlin was not present. Laurentia, he said, asked him to prepare a smoke pipe, but they had no drugs at the time.
He later returned to Jacquen’s shack, where he again found Laurentia present. This time, he heard her call out to Joshlin, instructing her to go check on her baby at her house.
He claimed that Joshlin obeyed and walked off to Laurentia’s home, with Laurentia following behind her. He never saw Joshlin again after that.
His statement contradicts the version of events presented by the State, which accuses Kelly, Jacquen, and Steveno of trafficking Joshlin.
Laurentia was initially arrested alongside them but later turned State witness in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
If Steveno’s claim is proven true, it raises serious doubts about her credibility and potential involvement.
Kelly and Jacquen accounts of what happened do not align
While Steveno’s version of events has cast suspicion on Laurentia, Kelly and Jacquen’s statements also fail to align, further complicating the case.
Kelly maintained that Joshlin did not go to school that day because her uniform was dirty. She said she left for work in the morning after dropping off her youngest child at creche, only returning home briefly at lunchtime, when she borrowed R50 and smoked drugs with Jacquen before going back to work.
When she got home at 17:00, she expected to find Joshlin there but was told by Jacquen that she had been playing outside all day.
At first, Kelly said she didn’t panic, assuming Joshlin was nearby. But as time passed, she and her neighbours began searching, eventually calling police at 21:00.
Jacquen’s version, however, contained several inconsistencies. He claimed that Joshlin had a bath that morning and that after Kelly left for work, Laurentia came by and asked him to make a cigarette for her.
He said he later saw Joshlin leave to play with friends at around 14:00—a direct contradiction of Steveno’s claim that she walked off with Laurentia.
Jacquen and Steveno also admitted that later in the evening, while Kelly and neighbours were frantically searching for Joshlin, they went to buy drugs.
They returned after 22:00, only to find the police already involved in the search.
Steveno and Jacquen claim they were tortured into confessions
Both Jacquen and Steveno have alleged that they were brutally tortured by police in an attempt to force them into confessions.
Steveno claimed that he was kidnapped by law enforcement officers on 4 March 2024 while hitchhiking back to Saldanha Bay.
He said he was taken to a secluded beach, where officers beat him, kicked him in the testicles, shoved a gun into his mouth, and threatened to bury him in the sand.
According to Steveno, he was then taken into custody, where the torture intensified. He said police handcuffed him, hung him midair, placed a plastic bag over his head, and repeatedly suffocated him until he agreed to confess. He said he eventually nodded his head just to stop the pain.
Jacquen made similar claims, saying he was handcuffed, beaten, and suffocated with a plastic bag. He said officers told him he would die if he did not admit to knowing what happened to Joshlin.
He was allegedly also forced to sleep in a police car overnight, still handcuffed.
Where the trial stands now
The court has admitted all three statements into evidence, marking a crucial turning point in the trial.
As the case continues, defence lawyers are preparing to cross-examine State witnesses, including Laurentia, whose credibility is now under intense scrutiny following Steveno’s claims.
Follow our Joshlin Smith trial live watch party, where further updates are expected.
