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- The wooden shack home where missing Joshlin Smith lived burned to the ground on Friday night.
- Police have since taken a woman in for questioning.
- Joshlin's mother, Racquel "Kelly" Smith, and her two co-accused were found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking earlier on Friday.
The wooden shack home where missing Joshlin Smith once lived was set alight and destroyed just hours after Judge Nathan Erasmus convicted her mother, Racquel "Kelly" Smith, her partner, Jacquen "Boeta" Appollis, and their friend, Steveno van Rhyn, of kidnapping and trafficking in the Western Cape High Court on Friday.
Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie told News24 a woman was taken in for questioning in connection with the fire.
"We can confirm that Saldanha SAPS (South Africa Police Service) registered an arson case for investigation after Kelly Smith's Middelpos dwelling was destroyed by a fire."
Local councillor Veronique Pretorius also confirmed the house was burnt to the ground, adding that people in the area had wanted justice for Joshlin.
WATCH | 'Sold like a commodity': Kelly Smith, co-accused found guilty of kidnapping, trafficking
A Middelpos resident, Ntombi Mkobi, said a group of people were seen setting Smith's house alight towards the end of the day on Friday.
She said police were called to the area to restore calm.
"People want justice for Joshlin," said Mkobi.
Another resident, Zulpha Cupido, said: "It was disgusting to see that people would do something like this to a family home. What lesson is this teaching our children? That we should mix anger with anger? This was someone's home, it did not need to be destroyed like this," Cupido said.
Joshlin went missing on 19 February 2024 and has still not been found despite ongoing searches by the police.
The remnants of Kelly Smith's home after it was set alight, hours after she was convicted. (Supplied/Zulpha Cupido)
The multipurpose centre in Saldanha Bay, where the trial has been held for the last seven weeks, was packed to capacity for the judgment on Friday. People clapped when they heard the final verdict, and Smith was tearful.
During the seven-week trial, an in-loco inspection was held right outside Smith's Middelpos home.
This was done so that Erasmus, the State and the defence counsel could get an idea of where Joshlin was last seen and what took place on the day the then 6-year-old went missing.
The court traced the steps of the accused, walking to places they said they were on the day Joshlin went missing.
Delivering his judgment earlier on Friday, Erasmus said Joshlin had been "exchanged" and "sold like a commodity".
In a judgment that took him more than two hours to deliver, Erasmus said the State's evidence stood uncontested and added that it then became proven fact.
This after the accused decided to close their cases without presenting any evidence. Erasmus found that the State proved the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Jacquel "Kelly" Smith, Joshlin's mother, during the final judgment of the trial on Friday. (Chelsea Ogilvie/News24)
From his judgment, it emerged that the evidence of two witnesses – evangelist Nico Coetzee and former-accused-turned-State-witness Lourentia "Renz" Lombaard – was key in his evaluation of the case before him.
The judge also referred to evidence that Smith did not conduct herself in the manner expected of a parent who had lost a child.
A date has not yet been set for sentencing proceedings. Erasmus said he anticipated that the State would seek a sentence of life imprisonment.
Anyone with information on the fire can contact the police on 08600 10111.
