She was found alive and well on 3 November, after police raided the home of Terence Darrell Kelly in the nearby town of Carnarvon. Her safe recovery after eighteen days was described as extremely rare, and received widespread news coverage and social media reaction both across Australia and internationally.
When he was home, Kelly said during his police interview that there were times when he smacked Cleo or “roughed her up” for being “bossy” and asking for chocolate – but that he had not wanted to hurt her badly.
The man who snatched four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family's tent at a remote WA campsite and kept her captive for 18 days has lodged an appeal against his sentence.
Cleo Smith's kidnapper Terence Kelly jailed for 13 years and six months.
In sentencing Kelly to more than 13 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping, Wager said Cleo spent most of her days alone and locked in a bedroom, and would hear her name on the radio as news updates followed the frantic search for her.
Nine's exclusive tell-all with the family of Cleo Smith was conducted over video call – a fact that's raised eyebrows with some considering the network reportedly paid $2 million for the interview.
In an interview after Cleo's disappearance, Ellie said the girl had gone to bed in the family's tent at around 8 p.m., woke up early the next morning at 1:30 a.m. asking for water, and had returned to sleep after being given water.
The sleeping bag Cleo Smith was dreaming in before she was allegedly abducted from her family's tent almost one month ago has still not been found. Close sources to the investigation have confirmed to The West Australian that despite a massive search for the red and grey sleeping bag, it is still missing.
Parents Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon have reportedly accepted a $2 million cheque from the Nine Network to tell their story of the events that unfolded over the course of 18 harrowing days and the efforts to find the four-year-old.
Reports suggested that the Nine Network reportedly paid Cleo Smith's parents a sum of $2 million to share their story of the events that transpired after their daughter was kidnapped and found 18 days later.
Terence Kelly was handed the lengthy sentence on Wednesday after admitting abducting Cleo, who was just four years old at the time, and holding her captive for 18 days. Cleo's mum, Ellie Smith, says “the anger always will be there” despite Kelly, 37, being locked up.
Her nightmare nights are the worst nights.” Smith said Kelly's motives for stealing Cleo were “disgusting” – a psychologist report had said Kelly felt euphoria for fulfilling his idealised fantasy of having a little girl he could dress up, play and be with.
Cleo Smith was missing for eighteen days and was found by police in Kelly's Carnarvon home. Kelly, who's now aged 37, confessed to the crime. In the District Court in Perth he was sentenced to 13 years and six months in jail. He must serve at least 11 years and six months before he'll be eligible for release on parole.
Nine Network staff are reportedly furious after revelations that the network paid well over $2 million — an Australian record — for an exclusive interview with the parents of four-year-old Cleo Smith, with some horrified at the prospect the little girl will be quizzed on her ordeal on camera.
Terence Kelly, 37, who pleaded guilty, abducted a sleeping Cleo Smith from a remote campsite in the early hours of Oct. 16, 2021, and then drove her about 50 miles to his house, where he kept her locked in a bedroom, the court transcript showed.
Cleo Smith was kidnapped for 18 days during 2021. During the ordeal, doll collector Kelly kept Cleo locked in a room in his Carnavon house, the door to which had been modified so it could only be locked from the hallway side.
She also disclosed the four-year-old's hair had been cut and dyed by her abductor in a detail missed by many but noticed almost immediately by her parents. She said the little girl's abduction had been 'random' with Kelly first unzipping her side of the tent before walking around to Cleo's side and snatching her.
Terence Darrell Kelly, 37, the man who abducted four-year-old Cleo Smith from her family's tent at a remote Western Australian campsite, has been sentenced to 13 years and six months in jail.
Cleo's biological dad Daniel Staines lives with his parents 1000km south of Carnarvon. He has put up a 'Welcome Home Cleo' sign featuring a blue love heart on the front door of his Halls Head home located 77km south of.
“We are all absolutely overjoyed at the good news this morning and so happy that Cleo has been reunited with her mum and dad,” the typed statement, handed to the West Australian, read.
The anguished parents of Cleo Smith are having to contend with callous abuse on Facebook from online trolls, even though police say they are not suspects in her disappearance. Police have been at pains to stress Cleo's mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon have been assisting detectives.
He admitted taking Cleo from her family's tent on October 16 at Quobba Blowholes campsite as her parents slept metres away. Following one of the largest missing persons investigations in Australian history, she was rescued 18 days later after four detectives stormed his home in a midnight raid.
So besides the fact that Cleo has slept in Beth's bed (without Beth sleeping next to her), there are no other proofs that would say that they had sex. Most likely, they got drunk, went to Beth's room, got drunk more and eventually passed out.
Cleo Smith's biological father Daniel Staines has sp...
The extensive 18-day search for missing Cleo made headlines worldwide after she disappeared in the middle of the night from a tent she was sharing with her parents and younger sister.