Terence Darrell Kelly, 37, the man who
Cleo Smith's kidnapper Terence Kelly jailed for 13 years and six months.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There are various penalties for kidnapping in Australia and NSW. For most kidnapping offences, the maximum penalty is around 14-15 years. However, the maximum penalty increases to 20 years in prison where you were in the company of another person or persons, or you caused actual bodily harm to the complainant.
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.
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.
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.
A man has been jailed for 13 years and six months for abducting a four-year-old girl from a remote Western Australia (WA) campsite.
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.
In April he was sentenced to 13 years and six months in jail, and was told he would have to spend at least 11 years and six months in prison before he is eligible for parole.
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.
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.
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.
YOUNG football starlet, Terrance Kelly, was murdered just days before he was set to attend the University of Oregon on a full scholarship. The case shook an entire community as the 18-year-old's death was ruled as a “tragic and senseless loss”.
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.
“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.
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 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.
Ellie Smith's world stopped when her daughter was snatched as her family slept in their tent at the remote Blowholes campground in Western Australia in 2021. "She still has her sad nights, her nightmare nights," her mother said, speaking to 60 Minutes besides Cleo's stepdad, Jake Gliddon.