Terence Kelly jailed for abducting Cleo Smith as court told of family's 'immeasurable' distress. 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 court heard that for nearly three weeks, Cleo was held captive at Kelly's nondescript state housing duplex. Locked in a room with a mattress on the floor, her captor would turn the bathroom radio on loudly to drown out her cries. Despite her young age, Kelly left Cleo alone in the house for hours.
Terence Darrell Kelly - the man who admitted to kidnapping then four-year-old Cleo Smith and holding her captive for 18 days - told police "she was a bit of a fighter". The 37-year-old Carnarvon man was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison.
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 court heard the 37-year-old loner had always longed for a family of his own, and wanted a little girl he could dress up and play with. “I, you know, wanted to hold on to her … I wasn't planning to keep her forever,” he told police shortly after Cleo was rescued from his house 18 days later.
According to the report, The news circulated on the web that Cleo was s*xually assaulted while taken by Terence. There is no report regarding Cleo Smith's s*xually assault while Terence Kelly abducted her. Kelly mentioned as a man, who loves dolls, was diagnosed with a serious and complex personality disorder.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
Terence Kelly, 37, pleaded guilty last year to taking Cleo Smith from her family's tent in October 2021. After a huge police search, Cleo was found alive 18 days later at Kelly's house, minutes from her own home. Kelly was arrested and later admitted child stealing in a case which attracted global attention.
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.
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.
He also changed her clothes and played with the girl but also became angry with her and “smacked her a little bit”, according to one of two four-hour police interviews. In a creepy twist, Kelly added Cleo's mother Ellie on Facebook during the weeks her toddler was missing.
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.
Who will ever forget the beautiful face of Cleo Smith? She's the courageous little girl who, in the middle of the night, was abducted from her parents' tent at a remote Western Australian campsite.
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.
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.
Wager found Kelly lacked concern for others and was a high risk of reoffending. She sentenced him to 13 years and six months jail, and made him eligible for parole. With time served, Kelly could be released in 2033.
Deborah Coulls as Bev (series 1), Cleo and Kim's mother and Don's wife and then later ex-wife. They divorced prior to the events of series 2.
The Sertori Family is Cleo's family. They are not very close but do love each other. In the start in the second season Don and Bev divorced with the girls broken up over it. In the third season Don gets remarried to Sam.
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.
He ran away and ended up with foster parents near Lancaster, Pa. Their sister Cleo was also adopted by an American family.
Daniel Staines lives in Halls Head with his parents. A woman at the home handed a typed statement to The West Australian in which the Staines family sent Cleo, her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon their “best wishes”.
Cleo Smith's biological father Daniel Staines has sp...