Cleo Smith update: Police investigate whether four-year-old was in one place whole time she was missing
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Police investigating the abduction of four-year-old Cleo Smith say they are trying to establish whether for the entire time she was missing she was at the home where she was found.
Officers say a key focus of their investigation will be on tracking Terence Darrell Kelly’s movements in the days leading up to her rescue in Carnarvon, Western Australia.
The suspect charged with her abduction was moved to a maximum-security prison in Perth for threatening a reporter.
The Australian reported that he also looked a reporter directly in the eye and said: “I’m going to get out of here one day. I’m coming for you.”
His arrest followed a massive search for Cleo after she vanished from her family’s tent in the early hours of 16 October at the remote Blowholes Shacks campsite in Macleod.
Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon, Cleo’s parents, said they were “humbled by the love and support” they received throughout the search for their daughter. The pair also thanked those involved in Cleo’s rescue.
“In particular we would like to thank the WA Police, all those involved in the initial search, the Carnarvon community, local businesses and of course our family and friends,” they said in a statement.
“We are so thankful that our little girl is back in our arms and our family is whole again.”
‘Loner’ suspect obsessed with Bratz dolls ‘winks at cameras’ as he’s taken to jail
Since his arrest, it has emerged that suspected abductor Terence Darnell Kelly, described as a “loner” by his neighbours, had an obsession with Bratz dolls and owned a large collection of them.
One of Mr Kelly’s social media profiles is a Facebook page devoted entirely to the toys. Elsewhere on social media, Mr Kelly shared a post that showed him wearing a Bratz doll shirt, taking one of his dolls for a car ride – the post was captioned, “I love taking my dolls for drive arounds and doing their hair and taking selfies in public”.
My colleague Holly Bancroft reports.
‘Loner’ charged with abducting Cleo Smith ‘winks at cameras’ as he’s taken to jail
Terence Kelly was escorted onto a plane by four police officers after being charged with two offences related to abduction
Terence Darrell Kelly moved to maximum security prison after ‘threatening journalist’ in Cleo Smith abduction hearing
Terence Darrell Kelly, the man charged with abducting Cleo Smith, has been moved to a maximum security prison in Perth for allegedly threatening a reporter in court on Thursday.
The Australian reported that Mr Kelly lashed out during the hearing, asking the magistrate, “What the f*** are the media doing here”.
He also looked a reporter directly in the eye and said: “I’m going to get out of here one day. I’m coming for you.”
Mr Kelly was charged with a strong of offences related to the four-year-old’s abduction, including one count of forcibly taking a child under 16. He is next scheduled to appear in court via video link on 6 December.
My colleague Sravasti Dasgupta has more on the story.
Cleo Smith’s alleged abductor moved to maximum security prison
Cleo Smith’s alleged abductor looked a reporter directly in the eye in court and said ‘I’m coming for you’
Suspected abductor shared ‘cryptic post’ on day Cleo Smith went missing
Allegedly, Terence Darell Kelly, the man who is accused of kidnapping Cleo Smith, made a strange post on Facebook around 5am on 16 October, the day that the four-year-old vanished from her family’s tent at the Blowholes campsite.
The Daily Mail reported that Mr Kelly updated his Facebook status to read: “I can’t accept friend requests from strangers …. I live a private life and I respect those who are on my friend list to ensure their privacy is respected too.
“Us adults have to be careful online too.”
Mr Kelly’s post allegedly went on to say that he wouldn’t be “mates” with just anyone because they had a friend or family member in common.
The Daily Mail also reported that Mr Kelly followed Cleo’s mother, Ellie Smith, on Facebook, and interacted with articles written about the missing girl, using a “sad” emoji to react to a news story about her disappearance.
Mark McGowan, the premier of West Australia, visited Cleo Smith and her family at their Carnarvon home on Thursday morning.
On Twitter, he said that he “had the privilege of meeting Cleo and her family this morning – they are lovely people who have shown incredible strength and resilience in unimaginable circumstances”.
He also thanked the “incredible detectives and police officers” involved in the search for bringing Cleo home.
Key focus of investigation will be tracking alleged abductor’s movements
West Australia police have said that a key focus of their investigation will now be on tracking Terence Darrell Kelly’s movements in the days leading up to Cleo’s rescue from inside a housing commission home in Carnarvon.
Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said that police were unsure if Cleo had been in the home for the entire time that she had been missing.
“That’s still something that we’re going through and trying to establish,” he said on Thursday.
As part of this new stage of the investigation, police are requesting all CCTV footage from across the Gascoyne region.
“Now that we have knowledge of a suspect, I’m asking businesses and people within Carnarvon to provide to the investigative team any CCTV that they might have between Friday the 15th and Tuesday the 2nd,” Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine said.
Man wrongly identified as suspect launches defamation claim against Seven Network
The man who was wrongly identified as the suspected abductor in the Cleo Smith case has launched a defamation claim against Seven Network.
He told reporters how the impact of being wrongly identified led to him having a panic attack being hospitalised.
“That stuff was not acceptable,” he said.
“I want an apology from them.
“I want them to do their jobs more seriously and professional.”
Why Cleo’s disappearance brought worldwide media coverage
Cleo Smith was the perfect subject for mass worldwide coverage by newspapers and social media, writes Steve Evans.
And for British audiences, there was a great resonance with the tragedy of Madeleine McCann.
More about the suspect will emerge at the trial:
‘My name is Cleo’: How disappearance of missing girl dominated media coverage
The disappearance - then recapture - of Cleo Smith has been frantically covered in Australia and beyond, reports Steve Evans in Canberra
Timeline: What happened to the four-year-old?
Police will look at the events that led up to Cleo’s abduction.
The family went to a campsite near their home, where they regularly stay.
Joe Sommerlad looks at what happened on the night she vanished and in the days afterwards:
Cleo Smith timeline: What happened to the four-year-old who went missing for 18 days?
Girl taken from remote coastal campsite in Western Australia on 16 October thought to be victim of ‘opportunistic’ abduction
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