‘ROUGHED HER UP’
Chilling new details of Cleo Smith kidnapping emerge as doll-obsessed meth addict loner Terence Kelly is jailed
A DOLL-obsessed loner has been jailed for the kidnapping of Cleo Smith, as chilling new details emerge about the case.
Meth addict Terence Kelly, 37, snatched the four-year-old from a tent where she was sleeping with her parents and admitted to cops he “roughed her up” while he kept her captive.
5
5
5
Kelly has now been sentenced for 13 years at court in Australia after pleading guilty to stealing a child, in a case that captivated the world’s attention.
He told police he had tried tie little Cleo to a chair but she fought back during her 18 day ordeal, which ended when police burst into his home.
"I just used sticky tape, but it wasn't working. So, I thought, 'I won't tie her up any more with the sticky tape',” he said.
“I tried to tie her to the chair and that with her hands, feet and mouth. I tried to do that. She was a bit of a fighter.”
READ MORE ON AUSTRALIA
Kelly also told cops he “roughed her up a few times” when she became “bossy” by asking for chocolate.
His motivation for snatching Cleo was that he 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 said.
Passing sentence at a court in Western Australia, Judge Julie Wager heard during her captivity, terrified Cleo spent most days alone, trapped in a bedroom.
Most read in The Sun
Kelly altered the door handle so the room locked from the outside and put on the radio to drown out any noise she made.
"The young victim heard her name on the radio and she said they were saying her name,” said the judge.
Cleo and her family’s ordeal began when Kelly unzipped Cleo's family tent and discovered her sleeping inside, alongside her baby sister and parents, on October 16, 2021.
He quietly bundled her into front seat of his car and drove the 47 mile journey back to his house in the town of Carnarvon, taking dirt tracks to avoid detection.
While holding Cleo captive, unemployed Kelly went about his usual routine and was spotted out in the community several times.
He attended compulsory face-to-face meetings about searching for work, seeing relatives, and giving them lifts.
All the while, an intensive search for Cleo was underway involving land and air crews, roadblocks and CCTV footage.
Eventually cops were able to identify Kelly as a suspect using mobile phone signals and thanks to a tip-off.
Police cameras show the moment Cleo was carried in an officer’s arms to safety after cops burst into his home just before 1am.
After little Cleo paused for a second, she told police words they had desperately wanted to hear throughout their hunt for her.
“M-my name is Cleo,” she replies as one of the clearly relieved cops says “hello Cleo!” and another says “you’re alright bubby”.
After he was arrested Kelly’s obsession with Bratz dolls, an American brand featuring scantily clad teenage figures, emerged.
Pictures show dozens of them in his house.
One showed a room dedicated to the dolls, with shelves stacked to the ceiling showing a large number still in their boxes.
On his Facebook page he posted a video of himself with a filter showing hearts with the words “I love my dolls”.
A psychiatrist consulted in the case said Kelly suffered from a severe personality disorder arising from childhood neglect.
That led him to create a "fantasy world" with the existence of multiple imaginary children by different women.
Judge Wager noted Kelly's own troubled upbringing, but said his risk of re-offending was high according to the advice of psychiatric experts.
"You pose a high risk of seriously psychologically harming any future victim in the event that you did re-offend," she said.
Kelly will be eligible for parole in 11 years and six months.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
5
5
Topics