The doll collector
‘Loner’ in court as rescued Cleo cuddles mum
A DOLL-obsessed “loner” was charged with snatching Cleo Smith as she was seen in her mum’s arms for the first time since her rescue.
Terrance Darrell Kelly, 36, appeared in court barefoot after being questioned for two days over the abduction of fouryear-old Cleo.
Kelly was arrested after police tracked the girl to his home, which was filled with Bratz dolls, early on Wednesday.
She had vanished 18 days earlier from her family’s tent as they camped at a remote site in Western Australia.
Kelly was arrested in a raid on his car in a residential street after detectives received a “strong lead”.
Less than an hour later police officers stormed his locked house in Carnarvon, two miles from Cleo’s family home, and found her in a bedroom.
Kelly was charged yesterday afternoon with forcibly or fraudulently taking or enticing a child under 16.
He expressed anger at the presence of journalists inside Carnarvon magistrates court during a brief hearing. He snarled, “I’m coming for you,” and added: “What the f*** are the media doing here? Wipe that smile off your face.”
Flanked by two officers in the dock, he did not apply for bail and was remanded into custody until December 6.
Kelly was taken to hospital for a second time before the hearing after again injuring himself in his police cell.
Little Cleo was photographed in her mother Ellie Smith’s arms for the first time since their reunion. Wearing a pink dress and clutching a
pink balloon, she was taken to a police station for “gentle” questioning.
Specialist child interviewers travelled from Perth 500 miles away to speak to the youngster about her ordeal.
Australian police released an audio recording of the moment they found Cleo in Kelly’s house, 45 miles from the Blowholes campsite in Point Quobba where she vanished on October 16.
“We’ve got her, we’ve got her,” an officer said before asking the child what her name was.
“My name is Cleo,” she responded, to the audible joy of the officers who said,
“Hello, Cleo!” Sgt Cameron Blaine, one of the officers who rescued Cleo, said he was amazed at how well-adjusted she was.
“It was really heartwarming to see that she’s still bubbly and she’s laughing,” he said. “I’m sure it has had an impact, but to see her behaving quite naturally… and just being in the presence of her little sister and family was good.”
Kelly had a “doll room” inside his house in the suburb of Brockman, Carnarvon, and posted videos of himself in the room on social media.
He also uploaded snaps in April last year taking a doll for a drive in his car. Kelly wrote: “I love taking my dolls for drive arounds and doing their hair and taking selfies in public.”
He is said to have collected Bratz dolls and was pictured on social media wearing a shirt with cartoons of the US fashion dolls line.
Little Cleo’s case was compared to the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann in Portugal in May 2007.
Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann said they were buoyed by the rescue and it gave them hope missing kids can be found alive.