Cleo kidnap suspect sent to top security prison
THE man charged with abducting fouryear-old Cleo Smith appeared to wink at journalists as he was transferred to one of Australia’s top maximum security prisons yesterday.
Terence Darrell Kelly, 36, was shackled and barefoot as he was escorted by four special officers on to a light plane in Carnarvon – the small town in Western Australia where Cleo was found in his house 18 days after she disappeared while camping with her family.
He was then flown 600 miles to Perth and driven in a convoy of vehicles to Casuarina Prison, home to some of the state’s most dangerous criminals.
The police commissioner, Chris Dawson, said Mr Kelly would be subject to extra security measures. He has already twice been hospitalised for head injuries he gave himself in custody and will be kept in a cell designed to minimise the risk of self-harm.
Cleo went missing from her family’s tent in the early hours of Oct 16 at a remote campsite. Officers found her on Wednesday after breaking into Mr Kelly’s locked house in Carnarvon, a short drive from her parents’ home.
In their first statement since Cleo was found, her parents Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon thanked everyone involved in her rescue and asked for privacy.
“We are so thankful that our little girl is back within our arms and our family is whole again,” they said.
Guarded by two officers, Mr Kelly appeared briefly in court in Carnarvon on Thursday after more than 30 hours of interrogation by detectives.
He has been charged with one count of forcibly taking a child under 16 and one other charge that has not been disclosed. Mr Kelly has not entered a plea.
He will next appear in court on Dec 6 in Perth.