Cleo Smith kidnap suspect winks as he's taken to maximum security prison

5 November 2021, 11:53

Terence Kelly winked as he boarded a plane ahead of being taken to a maximum security prison.
Terence Kelly winked as he boarded a plane ahead of being taken to a maximum security prison. Picture: Getty

By James Morris

The man accused of abducting four-year-old Cleo Smith today winked as he was carted off to a maximum security prison.

Terence Kelly, flanked by police officers, winked at photographers as he boarded a plane in Carnarvon, Australia.

He has been transported to Perth, where he will be held in custody until his next court appearance next month.

Kelly, 36, was yesterday charged with abducting Cleo from a camping tent near Carnarvon, her home town, on 16 October. She was found alive and well in a locked house in the town on Wednesday.

Western Australia Police Force released this image of Cleo after she was found.
Western Australia Police Force released this image of Cleo after she was found. Picture: Getty

Police visited Cleo's family as they prepared to gather crucial witness evidence.

Officer Cameron Blaine, who was part of the team which found Cleo, said: "I can only see her on the outside, but from that point of view, I'm amazed that she seems to be so well-adjusted and happy, and it was really... heartwarming to see that she's still bubbly and she's laughing.

Cleo Smith rescued after going missing in western Australia

"I'm sure that it has had an impact, but just to see her behaving quite naturally like a four-year-old girl should do and just enjoying being in the presence of her little sister and her family was good.”

Kelly has been charged with forcibly taking a child among other offences. He appeared briefly in court in Carnarvon yesterday, with a magistrate refusing to release him on bail.

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Donald Trump reacts after July 13 assassination attempt

Trump struck by bullet during assassination attempt, FBI says

France was rocked by a series of attacks against railway lines early on Friday

Celine Dion kicks off Paris Olympics in rain-drenched opening ceremony after France rocked by rail arson attacks

The Park Fire burns along a road in California

Man arrested over California fire sparked by burning car pushed into gully

Israel has hit out at Britain's decision

Israel hits out at Starmer for dropping Britain's challenge to international arrest warrant for Netanyahu

Justin Timberlake at a premiere

Timberlake ‘not intoxicated’ and drink-drive charge should be dismissed – lawyer

A crying woman at the site of a mudslide in Ethiopia

Ethiopia declares three days of mourning as toll of mudslide victims increases

Nasa may have found a sign of life on Mars

Nasa finds Mars rock that 'may have hosted life', with mysterious 'features we've never seen before'

Barack Obama with Kamala Harris

Barack and Michelle Obama give endorsement for Kamala Harris’s White House bid

Playa de las Cucharas, Costa Teguise

British tourist, 45, dies in suspected drowning off Lanzarote beach on family holiday

Travellers wait at the Gare de L’Est at the 2024 Summer Olympics (Luca Bruno/AP)

Rail arson attacks aimed at blocking trains to Paris Games, says PM

A diver from the Polish Baltictech team inspects wreckage

Sunken 19th century ship found with Champagne cargo off Swedish coast

US Mexico Sinaloa Cartel

El Chapo’s son and Sinaloa cartel leader arrested by US authorities

Passengers check departure boards at the Gare de Montparnasse in ParisOlympics Security Trains

Arson attacks paralyse French high-speed rail network hours before Olympics

Performers in traditional dresses stand outside Parliament Haus in Port Moresby

At least 26 people killed by gang in remote Papua New Guinea

AI safety summit

Kamala Harris tells Benjamin Netanyahu ‘it is time’ to end the war in Gaza

A view of the Moidam burial mounds in Charaideo

Indian royal burial mounds announced as latest World Heritage Site