Joshlin Smith: Officer details interview in which he took confession statement from Appollis
Lieutenant-Colonel Adrian Pretorius is on the stand on Monday to give the court details about the confession statement he took from Jacquen Appollis.
Kelly Smith, Jaquen Appollis and Stevano van Rhyn in the Western Cape high Court sitting in the Saldanha Bay Multi-Purpose Centre on 27 March 2025. Picture: Carlo Petersen/EWN
SALDANHA BAY - A police colonel who took a confession statement from one of the accused is testifying in the Joshlin Smith trial.
The officer interviewed Jacquen Appollis shortly after he was arrested for allegedly being involved in Joshlin's disappearance.
Appollis' attorney questioned the colonel about his client's injuries on the day he made the statement.
Appollis and co-accused, Stevano van Rhyn, allege that they were tortured to confess about their involvement in Joshlin's disappearance.
Lieutenant-Colonel Adrian Pretorius is on the stand on Monday to give the court details about the confession statement he took from Appollis.
Appollis and Van Rhyn claim they were tortured during interrogation to admit they were involved in the child's disappearance more than a year ago.
Pretorius told the court that he documented Appollis' injuries when he took the statement on 5 March last year.
The colonel said that when asked, Appollis explained that he hurt his foot and knee when he jumped out of the police van and bumped his eye against a wall when struggling to break free from police.
In the confession statement, the accused admitted that they left Joshlin with a woman known as "Maka Lima" on the day she went missing in February last year.