Man who abducted Cleo Smith and held her captive for 18 days to learn his appeal outcome within days

The man who kidnapped Cleo Smith with the plan to make her his living ‘doll’ will hear next week whether an appeal for a reduced sentence has been successful.

Terence Kelly was sentenced to 13 years behind bars after kidnapping then-four-year-old Cleo from her parents’ tent at the Quobba Blowholes campsite in Western Australia in 2021.

Earlier this year, he appealed the sentence handed down by District Court Judge Julie Wager.

The 37-year-old argued the judge made a series of errors, including blaming his methamphetamine use for Cleo’s 18-day kidnapping and failing to properly consider the trauma he faced in his youth .

He felt the 13-year prison sentence was excessive because his offenses did not fall into the worst category.

The outcome of Kelly’s appeal will be handed down on Monday by Supreme Court Justices Michael Buss, Robert Mazza and Stephen Hall.

Kelly’s lawyer, barrister Julie Condon KC, highlighted Judge Wager’s contention that his drug use – coupled with his complex personality issues, mental disabilities and neuropsychological conditions – played a “major role” in Kelly’s decision to kidnap Cleo.

At an appeal hearing in February, Ms Condon argued that Judge Wager was wrong when she ruled that Kelly’s drug use had ‘pushed him over the line’ into kidnapping and holding Cleo captive. The Western Australia reported.

Cleo Smith (pictured celebrating her seventh birthday earlier this year) was kidnapped from her family’s campsite and found 18 days later

The lawyer further argued that Kelly’s background – which resulted in a severe personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, exposure to chronic childhood trauma and severe retardation – had not been properly taken into account.

The court heard that Kelly’s mother was a heavy drinker and that child protection officers once found alcohol in his baby bottle.

Kelly’s father was also abused and he was abandoned by both his parents when he was two and a half.

Child protection officials discovered at the time that Kelly had created a fantasy world as a coping mechanism to deal with his loneliness.

He also dreamed of having a little girl to “dress up with, play with and be with.”

The lawyer representing Kelly (pictured) believed the judge had failed to properly consider his traumatic childhood when sentencing him to 13 years in prison

Ms Condon accused Judge Wager of only briefly mentioning Kelly’s history during sentencing, which she said “shows error.”

However, prosecutor Lindsay Fox SC told the hearing in February that Kelly’s offense was in the highest category due to the length of time Cleo had been missing.

Little Cleo was found alone in a bed in Kelly’s house almost three weeks after she disappeared during her family holiday.

She was 75km from the campsite and just a few minutes from her family home in Carnarvon.

The house where she was found was full of dolls.

Following Cleo’s rescue on November 3, 2021, her mother Ellie revealed in a TV interview that she believed Kelly wanted to make her daughter a doll and had dyed her hair pink.

Cleo Smith (pictured) was just four years old when she was kidnapped and held captive

The court heard that Kelly ‘assaulted’ Cleo a number of times during her kidnapping because she was loud and ‘bossy’ when she asked for chocolate.

However, he claimed he wanted to make the child ‘comfortable’ and recalled giving up on duct tape tying her arms and legs to a chair because ‘she was a bit of a fighter’.

Kelly was able to keep up appearances during the time Cleo was missing by befriending her mother on social media, driving around town, visiting relatives and attending arts and crafts events.