The alleged kidnapper of four-year-old Cleo Smith from Australia has been transferred to a maximum security prison in Perth. As reported by Australian media, the 36-year-old was accompanied by four specially trained police officers during the flight to the capital of Western Australia on Friday, as he had inflicted injuries on himself twice in custody and had to be treated in hospital. Cleo disappeared from the family tent one night while on a camping trip in mid-October. There was no trace of her for 18 days, until early Wednesday morning she was freed from a locked house in Carnarvon, where she was staying alone. Around the same time, the suspect was arrested on a nearby street. In the meantime, charges have been brought against him: He is accused of having brought a child under 16 into his power, which is commonly referred to as “child theft”, reported the Australian broadcaster ABC citing the judiciary.
The man barely showed any emotion when the indictment was brought, it said. When asked whether he understood the allegations, he merely nodded. He did not request a release on bail. A video hearing was scheduled for December 6th.
“Hard police detail work”
Investigators have not yet revealed what exactly brought them to the suspect. “It was neither a random tip, nor clairvoyance, nor any of the things you hear”, Western Australia Minister of Police Paul Papalia told National Public Radio. “It was just tough police work.” Previously, rumors had circulated that the man had aroused suspicion because he had bought diapers. The police had offered the equivalent of around 640,000 euros in reward for clues that lead to the perpetrator.
According to the investigators, there is no connection between the alleged kidnapper and Cleo’s family, the girl was probably a victim by chance. The four-year-old is now to be interviewed by specialists flown in from Perth to find out, among other things, whether she was brought directly to the house in which she was found after the kidnapping, or whether there were other places. “This will take as long as it takes,” said Chief Inspector Rod Wilde.
Neighbors described the suspect across from the WAtoday portal as a loner. Lately, however, he has behaved suspiciously. According to numerous media reports, he is said to have an obsession with dolls and to have collected many copies in his house. A video circulated on social networks allegedly filmed in a room full of dolls. The police didn’t want to comment on that. Cleo himself is said to have been busy with toys when officials discovered them in the house.
First statement from the family
The mysterious case had held Australia in suspense for two and a half weeks. The family had gone camping and stayed at a campsite 75 kilometers north of their hometown of Carnarvon, Western Australia. When the parents woke up in the morning, both their daughter and her sleeping bag were no longer there. The zipper of the entrance was pulled up so far that the toddler couldn’t have opened it himself. The investigators quickly assumed a kidnapping. The mother kept making desperate appeals to the public. On Wednesday the redeeming news: Police discovered Cleo physically intact in the house in Carnarvon, less than ten minutes by car from her parents’ home.
On Friday the family turned with a statement to the public. Mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Glisson thanked the police and all whistleblowers – and asked them to respect their privacy.