Fresh insight into troubled past of Cleo's alleged abductor
Content warning: This article contains references to deceased Indigenous individuals.
Audio has emerged of the woman who raised Terence Darrell Kelly, Cleo Smith’s alleged abductor, revealing that he had a tumultuous early life.
The 36-year-old Carnarvon man was removed from his mother’s care as a two-year-old and was raised by Penny Walker, a respected member of the Indigenous community.
“His mum didn’t want him and she threw him away,” she said in an interview from 2019.
“I looked down at him and this little boy - God was giving me something back in my life what the welfare took off me - my children.”
Ms Walker said Mr Kelly’s mother was a drug addict and didn’t want him.
She then took him in and raised him alongside her two grandsons - who she was caring for after her daughter died from multiple sclerosis (MS).
In the interview, she also spoke about her own traumatic childhood as a member of the Stolen Generation. She spoke of the poor treatment she received as a child at the Moore River Native Settlement and New Norcia Mission, where she was the victim of sexual abuse and beatings.
Ms Walker said this led her to become an alcoholic, which resulted in her six children being taken away.
She then turned her life around and became a respected member of the Indigenous community in Carnarvon.
Ms Walker died in 2020, leaving Mr Kelly alone in their Carnarvon home.
When police arrived at the home last week, they found Cleo in a room sitting upright and playing with toys.
Terence Darrell Kelly boards a plane to Perth, where he will stay in custody until he returns to court in December. Image: Getty Images
Mr Kelly was then arrested and faced Carnarvon Magistrate’s Court for several charges, including forcibly taking a child under 16.
His neighbours described Mr Kelly as a “quiet” and “lonely” individual.
The day after his court appearance, he was flown from Carnarvon to Perth and spent his first night in a maximum-security prison.
Detectives have since returned to his home as part of their investigation into Cleo’s abduction.
Police said they don’t believe the alleged abduction was planned and are investigating a theory that Mr Kelly came across Cleo by chance, according to news.com.au.
Mr Kelly has been remanded in custody for four weeks and is due to return to court in December.
Image: Getty Images