How Could You? Hall of Shame-Victoria Smith case-Child Death UPDATED
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Simpsonville, South Carolina, adoptive parents Ariel and Jerry Robinson, have “been charged … with the death of a 3-year-old girl in South Carolina this week.
Ariel Robinson, 29, and her husband Jerry Robinson, 34, were charged with homicide by child abuse in the death of their adopted daughter on Tuesday.
On Jan. 14, police found an unresponsive child at the couple’s home in Simpsonville, South Carolina, WHNS reported. The little girl died as a result of several blunt force injuries, according to a medical examiner. She was identified as Victoria Smith, according to the Greenville station.
Ariel Robinson appeared on the latest season of the cable channel’s “Worst Cooks In America,” according to TMZ. The South Carolina mother won $25,000 after beating out a number of other amateur chefs on the show, which takes people with poor cooking skills through a culinary boot camp. She claimed the money would go towards her family and three adopted children, NBC affiliate WYFF reported.
“I just know that the Lord had his hands on me and he had a purpose for me to go on there,” Robinson said over the summer. “He knew we were going through this adoption, we really could use the money and he just let everything work out for our good.”
Ariel Robinson also worked as a middle school teacher and was a local comedian.
“She was hilarious, she was super sweet to everybody around her and she expressed a passion for working with children and working with just the community in general,” entertainment producer Justin Williams told WYFF.
The South Carolina Department of Social Services stated they’re aware of the girl’s death and are investigating further with law enforcement.
“When she entered a room, all eyes were on her, because she demanded it and she was a cutie,” Tiffany Huggins, a former foster mother for Victoria Smith, said of the toddler.
Huggins said Smith stayed with her family for roughly 10 months.
“She had the best personality, and I’m not just saying that cause I was her momma, but she was just our light,” she added. “She was a beautiful child, inside and out.””
Worst Cooks In America’ Winner And Husband Arrested In Death of Adopted Daughter
[Oxygen 1/21/21 by Dorian Geiger]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: “The Food Network has scrapped Season 20 of Worst Cooks in America after the winner of the cooking competition was charged along with her husband with battering to death their adopted three-year-old daughter.
The season featuring 29-year-old Ariel Robinson, of South Carolina, is no longer available for viewing on Hulu, Discovery+, YouTube, or the Food Network website.
The competition, which was co-hosted by chefs and veteran Food Network personalities Anne Burrel and Alex Guarnaschelli, was filmed in February 2020 and aired over the summer. ”
“Robinson, a retired teacher and budding stand-up comic with a husband and five children, took home the $25,000 grand prize. ”
“Ariel told the Greenville News last year that she had adopted three children, who moved in with her family in March 2020. One of the children was Victoria.
‘I just know that the Lord had his hands on me and he had a purpose for me to go on there,’ she told WYFF4 in August. ‘He knew we were going through this adoption, we really could use the money and he just let everything work out for our good.’
Robinson planned to use her winnings from the show to plan a fun trip with her large family, she told the outlet.
‘I want to take them to a waterpark resort or the beach. A vacation, so we can do one big thing as a family this year,’ she said.
Victoria had spent most of her short life in foster care prior to her adoption.
‘She was sweet as could possibly be, so it makes no sense how somebody could hurt her in any kind of way,’ Alan West, whose aunt was Victoria’s foster mother for a year, told WSPA. ”
[Daily Mail 1/26/21 by Snejana Farberov]
“Victoria’s great aunt, Michelle Urps, was interviewed by activist Traci Fant and said her niece eventually lost her parental rights because of a lack of proper housing. “She did everything that was in the plan, she did the parenting classes….she just had housing issues. Instead of DSS offering her resources so the family could get housing and be reunified, they looked at her and said ‘figure it out.’” Urps felt that her niece was bullied by DSS into giving up her parental rights.
“The children were never abused by my niece,” Urps told PJM.”
“Urps has created a “Justice for Victoria Rose Smith” Facebook page and a petition asking the county to release the body to the family for burial.
“Victoria’s two brothers were also in the custody of the Robinsons and have been spirited off to another foster home instead of being returned to their mother.
At this point, there is no reason for the immense secrecy that the Greenville DSS is insisting on in this case unless they are hiding something negligent. And there is even less reason to keep the biological family from the body of Victoria. Now that the child is dead, the safety of the child has literally no meaning anymore and all investigation information should be made public. But officials at DSS rely on state law that allows them to keep their secrets from being exposed to sunlight. These laws are the opposite of transparent government and are regularly used to hide malfeasance and negligence in state agencies tasked with the care of children.”
[PJ Media 1/26/21 by Megan Fox]
Update 2:“A funeral for the three-year-old child allegedly killed by the champion of Season 20 of the Food Network reality series Worst Cooks in America was held this week.
The biological parents of Victoria Rose Smith held what was described as an emotional funeral for the child. Food Network star Ariel Robinson, 29, and her husband, Jerry Austin Robinson, 34, were arrested on Jan. 19 in connection with the child’s Jan. 14 death. They adopted the girl in March 2020 along with two other children. The two face charges of homicide by child abuse .
Smith’s biological family and some previous foster parents buried her in a church graveyard in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, The State reported Friday.
Victoria Smith was placed in the Robinson home by the South Carolina Department of Social Services along with her two older biological brothers. Victoria was found unresponsive on Jan. 14. It was later determined that the child died of multiple blunt force injuries.
Ariel Robinson won Season 20 of Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America. She received $25,000 for the victory, which matches admittedly poor cooks who are guided in a culinary boot camp by celebrity chefs. The Food Network scrubbed the show from its archives after the charges were brought.
The Robinsons are scheduled for bond hearings on Feb. 12. Both have previously been denied bail.
Ariel Robinson’s attorney, William Bouton, has filed a motion saying she should be allowed to be free on bond because she is not a danger or a flight risk, is from the Greenville, South Carolina area, and has worked as a teacher. Her teaching certificate was suspended by the state Board of Education shortly after her arrest.
Bouton and Jerry Austin Robinson’s attorney, Lucas Marchant, have also requested all information the prosecution has about the case.
The biological family has reported it plans to attend the Robinsons’ hearing to oppose bond. They also plan to hold a candlelight vigil for Victoria when the weather improves.”
Funeral Held For Child Allegedly Murdered By Food Network’s ‘Worst Cooks In America’ Champion
[Deadline 2/6/21 by Bruce Haring]
Update 3: “Winner of Food Network’s America’s Worst Cook, Ariel Robinson and her husband were denied bail on Friday in the death of Greenville, South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) ward Victoria Rose Smith. Earlier news reports and the DSS had claimed that Smith was adopted by the Robinsons, who were both arrested for her murder but that turned out to be false. DSS was in custody of Smith at the time of her death and the biological family alleges that they never bothered to check on Smith and her brothers who were in the care of abusers.
Fox reported the gruesome details that emerged at the bond hearing about how the three-year-old toddler died.
The toddler suffered from extensive injuries, including deep purple bruising on her abdomen, bruising on her ear, abrasions on her face, bruising down her back, and bruising up and down both legs after her death on January 14, prosecutors told the judge. The coroner ruled that the child died from blunt force trauma, but prosecutors said Ariel had told first responders she believed the girl had drowned from drinking too much water.
Prosecutors revealed during the hearing that Ariel claimed Victoria, referred to as Tori, was having stomach issues after eating something and then drinking several cups of water. Ariel claims the child suddenly went limp and that she began attempting to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the child, fearing that she was choking. Ariel also claimed she started pressing on the girl’s stomach, which likely caused the bruising to the abdomen, as she asked Jerry to call 911.
When asked about the bruises to the other parts of Tori’s body, Ariel reportedly told them that the child’s 7-year-old brother, who was also in the Robinson’s care along with another sibling, hand anger issues and caused those injuries. Prosecutors said they asked the boy’s principal if the child boy had anger issues, and the principal reportedly told them he was a happy child who never showed any outward signs of aggression.
PJ Media reported that DSS had stonewalled the biological family that wanted custody of the body in order to bury her. After much public pressure, DSS relented and allowed the biological family and former foster parents to bury the child.
If the justice system was fair, DSS would be under arrest and on trial as well as the Robinsons for their role in this child’s death. It was DSS that placed her with the Robinsons in the first place with what seems like very little investigation into who they were. The family spokesperson Michelle Urps told PJ Media that the family believes DSS was negligent in Smith’s death.
We are standing firm that we do not feel proper vetting of this family was done. Clearly, there was some psychological testing that could have found she was not going to be a fit parent as well as we have discovered that their home was put into foreclosure the month [the children] were placed in their home. Due to COVID-19 the foreclosure had not been finalized. We also found out that when they were moved into this home they had only known them for two hours. There were two one-hour visists with [the Robinsons] and then they were moved into the home.
The family wants DSS investigated. Unfortunately, the only thing that will happen—if history teaches us anything—is DSS will conduct its own “investigation” into itself and will find no wrongdoing. There is no other agency that supervises social services but the Department of Health and Human Services, which is the same cast of characters that all operate on the same budget. They are neither objective nor independent. A true investigation should be done by US Marshals or a police force that is not connected to the state budget.”
Food Network Star Denied Bail in Murder Case of Foster Care Victim Victoria Rose Smith
[PJ Media 2/13/21 by Megan Fox]
Update 4: “The Simpsonville, South Carolina foster father accused in 3-year-old Victoria ‘Tori’ Rose Smith‘s death posted bond over the weekend.
On Saturday, Jerry Austin Robinson, husband of former “Worst Cooks in America” winner Ariel Robinson, posted $150,000 bail on Saturday and was released from the Greenville County Detention Center, according to jail records.
Jerry Robinson, 34, had been behind bars since January 19 when he was charged with homicide by child abuse in the death of his foster daughter Victoria Rose Smith. Jerry Robinson’s wife Ariel, who was also charged with homicide by child abuse, was denied bond in February and is still in jail.
The Robinsons were scheduled to adopt Victoria on January 19 — the day they were charged in her murder.
According to the order for bail, Jerry Robinson was placed on house arrest at his parents’ home, where he will be monitored by a GPS tracking device while he awaits his trial. Minors will not be allowed in the home.
Jerry Robinson can’t own any firearms while out on bond. He is not allowed to contact anyone under 18, but might be able to see his own children.
Family court officials will determine if Jerry can have contact with his biological children, Judge Letitia Verdin wrote in the order for bail. However, if officials decide he can see his two sons, who are now living with Ariel’s parents, the meetings would be supervised by the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS).
In Friday’s hearing, the prosecution revealed several devastating details of the hours leading up to Tori’s death on January 14.
Soon after Jerry Robinson was arrested on January 19, he turned on his wife and told police that Ariel was the one who beat Tori on January 14.
According to assistant Christy Kednocker–Sustakovitch, Jerry Robinson said it all started that morning when Victoria wasn’t eating her pancakes fast enough. He told police that Tori “got it worse” than the other children, and Ariel would get angry at Tori often — particularly about her eating habits.
“He heard Ariel beat Tori with a belt from outside of the house and Tori was crying,” Kednocker–Sustakovitch said at the bond hearing Friday.
Jerry Robinson then went inside and saw his wife standing over Tori with a belt.
“You’re not done, you don’t get to tell me when you’re done,” Ariel screamed at 3-year-old Tori, according to the prosecution.
Jerry Robinson saw how badly she was beaten.
“Look at her, you’ve done too much,” Jerry Robinson told his wife Ariel, according to the prosecution. “You went too far, you went too far this time.”
Ariel Robinson then bathed Tori in epsom salts, while Jerry Robinson went to the store to get medicine for the bruising around 1 p.m. before he returned and called 911, according to his statement to authorities.
Around 2 p.m., Jerry Robinson called 911 call and said his daughter drank a lot of water and they were trying to do CPR on her.
First responders who arrived on scene immediately detected child abuse and said Tori’s body was covered in deep bruises and abrasions, according to the prosecution.
Tori was pronounced dead at the hospital on January 14. The medical examiner said she died of blunt-force trauma.
Kednocker–Sustakovitch said investigators “find the case to be horrific” and “one of the worst they’ve had to work.”
Jerry Robinson’s attorney Lucas Craig Marchant argued that his client has been cooperative and should be separated from the action’s of his wife.
Marchant said that Jerry Robinson is “extremely remorseful” and will testify at trial if needed. Marchant argued that he didn’t have a criminal record.
Ultimately, the judge decided Jerry Robinson wasn’t a flight risk nor a danger to society.
If Jerry Robinson violates any terms of his bond, he will go back to jail, where he will stay until the case is resolved.
SCDSS
In Friday’s hearing, Marchant said that there could be a potential civil case in the works against SCDSS. He said Jerry Robinson has been “helpful in shedding light” for attorneys looking into that lawsuit.
At the time of her death, Victoria Rose Smith was in the custody of SCDSS— a scandal scarred agency that has been blamed in the deaths of multiple children in recent years. Jerry and Ariel Robinson began fostering Tori and her two brothers in March 2020.
Since Victoria’s death, more than 42,000 people have signed a petition asking state lawmakers to reform the child welfare agency.
“We are shocked and saddened by this turn of events but we are NOT defeated,” Victoria’s biological aunt Michelle Urps said on Facebook this weekend following Jerry Robinson’s bond hearing. “We are still going to reform the system that put Victoria with these monsters and we will be front and center for every aspect of this criminal process. We will get justice for Victoria!””
SC Foster Father Charged In 3-Year-Old’s Murder Posts Bond, Could Be Allowed To See His Kids
[Fits News 4/19/21 by Mandy Matney]
Update 5:“Ariel Robinson has been found guilty of homicide by child abuse. She was sentenced to life in prison Thursday.”
Ariel Robinson found guilty, sentenced to life in prison
[WSPA 5/12/22 By Melanie Palmer]
Update 6:“Jerry Austin Robinson was sentenced Thursday afternoon to 20 years for his role in the death of [Victoria Smith].”
Man sentenced to 20 years in death of 3-year-old foster child
[WRBL 6/3/22 by Bethany Fowler]
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