Authorities released details of the bail hearing scheduled this week for “America’s Worst Cooks” winner and South Carolina mother accused of killing her 3-year-old adopted daughter.
Ariel Shnise Robinson, 29, who is charged with child abuse homicide in the January 14 death of her adopted daughter Victoria “Tori” Rose in Simpsonville, South Carolina, is due to appear in court on Friday morning.
Ariel Robinson’s lawyer William Innes Bouton requested a $40,000 bail for your client.
Ariel Robinson is among more than 20 other defendants scheduled for trial starting at 9:30 am on Friday in Greenville County. An official told FITSNews that Ariel Robinson’s hearing is likely to be one of the first lawsuits of the day.
Ariel’s husband Jerry Austin Robinson, 34, withdrew his bond request, according to the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Greenville Lawyer Lucas Craig MerchanI’m representing Jerry Austin Robinson on the case.
Assistant Lawyer Christy Sustakovitch, who specializes in crimes against children, is suing the case.
Judge Letitia Verdin will preside over the hearing on Friday.
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Verdin worked on the 13th Judicial Circuit for almost two decades. For years, she worked as a prosecutor and specialized in child abuse and neglect cases.
She was elected by the South Carolina legislature to serve as a court judge in 2011.
In one of her biggest cases as a judge, Verdin sentenced Susan Hendricks, 49, to four life sentences for the deaths of two of her children, her ex-husband and her stepmother. Hendricks pleaded guilty, but he had mental problems.
At Friday’s hearing, Verdin will decide whether to grant Ariel Robinson a bail or not and what the bail would be worth.
Ariel Robinson’s bail was initially denied after his arrest on January 19.
In a bail motion filed last week, Ariel’s lawyer argued that she has a clean criminal record, is a lifelong resident of South Carolina and has a master’s degree from Clemson University. She was a public school teacher until 2019, wrote the lawyer.
“… She is neither a flight hazard nor a danger to the community,” wrote Bouton in the motion.
How to Attend the Bond Hearing
The hearing will be virtual and can be watched or heard live on this link.
For those who wish to participate in the virtual audience on Friday, see this step-by-step guide for the general public at SCCourts.org. You will be speechless when entering the virtual court.
The recording of the participant is prohibited.
It is possible that Ariel’s case will be the first at 9:30 am on Friday – but the time is not set.
911 Call
Earlier this week, FITSNews obtained audio 911 from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office of the January 14 incident through a Freedom of Information Act request.
On January 14, 2021, Victoria Rose Smith’s adoptive father, Jerry Austin Robinson, called 911 around 2pm
His voice was calm and monotonous.
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“We have an emergency, our daughter doesn’t respond,” said Jerry Robinson to the dispatch.
He said his daughter drank a lot of water and they were trying to CPR her.
The dispatcher then transferred the call to EMS and Robinson remained on the line.
Jerry Robinson then changed his story.
“Our 3-year-old daughter is suffocating with water now,” said Jerry Robinson to EMS 911. “We need help right away.”
Click below to hear the call to 911… ..
According to the heavily edited report (click here to see the police report), it appears that the first respondents on the scene immediately suspected child abuse.
Victoria “Tori” Rose Smith was later declared dead in the hospital. The coroner said she died of blunt trauma.
Ariel and Jerry Robinson are accused of “inflicting a series of blunt injuries” that caused the death of Victoria Rose Smith on January 14, according to arrest warrants in the case. They were arrested on January 19.
National Spotlight
The murder of Victoria Rose Smith has drawn a lot of national attention in recent weeks.
Ariel Robinson is best known for winning the 20th season of “Worst Cooks in America” on the Food Network in August. Last month, the Food Network withdrew the Ariel season from its streaming services.
According to her website, Ariel was an elementary school teacher trying to become a comedian, radio presenter and TV personality.
Her life has a mother of five and the comics have been widely documented on her social networks accounts.
Ariel and Jerry Robinson adopted Victoria and her two older brothers last March, according to their social media accounts.
In the wake of the tragedy, Smith’s biological family publicly pressed for reform of the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS).
More than 25,000 people signed a petition asking state lawmakers to reform the SCDSS – an agency marked by scandals and whose shortcomings are now in the national spotlight.
As FITSNews has reported many times before, SCDSS has failed South Carolina children and taxpayers on virtually every front in the past decade.
As the case gained national attention, web detectives across the country searched Robinson’s social media sites for answers to this tragedy.
Specifically, many are asking: Could the SCDSS have predicted this?
In one of his stand-ups, Ariel Robinson joked on video about threatening to punch his son in the throat while social workers visited his home during the adoption process.
However, Ariel Robinson showed a much more sensitive side to his podcast (below)
In an episode that aired last August, she talked about how she was unable to watch the news because she is very upset – especially when it comes to news about children being abused or killed.
“I’m very sensitive when it comes to stories about children and things like that,” said Robinson in his podcast (above) “So when the news started talking about children being abused, murdered or left in a car or something, I thought ‘I can’t watch this for my mental health because I can’t bear to hear about a child being harmed. ‘”
South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) officials told FITSNews that they are aware of the incident and are investigating the case with authorities.
To report child abuse in South Carolina, call 1-888-CARE-4-US or use this online portal.
FITSNews will cover the bail hearing on Friday. Stay tuned for developments …
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Mandy Matney is the news director at FITSNews. She is an award-winning Kansas journalist who worked for newspapers in Missouri, Illinois and South Carolina before moving to FITS. She currently lives on Hilton Head Island, where she enjoys life on the beach. Do you want to contact Mandy? Send your ideas, comments, suggestions and tips for stories to [email protected].
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