The “Worst Cooks in America” winner and South Carolina mother accused of killing her 3-year-old adopted daughter hired a lawyer and asked for bail.
Ariel Shnise Robinson, 29, who is accused of homicide for child abuse in the death on January 14 of his adopted daughter Victoria Rose Smith in Simpsonville, South Carolina, hired a Greenville attorney William Innes Bouton.
A spokesman for the 13th Circuit Lawyer’s Office told FITSNews on Wednesday that both Ariel and her husband Jerry Austin Robinson, 34, who was also charged with child abuse homicide, has bail hearings scheduled for Friday, February 12.
Bouton filed a motion on Tuesday requesting “that a reasonable bond be established pending the decision on this case.” Robinson’s bail was initially denied after his arrest on January 19.
Ariel Robinson’s lawyer argues 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.
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Days after she was charged with child abuse homicide, the South Carolina State Board of Education issued a summary suspension order against Ariel Robinson – what it really means if she received the title, she would not be able to teach in the state.
Jerry Austin Robinson he also hired a lawyer for his case. According to court documents obtained by FITSNews, Greenville attorney Lucas Craig Merchant is representing Jerry Austin Robinson.
Ariel and Jerry Robinson’s lawyers filed motions for the discovery of the case.
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Victoria’s Biological Family
Victoria Rose Smith was adopted by the Robinson family in March. Since his death, Smith’s biological family has publicly pressed for reform of the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS).
Last week, the family pleaded with Greenville County authorities to release the remains of the 3-year-old so they could have a proper funeral and burial. After several days of comings and goings, the state released Victoria’s remains to the family.
More than 11,000 people signed a petition asking state legislators to reform the SCDSS – an agency marked by scandals and whose shortcomings are now in the national spotlight.
Unfortunately, Victoria’s case is not the first time that SCDSS has been held responsible for the death of a child.
According to the SCDSS Office of Child Fatalities, more than 20 SC children die each year due to mistreatment by a caregiver.
Last week, Victoria’s birth mother Casie Phares she said she never abused her children, but was intimidated by the SCDSS. Phares was first signaled by the SCDSS when she tested positive for marijuana during Victoria’s pregnancy. After Victoria tested positive as a newborn, Victoria’s aunt said that “things just went off from there.”
One day, still under the SCDSS radar, Phares fell asleep while watching the two boys and Victoria, who was a newborn at the time. She had been up all night with the baby the night before.
The two boys ran to the neighbors while their mother was sleeping, said Victoria’s biological aunt, Michelle Urps. The neighbors contacted the police and this was the “last straw” for the SCDSS.
Phares was also struggling to find housing at the time, which made his case with SCDSS even worse.
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“Instead of (SCDSS) helping her get housing, they looked at (Victoria’s mother) and said ‘find out’,” said Urps.
When Victoria’s mother went to court to seek custody of the children, the SCDSS social worker did not warn her of what would happen, said Victoria’s biological aunt, Michelle Urps. They said she didn’t need a lawyer. She didn’t know that she could have a lawyer with her, or that she needed one.
Unprepared, she lost custody of her three children, which made them available for adoption.
“(SCDSS) made me feel that it was better for children,” she said. “I thought they were going to be a loving family. I thought that if they could have better and happier lives and become better versions of themselves, that’s fine. I trusted them and they failed. “
What happened to Victoria Rose Smith?
Ariel Shnise Robinson told her husband Jerry Austin Robinson call 911 when her daughter did not respond at her home in Simpsonville, South Carolina, at about 2 pm on January 14, 2021, according to the incident report.
Ariel claimed that a 911 dispatcher told her to move (Victoria) to the ground and start CPR, which she said she did. According to Ariel’s podcast, she was certified in children’s CPR.
Since the 911 call was originally for an unresponsive child, the Simpsonville Fire Department was first dispatched at 2:16 pm and they arrived home three minutes later. EMS arrived around 2:25 pm
The first respondents immediately took over CPR in Victoria and rushed to Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital, the report said.
According to the heavily edited report (below), it appears that the first respondents on the scene immediately suspected child abuse. The fire department called the police department for child abuse / assault with aggravating and emergency protection custody at 2:25 pm.
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When the police arrived at the scene at 2:30 pm, Victoria had already been taken to the hospital.
Victoria Rose Smith was pronounced dead in the hospital that day.
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.
The police said in the warrants that they had sufficient probable cause to charge based on the investigation.
Who is Ariel Robinson?
Ariel Robinson is best known for winning the 20th season of “Worst Cooks in America” on the Food Network in August. Last week, the Food Network removed Ariel’s 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.
Ariel Robinson’s life as a comic book and mother was widely documented on his Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter pages where she often referred to herself as a mother of five.
Last week, Internet detectives scoured Ariel Robinson’s social networks for answers to this tragic case.
How did this happen?
Did she have a different personality behind closed doors?
Ariel Robinson had a dark sense of humor. In her podcast, she spoke openly about fighting depression and said she attempted suicide several times when she was a teenager.
“This is the first year that I literally and specifically pray to God ‘can you just let the rapture happen?'” Said Ariel Robinson. “I literally hate it here. I literally hate this land. “
In one of his standups, 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 personality at times on his podcast (below) In one of the episodes, she talked about how she couldn’t watch the news because she gets 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 (below) “So when the news started talking about children being abused or murdered or left in a car or something, I thought I couldn’t watch this for my mental health because I can’t bear to hear about a child being hurt. So I stopped watching the news. “
Ariel and her husband Jerry Robinson face life imprisonment if they are convicted of child abuse homicide. They are currently behind bars at Greenville County Detention Center and have both been denied bail.
To report child abuse in South Carolina, call 1-888-CARE-4-US or use this online portal.
Let’s stay on top of this case and hope to bring an update soon. Stay tuned.
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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