| Greenville News
The biological family of a 3-year-old girl who, according to the police, was killed while caring for a Simpsonville couple, feels anger as well as sadness.
Victoria Rose Smith, who lived with Jerry Robinson, 34, and Ariel Robinson, 29, in Simpsonville, died of multiple blunt force injuries after being found unanswered at a Sellwood Circle residence on the afternoon of January 14, according to the Greenville Coroner’s County Office.
The Robinsons have been charged with child abuse homicide, which carries a 20-year life sentence. They are being held at Greenville County Detention Center without bail, according to prison records, and no lawyer was listed in the court’s online records on Monday.
The state Department of Social Services, the agency that helps oversee adoptions and orphanages in South Carolina, said it was aware of the allegations and arrests in the Victoria case, and the agency is investigating with law enforcement officials, according to Danielle Jones, the public of the official information agency. The agency cited confidentiality concerns by refusing to provide information about the Robinsons’ relationship with Victoria.
The agency’s standard procedure in a case like this involves taking appropriate measures with any child who remains at home after a safety and risk assessment.
The care of other children at the Robinson home has been agreed, but those arrangements will not be made public at this time, according to the Simpsonville Police Department.
Formal requests for supplementary reports, personal files and interview notes have been submitted by The Greenville News to DSS, the State Law Enforcement Division and the Simpsonville Police Department.
Last week: Simpsonville, man and woman, charged with child abuse homicide in the death of a 3-year-old child
Stacey Phares, Victoria’s biological great aunt, who was known as Tori, said she last saw Victoria and her biological brothers in February 2020, before they left their home to live elsewhere.
“As a family, we feel that the system has failed,” said Phares. “We trust the system.”
With the help of SLED and the Coroner’s Office, the Simpsonville Police Department determined that Victoria’s death was a direct result of physical abuse, according to a press release from the Simpsonville city government.
A Simpsonville Police Department incident report was received by The Greenville News after much of the description of the initial investigation of the case was written. The report shows that the Simpsonville Fire Department was dispatched to the residence at 2:16 pm on January 14 and that Emergency Medical Services arrived five to seven minutes later.
Ariel Robinson said she had been instructed to perform CPR by dispatchers from 911 until the fire department arrived, according to the report.
A police officer who interviewed Ariel Robinson said she referred to an event the day before, on January 13, but what was and what Ariel and Jerry Robinson told authorities was not clear from the written report.
Previous coverage: Ariel Robinson tells reporter about family after winning Food Network
The case is still under investigation by Simpsonville police, SLED and Coroner’s Office.
Several reports have identified Robinson as the Food Network’s 20th season winner of “America’s Worst Cooks”. Calls to representatives of Food Network and its parent company, Discovery Inc., were not returned.
Phares described his great-niece as “bubbly”.
“She was sassy and very smart,” said Phares.
Natasha Halbig, who said she has known Ariel Robinson since they attended church together as children, said Victoria loved to dress up and do her hair and nails.
“Just like any little princess would do,” said Halbig. “She was so full of love – full of life and laughter.”
Halbig said he last saw Ariel Robinson and Victoria during the Christmas season, when they visited them by surprise.
Robinson previously taught at Sanders Middle School in Laurens County and left the district at the end of the 2018-19 school year, according to Laurens County School District 55 director of personalized learning and public relations, Edward Murray.
Tamia Boyd is from Michigan and covers the latest news in Greenville. Send an email to [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @tamiamb.