Although there has been little movement in the criminal case against those accused of 3-year-old murderers Victoria Rose Smith, the biological family posted a disturbing update on Monday.
Family spokesperson Michelle Urps said Victoria’s birth mother’s Facebook page Casie Phares was hacked and hackers created a fraudulent GoFundMe page in their name.
The GoFundMe page “Justice for Victoria!” was created on Monday morning. Only $ 25 has been donated so far.
Urps said he reported the fraudulent GoFundMe page on Monday morning. As of Monday afternoon, the page was still up.
Several people on the Justice For Victoria Rose Smith page said they recently received messages from Phares on Facebook asking for money, which also appears to be part of the fraud.
Urps asked those recently contacted by Phares on Facebook to report the scam to Facebook.
Victoria Rose Smith’s biological family has publicly defended the reform of the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) after her murder.
Criminal Case Update
Less than a year after being placed by SCDSS, Victoria Rose Smith’s adoptive parents Ariel Shnise Robinson and Jerry Austin Robinson were accused of his murder.
The Robinsons were actually charged on the day the adoption was due to end on January 19.
On February 12, a judge denied Ariel Robinson’s bail in a virtual hearing.
At the hearing, the prosecutor presented disturbing details in the investigation, including:
- The first respondents said that Tori’s body was covered with bruises and deep abrasions.
- Ariel told the police that Tori vomited the night before and choked on the water Jerry gave her that afternoon.
- Ariel said she did cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the heimlich maneuver on Tori when she was suffocating.
- When the police questioned Ariel about the bruises all over Tori’s body, Ariel blamed Tori’s biological brother and said he had anger issues. The police found this to be false after talking to the boy’s director.
- After the arrest, Jerry Robinson told police that Ariel beat the 3-year-old boy with a belt, paddle and other objects.
- Jerry Robinson said he was outside when the beating occurred, but when he saw Tori’s body, he looked at his wife and said, “You went too far.”
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.
Jerry Robinson, 34, requested a bail hearing in early February, but later withdrew his request.
A spokesman for the 13th Prosecutor’s Office told FITSNews on Monday that Jerry Robinson’s lawyer did not request a bail hearing in the case.
Ariel Robinson’s next court hearing is likely to be a preliminary hearing. The spokesman told FITSNews that Ariel Robinson’s lawyer has not yet requested a preliminary hearing.
It may take weeks or months before any of them are in court again, depending on when defense lawyers request hearings.
Christy Sustakovitch of the 13th Procuratorate is processing the case.
Greenville Lawyer Lucas Craig Merchant is representing Jerry Austin Robinson, while William Innes Bouton is Ariel Robinson’s lawyer.
SCDSS Reform
More than 41,000 people signed a petition calling on state lawmakers to reform the SCDSS – an agency marked by scandals and whose failures 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 Deaths, more than 20 SC children die each year due to mistreatment by a caregiver.
Victoria’s biological mother Casie Phares she said she never abused her children, but was intimidated by the SCDSS to give up on her children.
Phares said she was first flagged by the SCDSS when she tested positive for marijuana during Victoria’s pregnancy. After Victoria was positive when she was a newborn, Victoria’s aunt said that “things just started to turn 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 that 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.
This is significant because the Robinsons – the family the SCDSS chose for Victoria and her brothers – were in financial difficulty and about to lose their home in Simpsonville when they were in the process of being adopted.
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The Robinsons’ home has been in foreclosure since 2019, according to court records. They stopped making house payments in 2018.
According to court documents, the COVID-19 eviction ban allowed the Robinsons to stay in their homes throughout 2020.
Recently, Ariel Robinson’s friend told FITSNews that the Robinsons started an online fundraiser for their adoption.
“I wonder if DSS is not doing complete financial checks before allowing adoptions to happen,” a friend of Robinson’s told FITSNews earlier. “There are so many questions about the system and whether people are being thoroughly checked before they are able to promote / adopt.”
National Spotlight
Victoria Rose Smith’s murder has drawn a lot of national attention in recent weeks – partly due to the fact that Ariel Robinson won America’s Worst Cooks on the Food Network.
As the case gets more and more publicity, social media sites close the accounts of Ariel Robinson – who were full of pictures of Victoria.
Nancy Grace recently covered the tragedy on her podcast.
Nancy Grace hammered the SCDSS on her podcast after hearing the details of the case.
“Do we just distribute the kids like a dozen eggs in the supermarket?” Grace asked.
To report child abuse in South Carolina, call 1-888-CARE-4-US or use this online portal.
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