Murder of Victoria Rose Smith
The murder of Victoria Rose Smith occurred on January 14, 2021 when 3-year-old white child Victoria Rose Smith was allegedly beaten to death by her black foster care parents, Jerry Robinson, and Ariel Robinson.[1]
| Murder of Victoria Rose Smith | |
|---|---|
 Victim Victoria Rose Smith | |
| Location | Sellwood Circle, Simpsonville, South Carolina, USA |
| Coordinates | 34°43′53″N 82°16′30″W / 34.731290°N 82.275050°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Date | January 14, 2021 2:25PM |
Attack type | Homicide |
| Victims | Victoria Rose Smith, white female |
| Assailant |
|
Ariel S. Robinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criminal charge |
|
Jerry A. Robinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criminal charge |
|
Incident[edit]
According to local news WSPA,[2]
According to a police department news release, officers responded to an address on Sellwood Circle at around 2:25 p.m. on Jan. 14 in regard to an unresponsive juvenile.
The girl was taken to Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Police, along with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, determined during the investigation in the child’s death that she died as a result of physical abuse.
Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans identified the child as Victoria Rose Smith, 3, of Simpsonville.
Evans said an autopsy was performed and revealed that Smith died from multiple blunt force injuries. Her death has been ruled a homicide and those charged were foster parents.
Ariel Robinson was publicly known as the winner of season 20 of the Food Network television program "Worst Cooks in America."[3] After she was charged with murder, the Food Network pulled that season of the show.[3]
Robinson was also a teacher, who had 3 years of experience and had last taught in 2019.[4] After being charged with murder, the South Carolina Board of Education revoked her teaching certificate.[4]
Robinson was also an aspiring stand-up comedian and very active on social media. One of her comedy routines referenced her threatening violence to her children in front of a social worker, the punchline being that she was still approved to be a foster parent:
On her many social media accounts, Robinson frequently messaged support for black racial causes and often referenced her white childrens' "privilege" and the fact that the real world was going to treat her black children more harshly than the white ones:[5]
See Also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ https://www.wspa.com/news/local-news/simpsonville-woman-charged-with-homicide-by-child-abuse-has-sc-teaching-certificate-suspended/
- ↑ https://www.wspa.com/news/2-accused-of-homicide-by-child-abuse-in-simpsonville/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.thewrap.com/worst-cooks-in-america-season-20-pulled-ariel-robinson-winner-charged-murder-child/
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://ed.sc.gov/state-board/state-board-of-education/minutes-orders/state-board-of-education-orders-of-disciplinary-action/2021-state-board-of-education-orders-of-disciplinary-action/january-2021-teacher-disciplinary-orders/robinson-ariel-shnise-summary-suspension-order/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CJuPEZhDr4q/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/arifunnycomedy/status/1298667591054110722
- ↑ https://twitter.com/arifunnycomedy/status/1346962567328112644
- ↑ https://twitter.com/arifunnycomedy/status/1308875188185042946
