'System failed' 3-year-old Simpsonville girl who died in abuse case, family member says

The biological family of a 3-year-old girl who police say was killed while in the care of a Simpsonville couple is feeling anger as well as grief.

Victoria Rose Smith, who lived with Jerry Robinson, 34, and Ariel Robinson, 29, in Simpsonville, died from multiple blunt-force injuries after being found unresponsive at a residence on Sellwood Circle on the afternoon of Jan. 14, according to the Greenville County Coroner's Office.

The Robinsons were each charged with homicide by child abuse, which carries a sentence of 20 years up to life in prison. They are being held in the Greenville County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records, and neither had an attorney listed in online court records as of Monday.

The state Department of Social Services, the agency that helps oversee adoptions and foster care in South Carolina, said it is aware of allegations and the arrests in Victoria's case, and the agency is investigating alongside law enforcement, according to Danielle Jones, the agency's public information officer. The agency cited confidentiality concerns in declining to provide information on the Robinsons' relationship with Victoria.

The agency’s standard procedure in a case like this involves taking appropriate action with any children remaining in the home after evaluating safety and risk.

Care for other children in the Robinsons' home has been arranged, but those arrangements won't be disclosed at this time, according to the Simpsonville Police Department.

Formal requests of supplemental reports, files and notes have been filed by The Greenville News with DSS, the State Law Enforcement Division and the Simpsonville Police Department. 

Stacey Phares, the biological great-aunt of Victoria, who was known as Tori, said she last saw Victoria and her biological brothers in February 2020 before they left their birth home to live elsewhere.

"As a family, we feel like the system failed," Phares said. "We trusted the system."

With assistance from SLED and the Coroner's Office, the Simpsonville Police Department determined that Victoria's death was the direct result of physical abuse, according to a news release from Simpsonville city government.

An incident report from the Simpsonville Police Department was received by The Greenville News after much of the description of the initial investigation of the case was redacted. The report shows that the Simpsonville Fire Department was dispatched to the residence at 2:16 p.m. Jan. 14 and that Emergency Medical Services arrived five to seven minutes later.

Ariel Robinson said she had been directed to perform CPR by 911 dispatchers until the fire department arrived, according to the report.

A police officer who interviewed Ariel Robinson said she made reference to an event that happened the day before, on Jan. 13, but what that was and what Ariel and Jerry Robinson told authorities was not clear in the redacted report.

The case remains under investigation by the Simpsonville police, SLED and the Coroner's Office.

Multiple reports have identified Robinson as the winner of the Food Network's 20th season of "Worst Cooks in America." Calls to representatives of the Food Network and its parent company, Discovery Inc., have not been returned.

Phares described her great-niece as "bubbly."

"She was sassy and so smart," Phares said.

Natasha Halbig, who said she's known Ariel Robinson since they attended church together when they were younger, said Victoria loved to dress up and have her hair and nails done.

"Just like any little princess would," Halbig said. "She was just so full of love — full of life and laughter."

Halbig said she last saw Ariel Robinson and Victoria during the Christmas season when they visited by surprise.

Robinson formerly 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's director of personalized learning and public relations, Edward Murray.

Tamia Boyd is Michigan native who covers breaking news in Greenville. Email her at tboyd@gannett.com, and follow her on Twitter @tamiamb.