Simpsonville woman Ariel Robinson, a former contestant in a Food Network reality television show, is accused of killing her 3-year-old foster daughter, Victoria Rose Smith, in 2021.
Robinson faces a homicide by child abuse charge and is in court for a criminal trial this week as prosecutors present their case to a Greenville County jury.
What we know about the homicide by child abuse case
- Robinson, 30, was charged with homicide by child abuse on Jan. 19, 2021, after Victoria died just a few days earlier on Jan. 14.
- Her husband, Jerry Robinson, was also charged with homicide by child abuse. He pleaded guilty in April. His sentence was deferred until Ariel Robinson's trial.
- Ariel Robinson is a former teacher at Sanders Middle School who left the district at the end of the 2018-19 school year, according to Laurens County School District 55.
- She was a contestant on the Food Network's 20th season of 'Worst Cooks in America' in 2020.
- Evidence presented during a bond hearing showed that Jerry Robinson told police Ariel Robinson beat Victoria with a belt, according to prosecutors.
- Victoria died from multiple blunt-force injuries after being found unresponsive at a home on Sellwood Circle on the afternoon of Jan. 14, 2021, according to the Greenville County Coroner's Office.
- Victoria was not yet formally adopted and was under the care of the state Department of Social Services at the time of her death, according to the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
- The formal adoption was scheduled for Jan. 19, five days after Victoria's death.
- Stacey Phares, the biological great-aunt of Victoria, has previously described Victoria as "bubbly," "sassy" and "so smart."
What to expect during Ariel Robinson's jury trial
- The jury trial involving Ariel Robinson began Monday with prosecutors showing police body camera footage and photographic evidence of Victoria's body to the jury.
- Body camera footage produced Monday showed Ariel Robinson providing her account of what happened to Victoria, telling police her older son would hit her and how Victoria appeared to become ill and was constantly vomiting leading up to her death.
- Those expected to testify in the jury trial this week include family members, a county coroner, investigators, police officers and fire and EMS personnel among others.
