Ariel Robinson, winner of “Worst Cooks in America”, has been found guilty in the death of her foster child.
According to reports, Robinson was found guilty of beating three-year-old Victoria “Tori” Rose Smith to death on January 14, 2021.
30-year-old Robinson, who won season 20 of Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America, committed the horrific crime with her husband Jerry Austin Robinson. During the trial she blamed him for Victoria Rose’s death.
In sentencing, Judge Letitia H. Verdin didn’t hold back with regards to her feelings towards the Robinsons’ behavior.
“I can say that in my 13, 14 years of being a judge I’ve never seen anything like this. Not even approaching it,” she said, according to WYFF.
“And what compounds it is that I understand what your attorney is saying, perhaps you snapped at that moment, but then why let this child suffer and not get the medical attention that she desperately needed as she lay dying in her own bedroom.”
Tragic reports detail how Robinson and her partner beat Victoria Rose to death as a form of punishment. During the trial, the court heard how the couple reigned blows to the three-year-old’s legs and abdomen because she didn’t eat her pancakes fast enough.
Robinson’s partner, Jerry, testified that he had walked in on his wife holding a belt, alleging that she had been beating the girl after growing frustrated with her.
Ariel herself, though, said that Jerry had beat the girl on the night prior to her death while she was out for groceries. He called 911 on the night she died, telling dispatchers that the toddler had drunk too much water.
Judge Verdin ultimately felt that Ariel was just as deserved as her husband when it came to receiving the maximum punishment.
“Based upon all of that, the sentence of the court cannot be anything but life in prison,” she ruled.
“Mr. Robinson is extremely remorseful for what happened to Tori,” Jerry Robinson’s attorney, Lucas C. Marchant, said in a statement.
“He loved her very dearly and he knows that he failed her as her father. He has accepted responsibility for his actions, or rather inactions in this tragic situation. Following this horrific event, he has fully cooperated with law enforcement and the prosecution to bring closure to this case.”
It is yet unclear when Jerry will be sentenced.
Victoria Rose’s biological family, appearing in court for Ariel’s sentencing, hugged one another as the verdict was read.
Vickie Phares, the three-year-old’s biological great-grandmother, said: “Praise God. Justice was served for our baby.”
Rest in peace, little Victoria Rose. The small consolation that can be taken is that those responsible for her death will spend the rest of their lives behind bars where they belong.
Please, share this article to say a prayer for this little girl.
