GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA)- According to Greenville County coroner Kent Dill, three-year-old homicide victim Victoria Rose Smith had been a foster child.
Smith died Thursday, according to the coroner. Jerry and Ariel Robinson would charged with homicide by child abuse five days later. Warrants stated they were responsible for the victims care and welfare.
“She was sweet as could possibly be, so it makes no sense how somebody could hurt her in any kind of way,” said Alan West. West said his aunt was the baby’s foster mother for nearly a year before she went to live with the Robinson family.
West and his wife Ashley West said they last saw the little girl– known to them as ‘Tori’– about a year ago. They described her as fun, funny, sassy, and affectionate.
They were shocked when they learned Tori was murdered– her new caregivers, Jerry and Ariel Robinson, charged with homicide by child abuse.
The coroner said she died of multiple blunt force injuries.
“I still can’t believe that it’s true,” Ashley West said. “I just feel like maybe we’ll all wake up and it’ll be a bad dream.”
Ariel Robinson had worked for as teacher in Greenville County from 2016 to 2017. She was also an employee of Laurens County School District 55 during the 2018 to 2019 school year.
“You could not be mad at that girl just by how she looked and how sweet she was, so I don’t understand how this man and woman would have done this to her,” Alan West said.
7News asked the Department of Social Services about the process for vetting the Robinsons and whether they had received any complaints about them. DSS responded with a statement, saying they are investigating along with law enforcement. They also said “The agency’s standard procedures in a case like this involved taking appropriate action with any children remaining in the home after evaluating safety and risk.”
Jerry and Ariel Robinson are being held in the Greenville County Detention Center.
