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Girl, 3, who was ‘beaten to death by Food Network star adoptive mom and her husband’ is buried in emotional funeral
- Elizabeth Little
- 19:56 ET, Feb 6 2021
- Updated: 20:22 ET, Feb 6 2021
Cops have said Victoria Rose Smith, three, was killed by her adoptive parents – Ariel Robinson, 29, and Jerry Robinson, 34 – last month.
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Three-year-old Victoria Rose Smith was allegedly killed by her adoptive parentsCredit: Instagram
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Ariel Robinson, who has been charged with homicide, won season 20 of Worst Cooks in AmericaCredit: Food Network
Reality TV star Ariel, who won season 20 of Worst Cooks in America, and husband Jerry have been charged with homicide by child abuse in South Carolina, according to police.
They're accused of inflicting multiple blunt force injuries on Victoria, resulting in her death on January 14.
Her death was ruled a homicide.
Victoria's biological family, as well as some of her previous foster parents, buried her in a church graveyard in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, local newspaper The State reported on Friday.
Casie Phares, Victoria's biological mother, placed a teddy bear at her daughter's gravesite during the funeral, PEOPLE reports.
A preacher shared some words about the little girl, who was described as "sassy and smart."
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Victoria died at three years oldCredit: Instagram
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Victoria's death was ruled a homicideCredit: Instagram
Victoria was placed in the Robinsons' home by the South Carolina Department of Social Services in March of last year with her two older biological brothers, a Change.org petition calling for reform to the department said.
The victim was fostered by the couple until they recently adopted her, cops said.
It remains unclear if any of the other children in the home had been abused.
Victoria was found unresponsive in the Robinson's home on January 14, and was taken to the Greenville Memorial Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
The Robinsons were arrested and were being held at the Greenville County Detention Center without bond.
Police say they responded to a call about an unresponsive juvenile victim at their family home on January 14.
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Ariel Robinson, 29, is accused of killing the childCredit: Simpsonville Police Department
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Jerry Robinson has also been arrested in connection with the girl's deathCredit: Simpsonville Police Department
Cops said that the Robinsons "did commit child abuse by inflicting a series of blunt force injuries, which resulted in the death of the victim."
The coroner's office confirmed that the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, WHNS reported.
The Robinsons each face a charge of "homicide by child abuse" and, if convicted, face sentences of 20 years to life in prison, cops said.
"Police officers handle all kinds of cases, and these kind of cases can be the hardest for them to do," Simpsonville police spokesman Justin Lee Campbell told PEOPLE.
"It is a sad day. You bring charges and maybe convictions, but at the end of the day the life of a child was taken. For anyone who knew the victim or was related to the victim, they are in our thoughts and prayers."
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Worst Cooks in America winner and her husband charged for 'beating their daughter, 3, to death'Credit: Instagram
Ariel won a $25,000 grand prize after competing on Food Network's Worst Cooks in America in August, WHNS reported.
The mother-of-five told the Greenville News last year that she had adopted three children, who moved in with her family in March.
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