'Works Cook In America' Winner Ariel Robinson Guilty Of Murdering Foster Daughter

A jury in Greenville County, South Carolina, found former “Worst Cooks in America” contestant and champion Ariel Robinson guilty of murdering her foster daughter. She was charged with homicide by child abuse Thursday for beating to death the 3-year-old girl she was in the process of adopting.

The jury sentenced Ariel to lifetime imprisonment. It reached the final conviction after a four-day trial that concluded with an hour-and-a-half deliberation. Ariel and her husband, Jerry “Austin” Robinson, testified in court during the trial.

In her own defense, Ariel claimed she and the victim, Tori Smith, had a good relationship. “She was my ‘mini me.’ She would talk like me, act like me. She wanted to go everywhere I went,” Ariel said as she blamed her husband for the death of the little girl.

Ariel accused Austin, who pleaded guilty last month to aiding abetting homicide by child abuse, of lying to her countless times during their marriage. Asked if her husband has anger issues, she said, “I think Austin has one of the scariest types of anger issues because he holds everything in and he doesn’t let it out and when it does come out, it’s too much because he bottles it up.”

To counter her argument, prosecutors presented an Instagram post as evidence that Ariel was the one who beat the child and not Austin. Sharing a photo of Smith and Austin from June 2020, Ariel wrote, “There’s not a daddy daughter duo in the world who love each other more than these two right here.” She also wrote that kids needed “discipline” and that “I know that will never come from you.”

While Austin has yet to be sentenced, he faces a minimum of 10 to 20 years in prison for his pleading guilty to his role in Smith’s death back in April.

Upon the conclusion of the sentencing, Judge Letitia Verdin said, “In my 13-14 years as a judge, I’ve never seen anything like this. Not even approaching it.”

The Robinsons were arrested in January 2021 in connection to the death of Smith. The child died from blunt force injuries, according to People.