Recent ‘Worst Cooks in America’ Winner Ari Robinson Arrested for the Murder of Her 3-Year-Old Adopted Daughter

Ari during her time on ‘Worst Cooks in America’ last year…

Ariel Robinson— the most-recent winner of Worst Cooks in America— has been arrested for murder.

Ariel and her husband Jerry are currently behind bars in South Carolina after they were arrested for killing a three-year-old girl. TMZ revealed that the couple has been accused of “inflicting multiple blunt force injuries” to the little girl, resulting in her death last week.

“Police say they responded to a call about an unresponsive juvenile victim last Thursday, and the child was pronounced dead after being transferred to the hospital,” the site reports.

Ariel and Jerry were both arrested on Tuesday and charged with Homicide by Child Abuse. They are being held without bond.

According to local news station WYFF, the three-year-old was named Victoria and had been a foster child that was adopted by Ariel and her husband. After Ariel won the Food Network show in 2020, she told the network that she and Jerry had recently adopted three children.

According to a post to Ari’s Instagram, Victoria was one of three siblings adopted by the Robinsons around December 2019. 

Ari, a former middle school teacher and an aspiring comedian, took home $25,000 for winning ‘Worst Cooks in America.’

“I wanted to win this so much for [my family], to give them a better life and things they never even imagined,” Ari said on the Season 20 finale. “This is going to change our lives forever.” 

In August, Ari posted a video to her YouTube channel entitled “I won ‘Worst Cooks in America!” 

“With Jesus and an amazing Chef & mentor like Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, I was able to win Worst Cooks In America- season 20!” she wrote in the caption for the video. “I am so so so grateful, appreciative, and humble to have been blessed with such an amazing experience. My family was so happy and proud, and I was just happy to be able to win it for all of us!! God is good!! All the time!!!”

She posted her last video to her channel just five days ago. Two weeks ago, she posted a video featuring three-year-old Victoria. 

Alex Guarnaschelli has yet to speak out about Ari’s arrest.

(Photos: Food Network; Instagram)

20 Comments

  1. Heartbreaking and sickening. I don’t know how someone can possibly be so angry with a baby as to kill them. A 3 year doesn’t misbehave on purpose. They are 3 years old!!!

    If race was a factor, it’s confusing to me as to why they would choose to adopt a white child. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other children in the foster care system in need of forever homes.

    I feel terrible for all 5 children. The older, biological children are now going to pay the price for their parent’s horrendous actions. Having your family life destroyed and broadcast around the country is something from which these poor babies may never recover.

    Heartbreaking


  2. You know, I have always been fascinated by true crime, serial killers, etc. I like learning about the lives and history of people who commit terrible crimes to try to understand why they do what they do. But the one thing that I cannot ever understand or sympathize with is harming innocent children. I know that kids who have been hurt can grow up to do the same to others, but in my humble opinion, the death penalty is the only thing these MFers deserve after taking an innocent child’s life. There is no rehabilitation of that kind of depravity.


  3. WHY did they put a white child in this home?!??!?!?!?!?!? Whoever made that decision is partly responsible for that little angels death!


    1. While I do NOT agree with the way Ellen’s comment comes across, it is sadly, accurate. This little girl was beaten, in large part, BECAUSE she was white. This monster and her monstrous husband beat this little girl because she didn’t act black enough for their liking. It is absolutely evident in all of the videos and the (now removed) posts they made where they did all that they could to get the little girl to “not act white”. It’s a horrible thing to say, perhaps, but it is completely accurate. This monster and her husband are racists and should never have had any children at all placed in their care, but most especially children outside of their own race-which made them glaringly uncomfortable. It was a recipe for disaster before it even took place. People may not like that part of this whole horrible situation, but it is a reality, and in this case, it does play a role. We can all hate that it plays a role until the cows come home, because this world should have no room for racism. The sad truth is, racists exist everywhere and sometimes the things that they do are based in that racism. This is one of those cases, and a little girl lost her life, at the hands of two horrendous, racist, monsters. To pretend like it plays no role at all downplays all that the little girl had to endure even before her death.

      That is not to say race should EVER play a role in what home(s) children get placed in, it should not. This should not be acceptable and it shouldn’t need to be mentioned. It should not matter what race an adoptee or adopter is. It should not matter at all what race little Victoria was. But, in this case, her race played a very big role in why she was beaten to death, why she was treated horribly, and how she was being “raised”. Let’s not ignore this glaring fact, no matter how uncomfortable it actually makes us.


  4. What would a child have to do that is SO bad to warrant them being murdered? How cold and evil must you be to hit a baby not once but multiple times in the head while they’re helpless and not fighting back. I’m sick to my stomach. Pardon me while I go hug my children.


    1. The comment about color is disgusting. That has nothing at all to do with this. Black or white she was still a child regardless of her color or theirs. Sick people!!!! RIP Victoria. Fly high lil angel. I hope the judge throws the book at them.


  5. I can’t bring myself to watch the video of that precious little girl. Poor child already had a rough start in life & these POS do this to her? Where is the Dept of Children & Families?! Aren’t adoption parents thoroughly vetted? Good luck with your comedy act in prison- you’ll have a lifetime to practice your routine from a cell. May Victoria Rest In Peace & suffer no more.


    1. Yeah dont watch it.

      The girl is beyond happy to be in that home and getting some attention.

      Definitely one that will keep you up at night.


  6. She was fostering. Probably for the money. She didn’t care about those kids. She’s a lying, evil woman. The evidence is pretty strong to not get bond.


  7. That poor sweet baby. Who could do something so horrific to a tiny little girl?? Whoever committed this crime deserves the worst punishment. They’re already getting hell.

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