The matter of Tori Rose Smith's life (interview, parade, Simpson)

[Absolom]

Victoria "Tori" Rose Smith lived a tragically short life. Three years. That's less than 200 weeks on this earth. She was a girly girl who sported oversized bows in her straw-blonde hair and a megawatt smile on her face. A great-aunt described the blue-eyed baby as "bubbly," "sassy" and "full of life" despite bouncing around foster homes for much of her brief existence.

Last week, authorities in South Carolina revealed that Tori had perished as result of multiple blunt-force injuries to her tiny head. She was beaten to death. Her adoptive parents, Ariel and Jerry "Austin" Robinson, are now charged with homicide by child abuse. A six-page police incident report describes how first responders rushed to the Robinsons' home on the afternoon of Jan. 14, 2021, after Mr. Robinson called 911. Little Tori was not breathing. EMTs performed CPR. She was rushed to the hospital, where she died. Investigators immediately suspected child abuse.

The key to Tori's murder lies in 17 redacted lines of the police report from a Simpsonville, South Carolina, police officer documenting his crime-scene interview with Ariel Robinson, who described an unknown incident involving her adopted daughter that had occurred the day before. The entire paragraph is blacked out -- an ominous chunk of hidden information about Tori's last day on the planet.

Thanks to her ubiquitous social media presence, however, we can fill in a lot of blanks about Ariel Robinson. She was a fame-chaser, an aspiring comedian, and a wannabe social media influencer who paraded her entire blended family (two biological sons, plus Tori and her two brothers, whom the Robinsons adopted all together) on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for clicks and likes.

https://www.amarillo.com/story/opini...fe/4276559001/


For information and discussion.