Trinity Madison Poague, once a celebrated Georgia beauty queen, stood in a courtroom last Friday, her composure shattered as a judge delivered a crushing verdict in a case that has gripped Sumter County.
Poague, 20, was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated battery, and child cruelty in Sumter County Superior Court for the January 2024 death of 18-month-old Romeo “Jaxton Dru” Angeles, the son of her ex-boyfriend, the New York Post reported.
Less than an hour after the jury’s decision, Judge W. James Sizemore Jr. sentenced her to life in prison plus 20 concurrent years. Tears streamed down her face as the weight of her actions became a permanent chain.
A Heartbreaking Incident in a Dorm Room
The tragedy unfolded in January 2024 inside the dorm room of Poague’s boyfriend, Julian Williams, at Georgia Southwestern State University. While Williams stepped out to grab a pizza, Poague was alone with young Romeo.
She later texted Williams in a panic, claiming the toddler had stopped breathing. He raced back, found the child unresponsive, and sped to the emergency room in a desperate bid to save him.
Despite the frantic efforts of medical staff to stabilize Romeo for a flight to a children’s hospital in Atlanta, the boy could not be saved. Doctors pronounced him dead, leaving a family shattered and a community searching for answers.
Disturbing Details Emerge in Court
Prosecutors painted a chilling picture during the short trial, alleging Poague acted out of deep-seated resentment toward the child. They argued she longed for a family with Williams but rejected the idea of raising Romeo as her own.
“She wanted to have a child or children with Julian Williams,” prosecutor Lewis Lamb told the jury. “But not that child.”
That statement cuts to the core of a twisted motive, revealing a selfishness that defies basic human decency. If true, it suggests a calculated cruelty, not a momentary lapse, behind the violence inflicted on an innocent toddler.
Medical Evidence Contradicts Poague’s Story
Poague initially told investigators Romeo had been eating chips before he suddenly stopped breathing, but medical experts swiftly debunked her account. A medical examiner confirmed the child hadn’t eaten anything, exposing her words as a flimsy cover.
Instead, the exam revealed horrific injuries, including blunt-force trauma to the head and torso so severe that Romeo’s brain was rendered “useless.” Emergency room physician Dr. Michael Busman testified that fluid from the boy’s nose and head swelling indicated “a direct blow,” utterly inconsistent with Poague’s version of events.
Her story unraveled further when prosecutors disclosed she searched online for terms like “How do you get a brain bleed?” while at the hospital. Such actions point to a cold attempt to dodge accountability rather than genuine remorse for a child’s suffering.
A Fallen Title and a Life Forever Changed
Before this tragedy, Poague held the 2023 Miss Donalsonville title and competed in the National Peanut Festival beauty pageant, though she didn’t place. Her arrest for Romeo’s murder stripped her of those honors, marking a steep fall from grace.
Now, with a life sentence, her future is confined to prison walls, a stark contrast to the spotlight she once sought. The additional 20 years running concurrently offer no relief, only a reminder of the gravity of her crime.
This case leaves a bitter taste, not just for the loss of little Romeo, but for what it reveals about misplaced priorities and the failure to protect the most vulnerable. Society must wrestle with how such darkness festers unnoticed until it explodes in unthinkable ways, and we owe it to children like Romeo to demand better safeguards against those who would harm them.
