Georgia Beauty Queen on Trial After Boyfriend’s Toddler Son Dies in Dorm Room; Prosecutors Say She Resented the Child and Beat Him to Death
AMERICUS, GEORGIA — A 20-year-old Georgia beauty queen is facing a murder trial this week, accused of beating her boyfriend’s 18-month-old son to death inside her college dorm room after allegedly telling friends she “hated” the child and resented his presence. Prosecutors say the boy, known as Romeo “J.D.” Angeles, died from catastrophic injuries while left alone with Trinity Poague, then 18, at Georgia Southwestern State University.
Prosecutors: Toddler Was Healthy Hours Before Fatal Beating
According to opening statements, J.D.’s father, Julian Williams, left the toddler in Poague’s care around noon on Jan. 14, 2024, while he went to Walmart and picked up a pizza. Prosecutors told jurors that video showed the toddler behaving normally shortly before that.
Minutes later, Williams received a text from Poague claiming the boy was “not breathing.” When he rushed back, he found his son unresponsive and drove him to Phoebe Sumter Hospital, where doctors attempted to stabilize him for a life-flight to Atlanta. They could not — the toddler died shortly after arrival.
Prosecutor Lewis Lamb said the child suffered a fractured skull, severe bruising, and a lacerated liver. Forensic evidence shows the fatal blow occurred within hours of his death.
‘I hate him’: Prosecutors Say Poague Resented the Child
During opening testimony, jurors heard that Poague had complained about J.D., telling her roommate, “He hates me and I hate him.” Prosecutors say she resented the toddler because she wanted her boyfriend’s full attention and hoped to start a family with him — without accepting his existing child.
“Trinity Poague resented this child,” Lamb told jurors. “She wanted children with Julian Williams — but not that child.”
Prosecutors described Poague’s relationship with Williams as unstable and marked by jealousy centered on his son.
Defense Claims Child Was Injured the Night Before
Defense attorney W.T. Gamble painted a very different narrative, arguing Poague is being miscast as a villain.
He told jurors that J.D. may have been injured the night before when he allegedly fell from a 40-inch-high bed while witnesses reported hearing a child crying. Gamble claimed Williams was passed out drunk at the time and insisted Poague is unfairly blamed.
“In seeking justice, do not let justice be found at the cross of innocent blood,” Gamble told jurors. “She is not guilty of the crime she is accused of.”
He also noted that the toddler had little food in his stomach, suggesting he may have been ill.
Beauty Queen Image Collides With Brutal Allegations
Poague was crowned Miss Donalsonville, Georgia in 2023 and later competed in the National Peanut Festival pageant. She described her pageant experience online with religious messages and a polished public persona.
But she was stripped of her title after her arrest.
Poague enrolled at Georgia Southwestern State University in August 2023 and had been free on bond since shortly after the homicide, a decision that deeply upset the victim’s father.
“This feels like a slap in the face,” Williams told WALB. “All we want is justice for my son.”
Trial Continues This Week
A grand jury indicted Poague on counts of murder, aggravated battery, and child cruelty, alleging she inflicted blunt-force trauma to the toddler’s head and torso “with malice aforethought.”
The trial is expected to last two days as jurors weigh sharply conflicting accounts of what happened inside the dorm room that day.
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