Former Miss Donalsonville Sentenced To Life After Toddler's Death In College Dorm

Trinity Poague, a former Georgia pageant winner, was sentenced to life in prison after a jury convicted her in the January 2024 death of her boyfriend’s 18-month-old son. Courtroom video shared by Court TV shows the sentencing in the Southwestern Judicial Circuit of Georgia, where Judge W. James Sizemore Jr. imposed the life term and ordered an additional 20 years to be served concurrently.

Poague, who was 18 at the time of the offenses, was found guilty on Dec. 5 of five counts, including two counts of felony murder. Prosecutors told jurors they believed Poague was motivated by jealousy and resentment because she wanted to have a child of her own with her boyfriend.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said officers responded after the child, later identified as Romeo Angeles (also known as Jaxton Drew), was found unresponsive on the Georgia Southwestern State University campus on Jan. 14, 2024. Sumter County authorities and the indictment reported by local outlets say the child suffered injuries consistent with inflicted blunt-force trauma to the head and torso.

Trial Details And Reactions

During trial coverage, prosecutors described a pattern of abuse; dormmates reported hearing a young child crying for an extended period on the day of the death before the crying abruptly stopped. Video from the trial captured emotional moments in court, including Poague appearing visibly upset when the jury returned guilty verdicts, though she appeared more composed at the sentencing hearing.

“The bottom line is you're going to receive a sentence of life in prison, which is the appropriate sentence for the conduct that you have been convicted of,” Judge W. James Sizemore Jr. said on camera.

Poague had been crowned Miss Donalsonville in 2024; local outlets report she was stripped of the title after charges were filed. Court TV and local reporting provided much of the publicly available coverage of the trial and sentencing. The criminal sentencing concluded the court’s handling of the criminal charges; public records cited in coverage did not detail any civil or additional administrative actions at the time of sentencing.