Former Georgia Pageant Queen Sentenced to Life for Killing Her Boyfriend’s Toddler

07 December 2025

Trinity Poague; Romeo Angeles (also called Jaxton Drew). Facebook; Gofundme

A quiet courtroom in Americus, Georgia turned grim as a jury delivered a life sentence to Trinity Poague, a one-time small-town beauty-pageant winner, after she was found guilty of the fatal 2024 beating of her boyfriend’s 18-month-old son. The child, Romeo Angeles (also known as Jaxton Dru), was discovered unresponsive in her dorm room at Georgia Southwestern State University and later died from catastrophic head and torso injuries.

Poague reportedly acted alone. Prosecutors argued she inflicted brutal blunt-force trauma that caused massive brain bleeding, organ damage, and ultimately the toddler’s death. Witnesses described hearing the child cry for an extended period before the cries abruptly stopped. Poague initially claimed the boy had fallen off a bed, but forensic evidence including a fractured skull and severe liver lacerations contradicted that narrative.

During sentencing on December 5, 2025, the judge imposed life in prison with an additional 20 years running concurrently, with eligibility for parole after 30 years. Poague, once crowned Miss Donalsonville 2024, had been stripped of her title following the arrest. Court-room video captured her emotional breakdown as the verdict was read.

Prosecutors said jealousy motivated the crime. Evidence presented at trial included text messages Poague reportedly sent expressing disdain toward the toddler and a desire to have her own child with her boyfriend instead. The prosecution argued that resentment not momentary rage or an accident led to the child’s death.

In the wake of the verdict, many in the community expressed relief that justice was served, but for some the decision reopened painful wounds. The toddler’s father, friends, and family described the loss as unthinkable, a healthy child taken too soon under tragically preventable circumstances. The case has sparked renewed conversations about child safety, adult responsibility, and the hidden dangers facing children placed in vulnerable care settings.

The haunting details, the abrupt silence after prolonged crying, the gruesome injuries, the betrayal of trust cast a long shadow over what was meant to be a life filled with childhood, possibility, and love. Now, those left behind must grapple not only with grief, but with difficult questions about how a trust once honored could be so brutally broken.