Verdict in Murder Trial of Beauty Queen
Trinity Madison Pogue, a young woman previously crowned a beauty queen in her small town, reacted with shock as a Georgia jury delivered its verdict in a high-profile murder case involving her ex-girlfriend’s infant son.
The 20-year-old, who was a former college student, was on trial for the January 2024 death of 18-month-old Romeo “Jaxton Dru” Angeles. When the Sumpter County judge announced the jury’s decision, Pogue seemed to experience a mix of emotions.
Initially, the judge stated that she was found not guilty of the most severe charge, “malicious murder,” prompting Pogue to show relief and even shed some tears. However, this moment of relief was short-lived as she was convicted on five other serious charges, including felony murder and aggravated assault.
Following the verdict, the judge sentenced her to life in prison with an additional 20 years.
“I don’t usually say much when I pass sentence. I thought about the tragedy involved,” Judge W. James Sizemore Jr. remarked during the sentencing. “Ultimately, she will spend life in prison.”
Pogue, a sophomore at Georgia Southwestern State University at the time, was accused of the infant’s murder in a dorm room while her boyfriend, Julian Williams, went out to pick up pizza.
Prosecutors alleged that her motivation was a deep-seated resentment stemming from her desire to have a child with Williams. Reportedly, prosecutor Lewis Lam noted to the jurors, “She wanted to have a child with him, but this child was not the same.”
While dining, Pogue sent a text to Williams indicating that the baby wasn’t breathing. When he returned, he found the child unresponsive and rushed him to the hospital.
The infant was later transported to Children’s Hospital in Atlanta but, unfortunately, could not be saved.
A week post the child’s death, Pogue was charged with murder, after the coroner confirmed that the cause was blunt force trauma to the head.
Initially, Pogue told investigators that the baby had been eating potato chips before becoming unresponsive, but an autopsy revealed that he hadn’t eaten any. She also claimed that he fell out of bed.
Additionally, prosecutors presented evidence that, during her time at the hospital, Pogue had searched concerning terms like “How does a brain bleed occur?” and “Why do skull fractures sometimes go unnoticed?”
Pogue had won the title of Miss Donalsonville in 2023, representing her small Georgia town of just under 3,000 residents and had also participated in the National Peanut Festival beauty pageant, though she did not win that competition.
