A Georgia woman, The 20-year-old suspect appeared in a Georgia court, facing trial for the January 2024 murder of 18-month-old Romeo Angeles. At the time, Poague was a sophomore at Georgia Southwestern State University.Prosecutors said Poague killed the boy inside her boyfriend’s dorm room while he was out picking up a pizza. She then texted Williams, claiming the child was not breathing. Williams rushed back to find his son unresponsive and drove him to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.A week after the toddler’s death, Poague was charged with murder, aggravated battery, and child cruelty. She has pleaded not guilty to all counts.“She wanted to have a child or children with Julian Williams,” prosecutor Lewis Lamb told jurors, according to CourtTV footage. “But not that child.” Poague was jealous of the attention Williams gave to his son and did not want to assume a stepmother role. He also said she expressed hatred toward the child in a text to her roommate hours before the incident.“I can’t stand being around JD anymore. He hates me and I hate him,” she allegedly wrote. Court testimony revealed that Poague claimed the child had been eating chips before becoming unresponsive, but medical examinations did not agree with this. Doctors found evidence of blunt-force trauma to the head and torso. The emergency room physician said the injuries were inconsistent with Poague’s accounts and indicated “a direct blow.”Further claims from prosecutors included Poague searching online for terms such as “How do you get a brain bleed?” and “How can a depressed skull fracture go unnoticed?” following the toddler’s death, reports the New York Post.Poague won the Miss Donalsonville title in 2023 and competed in the National Peanut Festival pageant. She has since been stripped of her titles. She was released on $75,000 bond after her arrest, a decision that outraged Williams.“This feels like a slap in the face to me and my family,” he said. “All we want is justice for my son. Letting her out and being free is not right. She took an innocent 1-year-old’s life.”If convicted on all counts, Poague faces life without parole or the death penalty.
