The beauty queen's attorney spoke on her behalf in court and the proceedings lasted less than a minute. Trinity Poague showed little emotion and was comforted by her lawyer with a hug before walking out of the courtroom on $75,000 bond ahead of trial.
A Georgia beauty queen appeared in court on Thursday after a grand jury indicted her in connection with the death of her boyfriend's toddler son.
Trinity Poague, 18, pleaded not guilty to charges including malice murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated battery and a single count of cruelty to children in the first degree.
The beauty queen's attorney spoke on her behalf in court, and the proceedings lasted less than a minute. Poague showed little emotion and was comforted by her lawyer with a hug before walking out of the courtroom having previously posted a $75,000 bond back in February, She is now awaiting the start of her trial, which is currently scheduled for Oct. 24.
The judge announced in court on Thursday that Poague will need to wear a monitoring device and cannot consume alcohol or drugs, but she is still allowed to travel outside Sumter County.
A copy of the grand jury indictment. obtained by Inside the Edition Digital alleges that Poague "did unlawfully, with malice afterthought, cause the death of Romeo Angeles, a human being, by inflicting blunt force trauma to the head and torso of his body."
The deceased, 18-month-old Romeo Angeles, was the son of Poague's boyfriend at the time, Julian Williams.
The indictment says that this beating allegedly rendered Romeo's brain "useless" and caused "serious disfigurement to his liver."
Poague was initially arrested on similar charges of aggravated battery, felony murder, and cruelty to children in the first degree, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
The toddler suffered his fatal injuries in a Georgia Southwestern State University dorm room, where Poague is a freshman. It was the boy's father who rushed the child to the hospital. He has not been charged with any crimes related to the death of his son.
"The investigation indicates an unresponsive 18-month-old boy was admitted to the emergency room at Phoebe Sumter Hospital in Americus, Georgia," said the GBI at the time. "Hospital personnel performed lifesaving measures on the child; however, he later died."
The GBI began investigating the incident after being contacted by the Georgia Southwestern State University Police Department following the toddler's death.
Poague was initially arrested following an investigation that included multiple interviews and an examination of evidence, according to the GBI. She managed to post bail a few days later and was released from the Sumter County Jail. She remains free on bail.
In 2023, Poague earned the title of Miss Donalsonville, a small town approximately 250 miles south of Atlanta and near the state's borders with both Florida and Alabama. Poague was stripped of that title after being released from jail back in March.
Paogue's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
