Overview
- A judge imposed a life sentence with an additional 20 years to run concurrently, and the district attorney said parole eligibility begins after 30 years.
- Jurors found Poague guilty of felony murder, aggravated battery, and first-degree child cruelty, and she was acquitted of malice murder.
- The 18-month-old, known as J.D. and legally Romeo Angeles, was found unresponsive in a Georgia Southwestern State University dorm after Poague alerted the child’s father during his brief trip for pizza.
- Prosecutors cited medical findings of massive brain bleeding, a skull fracture, and a liver laceration, along with texts saying “He hates me, and I hate him,” and searches about brain bleeds and skull fractures to argue resentment as motive.
- The defense argued the injuries could have come from a prior fall or other causes and said investigators rushed to judgment, but the jury rejected those claims.