Overview
- Trinity Poague, 20, is on trial in Sumter County for malice murder, felony murder, first‑degree child cruelty and aggravated battery, and she has pleaded not guilty.
- An emergency physician testified that swelling and fluid from the child’s nose indicated a direct blow to the head, with prosecutors detailing acute brain bleeds, a skull fracture and a lacerated liver.
- Prosecutors presented messages in which Poague allegedly said the toddler “hates me and I hate him,” arguing she resented the boy and wanted a child of her own with his father.
- Jurors were told video showed the child uninjured before his father left, that fresh bruising appeared by the ER visit, and that Poague allegedly searched about brain bleeds and depressed skull fractures at the hospital.
- The defense maintains the injuries resulted from a fall off a bed the night before and contends investigators rushed to judgment, noting reports of prolonged crying and the father’s state that night.