Mother, allegedly a member of the “cult of polygamy,” found guilty, but mentally ill, of killing her baby

CANTON, Georgia (TNND) — It didn’t take long for the jury to reach a verdict in the case of a mother accused of… stabbed her 13 month old daughter to death in 2020.

Chloe Alexis Driver, 24, appeared emotionless as the verdict was read in a Georgia court Wednesday morning and jurors determined she was “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt but mentally ill” on all charges.

Driver, who previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, was charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree child abuse and aggravated assault.

Driver’s trial began last week with Chief Assistant District Attorney Kathy Gropper saying Driver was part of a “polygamist ring.” Gropper said Driver was married to Benjamin Ben Michael, also known as Brian Joyce or “Z.”

Gropper said Ben Michael had at least two other wives, with Ben Michael and Driver having a child together: Hannah. The district attorney said Driver killed their daughter because she wanted Ben Michael all to herself.

Dr. McLendon Garrett of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities conducted a clinical interview with Driver after the murder. She testified Friday, saying she had determined Driver suffered from paranoia as well as delusions, which she described as persistently false beliefs about something even when there is evidence to the contrary.

On the eve of the murder, Garrett said Driver told her that she “saw signs” that convinced her that Ben Michael and the other wives wanted her to kill herself and Hannah. Garrett also said Driver often saw knives “close by” and thought she had “magical powers” and could read minds.

Garrett said Driver told her that she sought help from her husband and his wives, and they gave her CBD oil, which allegedly increased her paranoia and delusional tendencies.

Garrett added that Driver wanted a “normal life” for her child, but knew she wouldn’t get that with Ben Michael.

Garrett said Driver also thought everyone was ganging up on her or out to get her. She felt separated from the other women Ben Michael was married to and was convinced that she and Hannah were “sinners.”

According to Garrett, Driver thought she was “venting” evil on her daughter by breastfeeding the baby.

“She believed that through breastfeeding she was passing on her sin—all her bad parts—to her child,” Garrett said. “She also talked about taking out her sin on the child.

Garrett added that Ben Michael reported that Driver no longer called Hannah by name, but instead called her a “sin.”

“There was a lot of evidence that she truly believed that by having a child in the marriage, by having a child in such an open relationship, she believed that it was a sin and that she passed that sin on to her daughter,” Garrett. said. “And so they shared that they were both embodiments of sin.”

Gropper asked Garrett about what she called the “specific trigger” that led Driver to kill Hannah. Garrett said Driver told her she was upset when Ben Michael threw a dirty shirt at her when she said she needed something clean so she could change Hannah.

At that moment, she said she felt unworthy of life, and Garrett noted that it was potentially “the straw that broke the camel’s back” after months of delusion.

Hannah died soon after.

In closing statements that began Tuesday afternoon, the prosecution said that even though Driver had mental health issues, she still knew what she was doing when she killed her child.

“It was clear that she understood that she was killing Hannah and understood the immutability of that decision,” the prosecution said, adding that Driver had a “severe” presence of mind. “She always knew the consequences of her action… Delusional compulsion in this case does not comply.”

The defense said the claim that Driver killed Hannah to get Ben Michael for himself “defies logic.” Lawyers have suggested that Driver would have killed Ben Michael’s other wives if the theory were true.

“If she wanted him all to herself, wouldn’t she get rid of the competition?” The defense said, noting that Driver was physically and emotionally abused by Ben Michael.

The lawyer urged the jury to find Driver not guilty by reason of insanity, arguing that Driver was delusional and lacked the ability to discern right from wrong.

“Justice for Hannah in this case is to ensure that her mother gets the treatment she needs.”

According to COURT TVThe driver will be sentenced on December 12.