Polygamist cult mom who believed breastfeeding was ‘pouring evil’ into baby learns her fate for stabbing 13-month-old daughter to death

A young mother who lived with her husband and his two other wives in a polygamous sect has been found guilty of stabbing her baby to death.

Chloe Driver, 24, was on trial in Georgia, accused of murdering 13-month-old Hannah in December 2020.

Although she did not deny killing the child and writing disturbing letters confessing to the crime, she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

But after hearing from 21 witnesses at the end of a six-day trial, after just three hours of deliberation, a jury found her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt but mentally ill on all charges.

The jury rejected Driver’s insanity plea and found her criminally responsible for her actions.

Driver was only 20 years old when she murdered her daughter. She met her husband, Benyamin Ben Michael, when she was 17 and he was 38, the court heard.

Known as ‘Z’ or ‘Benyamin’, he created contracts for each of his young wives and ‘indoctrinated’ Driver into his ‘crazy beliefs’.

The polygamist group did not believe in modern medicine, and little baby Hannah had no birth certificate and had never been to a doctor.

The polygamous group did not believe in modern medicine, and little 13-month-old Hannah had no birth certificate and had never been to a doctor.

Driver was only 20 years old when she murdered her daughter. She met her husband, Benyamin Ben Michael, when she was 17 and he was 38, (pictured on the day of his daughter’s death, with blood splattered on his shirt)

Driver was so blinded by the cult that she believed she was ‘pouring’ evil on her baby as she breastfed her.

The court also heard that her, the three women and their husbands ‘participated in alternative medicine such as drinking their own urine and sensory deprivation.’

The driver’s defense was that she was driven mad during her time in the cult and therefore could not be held criminally responsible for her actions.

Prosecutors said Driver was motivated to kill her baby because she wanted her husband, the baby’s father, all to herself instead of having to share him with his two other wives.

The jury heard how Driver struggled with an unstable childhood and had a history of mental illness that only worsened during her “abusive and oppressive” marriage.

In December 2020, she finally “snapped” as she stabbed her baby and herself.

Her defense tried to portray her as a woman who had been abused and coerced by her cult leader husband.

It was, they claimed, a combination of mental illness and her extreme beliefs that ultimately resulted in baby Hannah’s death.

Driver was so blinded by the cult that she believed she ‘poured’ evil on her baby as she breastfed her

In a disturbing letter revealed in court, Driver wrote: ‘He didn’t do it, I did it. ‘I went crazy and no longer wanted to be with his friends but kept coming back for him. I only wanted my baby and my husband, but he refused’

The driver was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder and cannabis use disorder.

The defense attributed Driver’s mental health problems to a traumatic childhood and abusive relationships.

“She had a very unstable childhood,” said Dr. McLendon Garrett to the court.

“Her family was cold and she left them several times; she lived with boys and even left the state to move in with one of them. She suffered from suicidal thoughts early on and engaged in self-harm, including cutting and trying to overdose on sleeping pills.

‘She was incredibly isolated. She was not allowed to talk to others unless it was for recruitment purposes. She couldn’t go to stores unattended, use money or have a phone. Her only chores lasted about two weeks, and they were out of necessity,” said Dr. Garrett.

During the trial, one of the frantic 911 calls in court was made by Jessica, the group’s second woman.

She gave the driver’s name and told the dispatch officer, “I think a baby just died, and I think a woman is responsible.”

After several minutes on the line, dispatch officer Caylee McNealy said, “I don’t know what’s going on, I need to know what’s going on. You don’t tell me anything. Can you tell me how the baby is doing?’

Jessica responded, “I don’t think she’s breathing… I think her throat has been slit.”

She told authorities that Driver was still with her baby, as was Joyce. In a separate 911 call, disturbing screams and sobs could be heard in the background as an officer was told “she just killed a baby.”

‘She’s thirteen months old. She looks dead.”

The crime took place at the home of a friend of Driver’s husband in Canton, Georgia

The driver kept her head down and looked on the verge of tears as certain details were heard in court

Police told how Hannah suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck. The driver then stabbed himself in the neck.

She had retrieved the knife from the kitchen while her sister wives were taking a nap and her husband was distracted.

The driver then locked herself and baby Hannah in an upstairs bedroom, where she committed the crime.

When police arrived on the scene, they found Driver lying on a mattress next to baby Hannah, who was covered in blood. Both were rushed to hospital, where the baby died from her injuries.

In a disturbing letter revealed in court, Driver wrote: ‘He didn’t do it, I did it.

‘I went crazy and no longer wanted to be with his friends but kept coming back for him. I just wanted my baby and my husband, but he refused.”

The prosecutor told the jury: ‘She wanted to be with him and he would never give up the polygamous cult lifestyle they had adopted.’

The driver is now in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections. She will be sentenced on December 12

The jury heard how Driver struggled with an unstable childhood and had a history of mental illness that only worsened during her ‘abusive and oppressive’ marriage

She had retrieved the knife from the kitchen while her sister wives were taking a nap and her husband was distracted

The driver locked herself and Hannah in an upstairs bedroom, where she committed the crime

Baby Hannah suffered multiple stab wounds to her neck. The driver then stabbed himself in the neck

Katie Gropper, representing the state of Georgia, said: “She wanted him, she wanted to be with him. She was the first of this group of three women and the two others came after her.

In the weeks leading up to Hannah’s death, Driver had searched the Internet for “how to break your neck,” and researched the phrase “kill someone to save him or her.”

Prosecutors said Driver was not mentally ill when she chose to kill her baby, but was instead motivated by her desire to be alone with her husband and their infant daughter.

During the trial, Driver kept her head down and looked on the verge of tears as certain details were heard in the courtroom, while at other times she stared coldly into space and remained unresponsive as chilling details of Hannah’s death were shared.

Before the jury went away to consider their verdict, Driver’s defense team urged them to find her guilty by reason of insanity, arguing that she was in a delusional state at the time of the baby’s death and was incapable of distinguish good from evil.

“Justice for Hannah in this case means her mother gets the treatment she needs,” they argued – but it was an argument the jury didn’t buy.

The driver is now in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections. She will be sentenced on December 12.