Chloe Driver sentenced to life for killing 13-month-old daughter in Canton
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - The woman found guilty of stabbing her 13-month-old daughter to death in Canton four years ago was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole on Thursday.
Chloe Driver, 24, was convicted of killing 13-month-old Hannah Nicole Driver in November.
Driver pleaded insanity, but the jury rejected her plea and found her criminally responsible for her actions.
She was found guilty but mentally ill of malice murder, felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, and aggravated assault by a jury in Cherokee County.
During sentencing, Hannah Driver's father, Benyamin Ben-Michaeil, described his daughter as "happy and engaging" and insisted that Chloe was not a victim, characterizing her as manipulative.
Driver's attorney requested leniency, stating that Chloe was extremely remorseful. Chloe wept quietly throughout the sentencing.
The prosecution, however, highlighted the emotional impact on police officers and jurors.
They noted that officers cried while recounting the child's death and that jurors wept when viewing police body camera footage and photos of the crime scene. The prosecution argued that Chloe Driver, despite her intelligence, displayed a lack of responsibility and remorse. They cited her behavior during the trial, including "phone sex" with her boyfriend, as evidence of her indifference and "callous disregard" for her daughter’s life.
In response, Driver's lawyer countered that there were hours of recorded phone calls where Chloe expressed genuine remorse, and called the state's focus on certain calls petty.
Before sentencing, Chloe read a statement expressing her grief over her daughter's death, claiming she would not have committed the crime had she not been mentally ill. She told the court she sees her daughter in her tears and accepts her punishment with peace.
Judge McElyea described the murder as a "heinous offense" with "graphic and traumatic" evidence. She stated that the court sought resources to support jurors affected by the case, adding that "a parent killing a child offends us on the deepest levels."
In handing down the sentence, the judge noted that Chloe attempted suicide after the killing and referenced testimony from three psychologists about her "profound" mental illness. She acknowledged the jury's verdict of guilty but mentally ill.
Driver was also sentenced given 20 years to be served concurrently due to the victim’s age. The Georgia Department of Corrections will determine how her mental health treatment is managed.
What happened to Hannah Nicole Driver?
Canton police were called to a home in the Mountain View neighborhood on Dec. 8, 2020.
Driver had stopped there with a group of two men, three women and a baby, believed to be part of a cult traveling from North Carolina to Florida.
Shortly after arriving at the home, officials said Driver took a knife from the kitchen, locked herself in a bedroom with her daughter and stabbed her before stabbing herself.
The baby's father allegedly attempted lifesaving measures until first responders arrived. Driver survived, but her baby was pronounced dead at the scene.
She had been stabbed four times with wounds to her right carotid artery, proximal esophagus, 4th cervical vertebra, and right upper back, according to the autopsy.
The trial
Driver's trial took six days. A total of 21 witnesses testified, 15 of whom were called by the State. There were 135 pieces of evidence presented, including 911 calls, crime scene photos and the murder weapon.
Driver pleaded insanity, but the State made the case that she did not meet the criteria under Georgia law.
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"No matter how hopeless you feel, no matter how desperate you feel, no matter how angry you feel, no matter how frustrated you feel, you don’t get to commit the act of murder, and that is the law," said Chief Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper in her closing argument. "That was a violent, heinous, horrible way to die. And I don’t care how bad your life is, you do not get to do that to this baby girl, and there be no consequences for you. She chose that life. Hannah did not. Hold her responsible."