Georgia mom accused of murdering daughter in 2020 to be with her polygamist husband

Content warning: This article describes child murder, suicide, and intimate partner violence. Please take care while reading.

Georgia mom, Chloe Alexis Driver, who reportedly lived in a polygamist marriage with her husband and two other women, is accused of murdering her 13-month-old daughter in 2020 to be with the man exclusively.

In Dec. 2020, Canton, GA, police responded to a call at Driver’s home and found Driver’s daughter, Hannah Nicole Driver, with stab wounds. Hannah later died at a local hospital. Chloe, Hannah’s mother, also had life-threatening stab wounds, which were later determined to be self-inflicted.

Chloe, 20, was treated for her injuries and then arrested for her daughter’s murder when she was released, according to the Canton Police Department. Chloe pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Insight into Chloe’s lifestyle

Four years later, Chloe’s trial is now underway in Georgia. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, on day two of the trial, Jason Spillars, an acquaintance of Chloe and her husband, Benyamin Ben Michael, who sometimes goes by Bryan Joyce or “Z,” described Chloe’s lifestyle. Spillars told the jury Z and his wives lived a nomadic, religious lifestyle and were engaged in alternative health practices and beliefs like drinking their own urine and something called “dark therapy,” or treating mood and psychological disorders by spending extended periods in blackout conditions.

Chloe had been with Z since she was 17, longer than any of the other women, and Z and his wives had patriarchal gender roles, but Z insisted the women were always free to leave, Spillars said.

Spillars was there when Hannah and Chloe were discovered. “I entered the room, and there was blood everywhere,” he recalled on the stand. “Z was trying to give mouth-to-mouth. I just went into shock, basically … It was like a massacre,” he added.

Chloe struggled with mental health issues

At Chloe’s trial, the jury also heard from psychiatrist Dr. Asif Choudhary, who evaluated her mental state after the murder happened. Choudhary said Chloe felt like she couldn’t leave the polygamist relationship unless she took her own life and the life of her child and that she felt like Z, who has not been charged with any crime, “collected people,” referring to Chloe and his wives.

Choudhary also said Chloe had been physically abused in the relationship, and that Z prohibited her from owning a car, having a license, or working. He added, “[Chloe] is fixated that we are living in hell, and we are all actors in a movie we can rewind. When we die, we don’t really die.” On the stand, Spillars also recalled an incident when he found Chloe in traffic, and he said she often experienced delusions.

For this reason, Judge Ellen McElyea said in court, “There have been concerns about not only Ms. Driver’s criminal responsibility based on her mental health status, but also her competency to stand trial.”

However, according to the prosecution, Chloe brutally murdered the toddler and tried to take her own life out of jealousy. Chloe “understood the wrongfulness of her actions,” Georgia Chief Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper said in court. Chloe researched murder-related topics online days before she killed her daughter, she added. “She wanted him and the baby, and she wanted everybody else to go,” Gropper said.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. A list of international crisis resources can be found here.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788