Chloe Driver murder trial, Day 1: Young Canton mother accused of stabbing toddler to death

CANTON, Ga. – The trial began Tuesday for Chloe Driver, a Cherokee County mother accused of stabbing her infant daughter Hannah Nicole Driver in December 2020.

The incident occurred on December 8, 2020 at home in the Mountain View neighborhood on Mountain Vista Blvd. When officers arrived, they said they found both the child and the then-20-year-old mother in an upstairs bedroom. The child was taken to hospital, where he later died.

According to court records, she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

She is charged with premeditated murder, two counts of aggravated murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children.

Opening statement in Chloe Driver murder trial: Mother was in 'a polyamorous relationship'

In their opening arguments, prosecutors said Driver had a polyamorous relationship with Brian Joyce, also named Benyamin Ben Michael, and two other women. The group reportedly held extreme views, rejected modern medicine and followed strict diet and lifestyle rules. “You're going to hear a lot of distracting evidence about this group … but your decision in this case is what happened to Hannah,” said the prosecutor, Chief Deputy District Attorney Katie Groppe.

Groppe emphasized the brutality of the crime. “This is Hannah Nicole Driver on December 8, 2020. She was 13 months old,” the prosecutor explained while holding up a photo of the child. “That’s not how you’re going to see them in this process. Instead, you will see her as the first responders saw her… a beautiful little girl who was brutally murdered by her mother and repeatedly stabbed until everything was in her control. “The life has drained from her.

Prosecutors warned jurors that they would hear about Driver's involvement in a controversial group with unorthodox beliefs, including strict veganism, sensory deprivation practices and unconventional healing rituals.

The driver faces multiple charges, including aggravated murder. The state's case centers on proof that Driver intended to kill her daughter.

But defense attorney Angela Trethaway argues that Driver was not mentally well at the time of the incident, citing severe psychological distress that was allegedly exacerbated by her involvement with the group. The defense's position emphasizes Driver's mental state and suggests that she was influenced by manipulations by Joyce and his associates, which they say led to a deterioration in her mental state. “There is no dispute about the facts of the events that occurred… Miss Driver does not dispute that she killed her 13-month-old baby daughter,” the defense said. “The only issue for you to decide in this case is Ms. Driver’s state of mind and her state of mind at the time of the crime.”

Chloe Driver murder trial: Thrilling 911 calls, evidence presented

Eight prosecution witnesses testified Tuesday in the murder trial of Chloe Driver, who is accused of fatally stabbing her 13-month-old daughter Hannah. The court heard chilling accounts from law enforcement and emergency responders, as well as details of the events surrounding the child's death.

A Canton Police 911 dispatcher was the first witness and reported the 911 calls reporting Hannah's stabbing. The audio recordings of the calls were played in court, with the dispatcher confirming that none of the callers indicated that Chloe had also been injured.

Following the dispatcher, the homeowner of the property on Mountain Vista Boulevard testified. He described his relationship with Brian Joyce, a man he called “Z,” whom he met through a third party after watching a video about spiritualism online. The homeowner said Joyce and his girlfriend had been staying at his home off and on since 2015 and described Joyce as “kind of a crazy hippie.” Although he was aware of Joyce's polyamorous relationship, he stated that he did not observe the behavior in question.

Canton Police Officer Gary Pruitt, who was the first to arrive at the scene, said he responded to the 911 call around 2:27 p.m. “The call came out saying a mother had killed her baby with a knife,” Pruitt said. He said he found the young child bleeding on a mattress, and jurors were shown body camera footage of his arrival at the home. The driver appeared emotional as the footage played. Pruitt added that Hannah was taken to the hospital by doctors. Under cross-examination he confirmed that Chloe was on the floor holding hands and their child was on the bed.

Canton Police Cpl. Adam Yurkovsky testified that he began the initial investigation by separating the parties involved to prevent them from coordinating their accounts.

Paramedic Brooke Ice, an eight-year veteran of the Cherokee County Fire and Rescue Department, described feeling in danger as she cared for the baby, almost kneeling on what was believed to be the knife murder weapon. Another medic moved the knife that had been lying on the floor next to her. She stated that she was unaware of the identities of those present, which increased her feelings of fear.

Canton Police Detective Tom Priest testified next, telling the jury: “I was taken upstairs to the room where the incident occurred and saw large amounts of blood on the bed and floor. And I also saw a knife on the ground.” Priest shared photos from the crime scene, including a picture of Joyce, who he said appeared shocked and emotional when she learned of Hannah's death.

Cherokee County Sheriff's Investigator Christopher Shaw testified that he was called in by Canton police to assist in the investigation. Shaw first went to the hospital, where he documented the child's injuries. He described seeing significant blood loss and knife cuts on the child's neck. The driver was visibly upset as Shaw detailed the injuries, including the condition of the child's sock, while jurors looked at accompanying photographs. Shaw described the crime scene as “a clear crime scene” confined to a single bedroom and noted that the knife believed to be the murder weapon appeared to be part of a set from the kitchen.

Finally, Commander Lindsay Harris, a digital forensics specialist with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, testified about her role in unlocking Chloe Driver's cell phone and extracting the data. Harris said her department prepared a report with over 800,000 pages of data from the device.

Medical witnesses are scheduled to testify Wednesday as the trial continues in Fulton County Superior Court with Judge Ellen McElyea presiding.