Honk News– After a lengthy four-year period following the tragic death of 13-month-old Hannah Nicole Driver, her mother, Chloe Alexis Driver, has received a sentence for the crime.
On Thursday, December 12, Court TV captured the moment when Cherokee County Chief Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea delivered the sentence to Chloe, who is now 24 years old, imposing a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Considering Hanna’s age, she received a concurrent sentence of 20 years.
According to Georgia law, Chloe must complete 30 years of her life sentence before she can be considered for parole.
Prior to delivering the sentence, McElyea remarked that the crime was “a heinous offense with evidence that was so graphic and so traumatic that I began to do research on what kind of support and help we could provide to the jurors who were tasked with considering it.”
“A parent killing a child is something that just offends us on the deepest level,” she said. “It is a wrong that just is unfathomable. It just cannot be understood and it scares us because it is so contrary to just fundamental moral behavior and what we expect of the bonds between human beings.”
The sentencing follows Chloe’s conviction on several serious charges, including malice murder and aggravated assault, with a determination of being “mentally ill,” according to reports from Law&Crime and KFOX-TV.
Chloe spoke about her mental health during her appearance before the judge on Thursday.
“Though I may not legally meet the definition of insanity as of today, I know in the bottom of my heart that I was because I never would have done what I did had it not been for my decompensation. In the end, we can’t go back and undo the bad no matter how much we want to, but we can learn from it and prevent it from happening again,” she said. “I will continue to seek help for my mental illness because of this.”
On December 8, 2020, authorities from the Canton Police Department arrived at a residence in Cherokee County, Georgia, where they discovered Hannah, who subsequently succumbed to her injuries in the hospital due to stab wounds. Chloe sustained serious injuries from the incident and was subsequently transported to the hospital.
Reports from various sources indicate that an individual named Chloe allegedly took a knife from the kitchen while in the company of two men and three women, who are thought to be associated with a polygamist lifestyle cult. It is claimed that she then stabbed her daughter in the neck before turning the knife on herself.
The infant’s father, reportedly among those at the location during the event, tried to perform lifesaving actions until emergency personnel reached the site, according to various sources, which indicate that Hannah suffered four stab wounds.
At the sentencing on Thursday, Chloe conveyed her deep regret for her actions: “I am terribly sorry for many things in my life but most of all for who was lost, and I always will be. Every single day I live with my guilt,” she expressed.