In a chilling case that exposed the inner workings of a polygamous cult, a Georgia jury found 24-year-old Chloe Driver guilty of murdering her 13-month-old daughter while acknowledging her struggle with mental illness. The verdict, delivered on Nov. 20, underscored the shocking circumstances surrounding the 2020 killing in Canton, Georgia, where prosecutors and forensic psychologists revealed a life of abuse, delusions, and control.

The crime unfolded in the chaotic household of Driver and her husband, Benyamin Ben Michael, a self-styled religious leader with two other wives. According to testimony, Driver stabbed her daughter, Hannah, in the bedroom of their home after a minor argument over laundry escalated into violence. Ben Michael performed CPR and called the police, who found the mother and child drenched in blood. The infant was pronounced dead at the hospital, where an emergency room doctor noted she had been drained of blood.

The courtroom was riveted by testimony that unveiled the bizarre rituals of the cult-like group. Witnesses described practices such as “dark therapy,” in which Driver was confined to a darkened room without bathroom access, and drinking urine as part of extreme health measures. Driver’s defense team argued that years of isolation, abuse, and mental illness created the conditions for the tragedy, citing paranoia, delusions, and borderline personality disorder. Forensic experts testified that Driver believed she was transferring her sins to her child through breastfeeding and acted under the delusion that her husband’s polygamous circle wanted her dead.

Prosecutors countered that Driver’s motive was jealousy. Reading from what they described as a confession letter, they claimed Driver killed her daughter to break free from the cult and have her husband to herself. “I only wanted my baby and husband, but he refused,” the letter read. They argued that Driver’s dissatisfaction with her unconventional relationship led to the fatal act, calling her actions premeditated and cruel.

Despite revelations of her abusive past and psychological turmoil, the jury convicted Driver of malice murder, felony murder, child cruelty, and aggravated assault. Her sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 12, marks the final chapter of a case that has brought public attention to the dangerous dynamics of isolated cults and the mental health crises that can arise within them.