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Ga. Mom Who Fatally Stabbed Her 13-Month-Old Daughter Gets Life in Prison: 'A Wrong That is Just Unfathomable'

Hannah Nicole Driver was stabbed to death on Dec. 8, 2020

Four years after the death of 13-month-old Hannah Nicole Driver, her mother, Chloe Alexis Driver, has been sentenced for her murder.

Footage from Court TV of the Thursday, Dec. 12 sentencing shows Cherokee County Chief Superior Court Judge Ellen McElyea sentencing Chloe, now 24 years old, to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Due to Hanna's age, she was also sentenced to 20 years to be served concurrently.

Georgia law states that Chloe would have to serve 30 years of her life sentence before being eligible for parole.

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Before announcing the sentencing, McElyea said 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 give the jurors who were having to consider 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 comes one month after Chloe was convicted of multiple counts, including malice murder, felony murder, first-degree cruelty to children, and aggravated assault, but found "mentally ill," per Law&Crime and KFOX-TV.

Chloe addressed her mental health while speaking to 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 Dec. 8, 2020, the Canton Police Department responded to a Cherokee County, Ga., home where they found Hannah, who later died in the hospital with stab wounds. Chloe, who was described as having "life-threatening injuries" from the incident, was also taken to the hospital.

According to Patch.com, WBSTV, and Fox 5 Atlanta, prosecutors alleged that Chloe grabbed a knife from the kitchen at the property — where she was with a group of two men and three women believed to be part of a polygamist lifestyle cult — and stabbed her daughter in the neck before stabbing herself.

The baby's father, allegedly one of the people present at the property when the incident took place, attempted lifesaving measures until first responders arrived at the scene, per the outlets, who state that Hannah was stabbed four times.

During Thursday's sentencing, Chloe expressed remorse 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 said.

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