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Hannah Petty
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Narrator/Interviewer
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Hannah Petty
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Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Parle italiano?
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
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Narrator/Interviewer
When you look in the mirror and you see the tracheotomy scar, does it bring back those memories?
Hannah Petty
It does. Yes, it does. Just try not to dwell on it, you know?
Narrator/Interviewer
Have you thought about what you'll tell your children in the future?
Hannah Petty
I want to be honest with them because they do have a right to know the truth. I started first feeling like I was getting sick of August 2021. I started getting severe abdominal pain. I was feeling so nauseous all the time. November is when it started getting really, really bad.
Narrator/Interviewer
How worried were you at this point?
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
So on the bad days I would ask, you need to go to a doctor. What do you want to do? And she okay, it'll go away. And most of the time it did.
Hannah Petty
I mean, I had lost so much weight.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
Things finally got to the point where I said, hey, you're losing a lot of weight. That's when I started getting concerned.
Narrator/Interviewer
Why did you take it? Or see the nurse practitioner, Carrie Griffith?
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
She was yellow by that time. She was pure yellow.
Narrator/Interviewer
Her mom grabbed my arm and she said, promise me whatever this is, you'll find it.
Hannah Petty
She was terrified. I was just in such immense pain all the time. It just progressively got worse and worse.
Narrator/Interviewer
And I thought, this little girl has.
Hannah Petty
Two babies and she is dying is.
Narrator/Interviewer
What I'm thinking That's what it looks like. She's dying? Yes. We've got to get her help, and we got to get her help fast.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I insisted she go to the hospital.
Narrator/Interviewer
And did she go?
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
She did.
Narrator/Interviewer
What was that drive like?
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Oh, fast, fast. I just remember just praying and driving. That's all I did was just praying and driving.
Narrator/Interviewer
How long do you wait in that emergency room?
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
10 hours. And then she said, mom, something's wrong. And then that's when she broke into the seizure. That was terrible. Just complete jerking and foaming, and eyes just never stopped moving back and forth.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
When you see a picture of Hannah when she was in the hospital, I think everyone had the same thought. What on earth put her in this position? What could have made her body deteriorate to the point where she's unrecognizable? It's heartbreaking.
Narrator/Interviewer
How close was Hannah to dying?
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
I don't think it's an overstatement to say hours, maybe days.
Hannah Petty
Someone said, we figured out what's wrong with you. It's lead poisoning. You've been lead poisoned There.
Narrator/Interviewer
That's the lead?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Yeah. That's just the shaving of the lead.
Narrator/Interviewer
Soft enough to scrape off with a knife and put in a little capsule. Absolutely.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
I was, at that time a suspect. Everybody had to be a suspect.
Narrator/Interviewer
I'm going to ask you a direct question. Did you try to poison your wife? No.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
The first thing that Hannah said to my friends when she got home was she believed Nicole had concocted this whole thing.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
One of the other doctors I spoke to said, you have to leave because she is now on a protective order. I remember them saying, either he's done it, she's done it, or you've done it, but someone is intentionally trying to kill your daughter.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Anne Marie Green reports the gaslighting of Hannah Petty.
Narrator/Interviewer
In January 2022. The pain coursing through Hannah Petty's body for six months was hitting her harder than ever.
Hannah Petty
It was unbearable. I was in the bed at this point for probably like a week straight.
Narrator/Interviewer
Were you even able to care for your kids?
Hannah Petty
I did as much as I could.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah's son Lincoln was 3, and her daughter Gracie had just turned 2. But Hannah was too sick to attend Gracie's birthday party.
Hannah Petty
I was so weak that I couldn't hardly walk. I had a little office chair that would roll around in our house because I really didn't get out of the house.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah says her husband, Brian Mann, was there when she needed him the most.
Hannah Petty
When I really started getting sick is when he was the Sweetest to me.
Narrator/Interviewer
Brian was a chiropractor, but he says he could not diagnose what was wrong with Hannah.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I had no idea. That's out of my forte. That's someone that I would refer out, refer to a specialist, which is what I wanted to do.
Narrator/Interviewer
On January 18, 2022, Hannah checked in with her mother, Nicole Petty. After they hung up, Nicole says she was haunted by something she heard in her daughter's voice.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Just that feeling. I knew something was wrong. I called and called and called and texted. Hannah called me finally, but she wasn't able to speak, so she just kind of gasped. And then she asked me, she said, mom, can you take me to the hospital?
Narrator/Interviewer
Brian was at work, so Nicole rushed over and drove Hannah to uab, the hospital at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. While there, Nicole took several photos and videos.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
The doctor said, obviously, she is very sick. I want to keep her, but there's no way that they're going to let me keep her. Her vitals are stable. I said, if you send her home, she's going to die.
Narrator/Interviewer
It was right then that Hannah suffered a terrifying seizure. And in the frenzy, she ripped off her hospital gown. For Nicole, that moment is frozen in time.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
She was skin and bones. They told me that she was actually starving to death. When we got there, they said she had hours to live.
Narrator/Interviewer
One doctor directed her anger at Nicole.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
She's like, does she live with you? Like, obviously, someone should have seen that this person was dying. You know, this person was starving to death. She said, who was responsible for her?
Narrator/Interviewer
What'd you say?
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
And I said, she's married. And they said, she's married.
Narrator/Interviewer
The seizure was so severe, Hannah lost consciousness. Doctors wanted to talk with Hannah's husband. So Nicole says she texted Brian. Hey, Brian. Hannah had a seizure about two hours ago. She still has not come to yet. They said she could be out all day long. So I wanted to let you know if she's not texting you, that is why.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
And I, of course, didn't get a response from him.
Narrator/Interviewer
So you don't get a text back from Brian?
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Never.
Narrator/Interviewer
It had been that way for years, she said. All through his marriage to Hannah, Brian ignored Nicole.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Never seen him the whole time they were married. Never any interaction with him whatsoever.
Narrator/Interviewer
Never for any family gatherings, any holidays. He just never came.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Never.
Narrator/Interviewer
Brian didn't like you?
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
No.
Narrator/Interviewer
That night, Brian never got back to Nicole. But he had learned about Hannah's condition from his mother, who was in touch with Nicole. He arranged for childcare and began driving.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
He got to the hospital around 9:30 that night.
Narrator/Interviewer
Under Covid restrictions, the hospital was allowing only one visitor at a time. And with Nicole inside, Brian was kept out.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I was very irritated that Nicole was not switching out with me, letting me in because I stood outside of that hospital for a long time trying to get in that room with Hannah.
Narrator/Interviewer
But eventually Nicole did come out and Brian was allowed in. It must have been shocking to see her in that hospital bed like that.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
Yes, but I was glad that she was there and people were trying to figure something out.
Narrator/Interviewer
When Brian left to go to work, Nicole went in. Hannah was still unconscious and had been that way for nearly 48 hours. Nurses had just finished checking on her when Nicole bent over her daughter.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
I kissed her head and I said, I love you. Her eyes just popped open and she said, I love you too.
Narrator/Interviewer
Nicole says nurses were amazed and rushed to her side.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
I just started crying and Hannah said, have I not been talking?
Narrator/Interviewer
But Hannah's ordeal was far from over. Days after Hannah was admitted, Nicole says doctors put her in a medical coma while they drained the excess fluid from within her brain.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
And then they had to paralyze her because even being in a coma, she. There was just so much fluid in her brain that any type of movement, she would have died.
Narrator/Interviewer
But Nicole, it's like things are going from bad to worse.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Yeah. Yeah.
Narrator/Interviewer
Did you ever give up hope?
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
No. Oh no. Never. Not one time.
Narrator/Interviewer
Brian says he was wondering why Hannah's health had gone downhill so quickly the day Nicole had picked her up and drove to the hospital.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
That is curious how bad she got from getting in the car with her mother to being admitted to the hospital.
Narrator/Interviewer
His dislike and distrust of Nicole boiled over.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
She is a cruel person. She was not happy with the fact that Hannah seemed happy being with me.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
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Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
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Narrator/Interviewer
But if you've forgotten to get that.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
Special someone in your life a gift.
Narrator/Interviewer
Well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Offer of half off unlimited wireless.
Hannah Petty
So here's the idea.
Narrator/Interviewer
You get it now, you call it an early present for next year. What do you have to lose?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
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Narrator/Interviewer
50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required $45 for three months, $90 for six month or $180 for a 12 month plan. Taxes and fees extra speeds make slow after 50 gigabytes per month when network is busy see terms. Eight days after Hannah was admitted to the hospital, her neurologist told Nicole that doctors had figured out what was causing Hannah's symptoms.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Her exact words were, she has an astronomical amount of lead inside of her lead.
Narrator/Interviewer
It was an unusual finding. And Nicole says doctors told her they had never seen a patient like Hannah.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
They said her colon was so packed full of lead it was almost 100% lead. There was no room in her stomach to hold anything. It was just complete lead. Plus there was lead just in her bones, just everywhere.
Narrator/Interviewer
Doctors told Nicole there was no way Hannah could have ingested all all that led by accident. It had to be deliberate. And they told her exactly what they thought.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
They let me know that this is an attempted murder.
Narrator/Interviewer
The hospital reported Hannah's case to the Department of Human Resources, dhr, the state agency that protects vulnerable adults. Hospital administrators immediately put Hannah in a secluded room with someone at the door to to keep all visitors out. Nicole says she and Brian were told to leave and were no longer allowed to see Hannah because they were considered possible suspects.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
I was deciding myself because I had to leave her. They had to send me away from the hospital.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I immediately started thinking this is Nicole. This has to be Nicole pointing fingers. I didn't really think it would get anywhere because I thought it was again just Nicole making waves to make waves. Hannah's mom just caused so many problems and not so much directly at me. But she was just awful to Hannah.
Narrator/Interviewer
Brian says Hannah told him that Nicole could be critical of her.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
Why don't you put makeup on? Are you sure you should eat that? Just stuff like that all the time. I would say why do you want this woman in your life? And it always all she come back to. She's my mom.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
She's my mom.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
And that's really the only defense she had for her was she's my mom.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah denies Brian's allegations. She did move away from Nicole and got her own apartment in June 2017, the month she turned 18 years old. She had just graduated from high school. That's when she met Brad Brian, a 29 year old chiropractor with his own business.
Hannah Petty
He was very, very sweet in the beginning and, you know, he's very charming, good looking and yeah, I really liked him.
Narrator/Interviewer
Sounds like it was almost sort of instant attraction.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
Yes, it was head over heels. Everything was just working right.
Narrator/Interviewer
Within weeks of Brian's first date with Hannah, his friend Walker Snyder says Brian told him Hannah was the one.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I'm like, man, you just met her like a week ago or she's 18.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
She doesn't know what she wants. She doesn't even know what she doesn't want.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
And he was like, no, we both know what we want.
Narrator/Interviewer
It wasn't long before Hannah told friends she was pregnant. How long were you guys dating before you proposed?
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
We started dating in November. I believe I proposed after Valentine's Day, so not too long.
Narrator/Interviewer
Were you nervous?
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I was. I take marriage very seriously and so, yeah, I was definitely nervous about it.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah was nervous too. She says she had noticed that Brian could be controlling. But she plunged ahead, at least until her wedding day in May 2018. Hannah's friend, Alison Holmes.
Hannah Petty
Right before we were all about to walk down the aisle, Hannah expressed to us that she was, you know, very nervous. She had cold feet.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
We told her 100 times over, you don't have to do it. If this is cold feet, you know, it is what it is. But if this is uncertainty, walk away. It's not too late to walk away.
Narrator/Interviewer
In the end, Hannah smiled through her ceremony and married Brian. When you walked up to the altar and you looked at him, you had no questions.
Hannah Petty
I mean, I did. I mean, deep down I did. I was like, I don't really know if I'm making the right decision, decision and everything.
Narrator/Interviewer
The couple moved into Brian's home and started their lives together. How was he as a husband?
Hannah Petty
For the most part, he was really good as a husband. I mean, it was good and bad. We got in a lot of physical fights, so that's a bad thing. But it wasn't all the time, though.
Narrator/Interviewer
You know, like, as I'm listening to you talk, you know, it sounds almost a little bit like you're explaining away the bad stuff. Do you think you did that in the marriage a bit.
Hannah Petty
Yeah, I definitely did, I think. Yeah. Yeah. My mom tells me that, too.
Narrator/Interviewer
Even their son's birth was a minefield of emotion.
Hannah Petty
I was nine months pregnant, and I had started bleeding, and so I went to the hospital, and he came in and he got so angry at me, and he was yelling at me, and he shouldn't have been out walking, like, in this heat. Like, that was so stupid and irresponsible. He was acting so just outrageous that the nurses even told her, if you need us to do something, then you say this specific word, and we'll know that we need to step in and intervene in what's going on.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah never used that safe word. But as time went on, Brian says the couple came to an understanding.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I would say, hannah, talk to me. I am on your side. I'm your biggest fan, your biggest supporter. But one day she said, I'm going to trust you, and I want to do this with you, and I want to build this with you. From then on, it just got better and better.
Hannah Petty
That's when I started to really fall in love with him.
Narrator/Interviewer
The couple had another child, a daughter. And life was good, they say, until Hannah began to feel sick and went to the hospital emergency room in January 2022. She was left fighting for her life, and doctors were trying to help her, but they told Nicole they had to know more. They said the only way she gets this much lead in her system is to ingest it.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Is to ingest it. They said she had to have ingested it. I remember them saying, we don't care if you give her a crack. We just want to know about it. We have to know everything she's taken.
Narrator/Interviewer
And that's when Nicole remembered something, something that she'd completely overlooked. Hannah told her that Brian had given her special supplements capsules each and every night. Doctors kept asking Nicole what Hannah had been eating in the months leading up to her hospital stay.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
From what they can see, it looks like someone has gave her lead every single day for at least three months.
Narrator/Interviewer
Was Hannah eating something that contained lead? Nicole says she had no idea because she hardly ever visited her daughter in the months before the seizure and never if Brian was home, I could only.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Go when he was working, and I would have to leave before he got off work. I never actually ran into him. Yeah, he didn't come home until I left.
Narrator/Interviewer
As doctors pressed her for information, Nicole remembered Hannah telling her about special supplement capsules that Brian placed on her nightstand every night. Nicole says it didn't strike her as unusual Because Brian was a chiropractor. But she told doctors anyway.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
I told them that I know that they were big on supplements.
Narrator/Interviewer
Nicole says doctors repeatedly asked Brian to bring in the capsules described by Han, but he never did. Instead, he gave them this photo of common over the counter supplements. DHR investigators who were getting information from Hannah's doctors contacted Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid of the Hartsell Police Department.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
They said that I needed to go arrest somebody for attempting to kill their wife. And I'm like, well, hold up. I mean, we can't just go arrest people. What are you talking about?
Narrator/Interviewer
Investigators told McDearman that doctors suspected Brian had given Hannah some type of lead filled capsules over and over again.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
You can take a capsule and open it up, empty the contents, and then put the lead in.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDearman told Brian about the hospital's allegations.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
McDearman said, Your wife's been lead poisoned and they think it was intentional. And they said you're the number one suspect. So I was kind of dumbfounded. I didn't know what to think about that.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDearman asked Brian if the police could search his house, and he agreed.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
So I took them all through the house. I let him search my house, and we went through and tried to figure out what she was eating, Pills, makeups and things like that.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDearman says Brian provided a bottle of supplements and a laxative that he said Hannah had taken. Hannah says you made her take supplements.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
That is not true.
Narrator/Interviewer
Ryan blamed all his problems on Nicole.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I immediately started thinking, this is Nicole. This has to be Nicole.
Narrator/Interviewer
Pointing fingers, investigators removed the children from Brian's home. They were placed with his parents. He had supervised visitation.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
Nicole had just done so much over the years, and Hannah had told me so much about her that I just had no doubt. Nicole was somehow stirring this all up.
Narrator/Interviewer
Ryan said he remembered something Hannah had told him that now seemed to hold more significance in second grade. In a story that Hannah confirms, she recalled being so sick for so long that she visited the school nurse dozens of times.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
And she eventually got really bad. And her mother took her to uab. She says she remembers staying there about a week.
Narrator/Interviewer
Flash forward to 2022. Hannah was back at UAB Hospital on January 29th. McDiarmid went to see Hannah for himself, but she was in a coma.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
I had no idea the condition she was in until I went to the hospital and saw her for myself.
Narrator/Interviewer
Doctors showed him Hannah's X rays. What did you think?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Kill myself? I was just floored. I mean, her whole insides was lit up from the lead reacting to the X ray. I mean, it was crazy.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDearman asked Brian to come in, and.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
At that point is when he refused to further cooperate with the investigation.
Narrator/Interviewer
On February 1st, McDiarmid cleared Nicole, and she was once again allowed to visit Hannah. How were you able to clear Nicole?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
You know, just through conversations, whether you could tell that she was very concerned about Hannah. She was the person that was caring for Hannah.
Narrator/Interviewer
It sounds to me like you just like Nicole's behavior. She acted the way you expect a concerned mother to act. And Brian didn't act the way you expected a concerned husband to act?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
That's correct.
Narrator/Interviewer
Is that evidence?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
That's not evidence, no. And the problem with this case was there was not a lot of evidence.
Narrator/Interviewer
Within days, McDiarmid received the results of the tests done at Brian and Hannah's home.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Everything was negative.
Narrator/Interviewer
Did you ever find any capsules?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
No.
Narrator/Interviewer
Did you ever find any supplements that were tainted?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
No.
Narrator/Interviewer
Did you ever find evidence of lead being ground down or scraped or turned into little particles that could go into a capsule?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
No.
Narrator/Interviewer
So isn't that kind of a big hole in the theory?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Well, he sold supplements.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDearman says he kept looking for the source of that. In mid February, Hannah began to rally, and McDearman went to see her again.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
I told her in a very nice way, you know, why she was in the hospital, and asked her, you know, do you have any idea who may have given you some substance? She said, no. Do you have any thoughts of self harm? I mean, did you put yourself here? And she said, no.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDiarmid said Hannah was coherent one minute and not the next. She said she saw people coming out of the walls.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
When I first started talking to the medical staff, I mean, they didn't give her any hope. They said if she came out of this that she would really not have any cognitive functions. They didn't suspect that we would be able to even talk with her.
Narrator/Interviewer
Wow.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
They basically told us that we needed to do everything that we could because we didn't need to rely on her as a witness because they didn't think she would ever make it to that point.
Narrator/Interviewer
But Hannah surprised everyone by getting stronger each day with the help of a team of dedicated nurses.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
They were all kind of close to her age. They knew she had kids, and they would say to her, you've got your babies, you've got your babies. And I remember she just always got a life in her. When you mentioned the kids, she was like, I'm gonna get better. I'm gonna get out here and get better, you know?
Narrator/Interviewer
Nicole says Hannah did get better and stronger. Strong enough that Hannah's neurologist told her the whole story.
Hannah Petty
She grabbed my hand and she just kind of started giving me a heart to heart about why they have strong reasons to believe that it was Brian.
Narrator/Interviewer
And what's the conversation like after that between you and Hannah?
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Oh, it was horrible. That was horrible. Sorry of everything that she went through.
Narrator/Interviewer
The heartbreak.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
The heartbreak was terrible. She just would sit there and cry.
Narrator/Interviewer
On March 3, after nearly two months, Hannah was well enough to leave the hospital. She went to her mom's house, reunited with her children, and filed for divorce. But friends like Kyle golden were worried.
Hannah Petty
We did know that Hannah was still.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
In contact with Brian, and that did upset us.
Narrator/Interviewer
It was scary.
Hannah Petty
Yeah. Knowing that she could potentially go back.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
To this guy that we believe tried to kill her. Hey there.
Hannah Petty
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Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
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Narrator/Interviewer
In the days after Hannah got out of the hospital, Hannah says she felt vulnerable and confused.
Hannah Petty
I was on so many different medicines, so many different psych medicines the doctors had me on.
Narrator/Interviewer
Despite the risks, Hannah had made up her mind to sit down with Brian face to face. Just one week after being discharged, she met him at their former home.
Hannah Petty
I just had to figure it out for myself instead of everyone telling me this is what happened.
Narrator/Interviewer
And so you sit down with him and did you ask him outright did you do this? Did you try to poison me?
Hannah Petty
No. I was so emotional. I mean, I didn't stop crying that night. I remember I cried all through the night. I wanted him to say, like, there's no way that I could have, you know, like, what are. Like, are you crazy? Like, this is crazy. And I was expecting him to go out and say that to everybody. I don't care if he even made a Facebook post about it or just anything.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah says Bryant never told her what she needed to hear. But then, incredibly, she changed her mind about the divorce.
Hannah Petty
I called my attorney. I was like, I don't want to go through with the divorce. Like, I don't think he did it. I said, there must be something Else.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah told you not to sign the divorce papers?
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
Yes.
Narrator/Interviewer
Because why?
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
Because she knew her mother had made up this whole thing. And it was just another crazy Nicole episode.
Narrator/Interviewer
When Hannah's family doctor heard what was going on, Nicole says he wanted to have Hannah involuntarily committed because he feared Brian would kill her. And Hannah's next move caused even more consternation. She asked McDiarman to drop the investigation.
Hannah Petty
I said, he's a family man. I said, he loves me. He loves the kids. It just doesn't make sense.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDearmid knew without Hannah's help, the criminal case against Brian would likely collapse. But he understood what Hannah was feeling.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
It's typical of domestic violence to Forgive your abuser.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDiarmid asked Hannah to sign a specific form that he'd prepared.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
And she said, well, what do I have to sign this for? And I said, well, if o' Brien were to kill you in the future and somebody from your family comes and says that we didn't do our due diligence in the investigation, then I can show them that you didn't want to pursue it. So if you want to go ahead and sign that, then we'll close it up. And she said, no, I'm not going to sign that. She said, I want you to keep going.
Narrator/Interviewer
Ultimately, she decided to proceed with the divorce and cooperate with the criminal investigation. What do you learn from Hannah more than anything?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Insurance policies.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah told McDiarman that Brian had taken out life insurance policies on her while they were still dating. McDiarmid learned that when Hannah was in the hospital fighting for her life, Ryan tried to take out even more policies. If they were approved, Brian would have collected more than $5 million upon Hannah's death. And that gave you what?
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Well, it gives you motive. Money's a motive. Money's a huge motive.
Narrator/Interviewer
At that point, McDiarmid felt he'd collected enough evidence to move ahead, and so did prosecutor Garrick Vickery.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
We knew Hannah had been poisoned, that it was intentional, and that it was ingested.
Narrator/Interviewer
You don't have any capsules with lead. You have a theory, you have a suspect, and you have what you believe is a motive. Why were you confident that this was enough to put in front of a grand jury?
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
Nothing else made sense in this case. The evidence was clear. That lead was getting into her system. So then you rewind the tape, you back up, and you see how that lead could have gotten into her system. And Brian Mann was the only person who had access to Hannah.
Narrator/Interviewer
The grand jury agreed and in September 2022, Brian was arrested and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. He was freed on a half million dollar bond, but was required to report to jail every weekend. Can I see the ankle monitor? What's it like having to wear that?
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I mean, it's definitely annoying.
Narrator/Interviewer
Police still had nothing connecting Brian to any form of lead. But then they got an unexpected call. Turns out this man, Danny Hill, thought he knew exactly where the lead came from. It all began when Brian asked Danny, a contractor, to line his X ray room at his chiropractic office with, you guessed it, lead. Danny had recognized Brian from a newspaper article about his arrest and got in touch with McDiarmid.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
You do an X ray room, the.
Narrator/Interviewer
Walls have to be lined with lead for the protection of the people outside the room.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
We did it with rolls of soft lead that we just covered the walls.
Narrator/Interviewer
With and then put drywall over the top of that. We asked Danny to obtain a sample of the same type of lead he installed in Brian's office. The lead was heavy, but surprisingly soft and malleable. Danny showed us how easy it is to set scrape the sheet of lead into tiny shavings, just like pencil shavings, and how easy it is to put those shavings into an empty pill capsule.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
That's just the shaving of the lead.
Narrator/Interviewer
It's soft. After Danny was done with the X ray room, he asked Ryan if he should dispose of the remaining lead.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
And he said, I'll take care of it.
Narrator/Interviewer
Danny Hill's information sent cops directly to Brian's office. Prior to Danny's revelations, the Hartsell police department did not have probable cause.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Now they did, and we got a search warrant. We went in and we took a section of that out. The lead that we recovered from the office was very thin. It would be thin enough that it could be shaved or whatever.
Narrator/Interviewer
Tell me about how important that phone call was from the contractor.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
It was vitally important. It's always necessary to put your murder weapon into the hands of a defendant.
Narrator/Interviewer
But Brian insists the state's case is weak. And so he got himself a strong advocate, bodybuilder, and defense lawyer Chad Morgan.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
There's no reason that any of their evidence should be able to get into a courtroom.
Narrator/Interviewer
Going into the trail trial in June 2025, Brian had been forbidden any visitation with his children for more than two years. He says it was just unfair.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
I should have never been separated from my kids. I'm going to be back in their lives. I've just been waiting for my church.
Narrator/Interviewer
How does it feel to know that someone tried to kill you at night.
Hannah Petty
I get really creeped out thinking about that someone poisoned me for a long, long time.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
The state started its case today against a Morgan county chiropractor charged with attempting to kill his wife. Mann maintains his innocence.
Narrator/Interviewer
In June 2025, defendant Brian Mann walks into a Decatur, Alabama, courthouse facing a possible life sentence. No cameras are permitted inside the courtroom during the trial. What was your working theory as to what happened in this case with this crime?
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
It really begins months before Hannah ever appears at UAB hospital.
Narrator/Interviewer
Lead prosecutor Garrick Vickery.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
In terms of a theory, it mostly was that he made a decision to slowly poison her to gain this life insurance, to rid himself of a sweet, sweet person.
Narrator/Interviewer
Brian's defense attorney, Chad Morgan, tells the jury that police never found any lead filled capsules in Brian's home office or anywhere else.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
They searched the entire house, top to bottom, never found one piece of lead.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
One of the issues we had was that Brian Mann had months and months to execute his plan and then to get rid of the evidence.
Narrator/Interviewer
But the state does have Hannah, and prosecutors make her the first witness. Did you look at Brian when you walked into the.
Hannah Petty
I did.
Narrator/Interviewer
Was that the man that you had fallen in love with?
Hannah Petty
No. I mean, I saw someone totally different.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah tells the jury how Brian supplied her with vitamin capsules each night, even when her pain was so intense she could barely swallow.
Hannah Petty
I remember being in bed one night, and I was in so much pain and I was so nauseous. And Brian was like, I put your vitamins on your nightstand. And he was like, you need to take them. I was like, I just can't tonight. I do not think I can keep anything else down. He was, like, freaking out about it. Like, he was like, you gotta take it.
Narrator/Interviewer
How easy would it have been to put lead in those capsules?
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
Tremendously easy. Anyone that's sharpened a pencil could see how easy it is to get lead shavings. And once you have that and you have two hands to separate a pill and put it back together, you've got all the instruments you need to try to murder your spouse.
Narrator/Interviewer
Brian's attorney alleges Hannah's own mother, Nicole, could have been the one poisoning Hannah.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
I'm suggesting they're looking in the wrong place.
Narrator/Interviewer
He claims Nicole gave Hannah milkshakes that could have been laced with lead.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
Tell me why her mom was coming to her house every day for almost a year, giving her a milkshake.
Narrator/Interviewer
Did you look into her mother? The thought was considered. You don't want to rule anyone out. Assistant District Attorney Kelly Simoneau and Nicole just didn't have that kind of access to her daughter. Did your mom bring you milkshakes?
Hannah Petty
No, not that I recall. I don't even like milkshakes. I really don't even like milkshakes. I don't drink milkshakes.
Narrator/Interviewer
Hannah tells the jury how the pain affected her, her body, in a sense, the crime scene and her brain scans, blood work and X rays are discussed in open court. But there's something she's been holding back until she takes the stand.
Hannah Petty
It is kind of emotional to talk about the fact that I can't have children anymore.
Narrator/Interviewer
On the day she was discharged, Hannah was smiling, but inside she was heartbroken. Doctors had just told her she, she could no longer have children. She was only 22 years old. When it's Nicole's turn to take the stand, she thinks she knows what's coming from Brian's defense attorney.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
I knew that he was going to try to say that, possibly say that I had did this, and I wasn't really concerned about that because I didn't do it.
Narrator/Interviewer
Simoneau explains why prosecutors believe Brian used the lead filled capsules like this one. Instead of mixing the lead into her.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Food, she would have tasted it. And so that's where the theory of.
Narrator/Interviewer
The capsule comes in, because it's the.
Nicole Petty (Hannah's mother)
Only way that she would have willingly.
Narrator/Interviewer
Put it in her mouth and swallowed it and not noticed anything different. After a day and a half and seven witnesses, the state rests its case. And then so does the defense. Chad Morgan calls no witnesses.
Hannah Petty
I was shocked that they've had three years to put this together and then it comes out that he has no defense at all.
Narrator/Interviewer
Brian's lawyer says he did his job and maintains that the lack of evidence in the state's case is the best evidence of all.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
There was a lot of assumptions about this is lead and that's lead, but there was not one person that testified to anything that they actually saw him do, touch, or even begin to believe that she ingested something he gave her.
Narrator/Interviewer
The jury gets the case on a Wednesday afternoon and the next day returns a verdict. Guilty.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
There was about a second of shock. I don't think he was expecting that.
Narrator/Interviewer
Juror Jeff Soli.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
That guy's a monster.
Narrator/Interviewer
Why do you say that?
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
The arrogance. It takes to essentially watch somebody waste away and then not only watch during.
Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
The poisoning, but also watch during, you know, the downfall.
Prosecutor/Legal Expert
I think that takes a very special person.
Hannah Petty
It took me a few seconds for it to sink in that it was a guilty verdict. I just immediately started feeling the tears well up because it was just this buildup, and I just had to step out.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
This is a great win for all domestic violence victims, especially those that are scared to come forward.
Narrator/Interviewer
McDearman is now chief of the Hartsell Police Department. And after a lot of reflection, Hannah allows herself to consider a hard truth. Do you think he ever loved you?
Hannah Petty
No, I truly don't think that he did. I just don't think any of it was real.
Narrator/Interviewer
It's gotta be hard to say.
Hannah Petty
Yeah.
Narrator/Interviewer
Cause it was real for you.
Hannah Petty
Yes, it was very real for me.
Narrator/Interviewer
Now it's very real for Brian, who was sentenced to life in prison in August 2025. And Hannah, who was once feared to be so brain damaged that she would never be able to testify. She graduated from college with a teaching degree. And what does Hannah's new life look like?
Hannah Petty
You know, I'm a teacher, so I'm starting at a new school this year. So I'm just going to focus on being the best teacher that I can be and being the best mother I can be.
Narrator/Interviewer
Life got even sweeter for Hannah when she and the children moved back into their old home, the one they used to share with Brian.
Hannah Petty
I repainted, I redecorated everything, cleaned it up really good. I got all my stuff moved in there and just pictures of us three all in there. So now it feels like hours.
Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline www.thehotline.org at 1-800-799-7233.
Narrator/Interviewer
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Hannah Petty
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Hannah Petty
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Hannah Petty
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Hannah Petty
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Hannah Petty
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Narrator/Interviewer
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Lieutenant Allen McDiarmid (Police Investigator)
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Hannah Petty
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Brian Mann (Hannah's husband)
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Narrator/Interviewer
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Hannah Petty
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Original Air Date: January 12, 2026
Host: CBS News (various correspondents & Anne-Marie Green)
In this gripping true crime episode, "48 Hours" investigates the harrowing case of Hannah Pettey, a young mother in Alabama whose life was nearly lost to a mysterious and intentional case of lead poisoning. Drawing on testimonies from family, law enforcement, and medical professionals, the episode uncovers a complex picture of manipulation, domestic violence, and a battle for justice when evidence is scarce and motives are chillingly clear. The story highlights not only the intricacies of investigating attempted murder-by-poison but also the emotional toll on victims, survivors, and their networks of support.
The episode is reported in a straightforward, compassionate, and sometimes emotional manner, echoing the seriousness of domestic violence and attempted murder. Testimonies are earnest and raw, reflecting confusion, betrayal, resilience, and ultimate empowerment—especially from Hannah and her mother.
"The Gaslighting of Hannah Pettey" is a searing examination of love twisted by manipulation, the challenges law enforcement faces in prosecuting covert domestic violence, and the power of persistence in the search for justice. Despite scarce physical evidence, the combined efforts of a concerned parent, skilled investigators, and a courageous survivor lead to a conviction—and ultimately, hope for new beginnings.