On Thursday, Canton, Georgia, Police Detective Taina Cruz, the lead investigator in the Chloe Driver murder case, took the witness stand.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Chloe Driver, 24, is currently on trial in Cherokee county for the murder of her daughter, Hannah. The toddler died in December 2020 while she was visiting a home with Driver, her father, and his two other wives.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Cruz described how she collected two cellphones during a search of the Canton residence and swabbed Driver’s husband, Benyamin Ben Michael, to establish his connection to Hannah. DNA samples were also obtained from Driver.
Cruz recounted visiting Druver in the hospital, where she was unable to speak due to self-inflicted throat injuries.
Cruz read Chloe her Miranda rights, and she confirmed them in writing. Druver wrote two sentences: “I want to know if my baby survived ASAP” and “I want to know who is staying with her.”
Cruz said she then told Driver that her daughter had died.
When asked if her husband was responsible for her injuries, Driver wrote, “He didn’t do it. I did.”
“I was going insane and no longer wanted to be with his friends but kept coming back for him. I only wanted my baby and husband, but he refused.”
The next day, Driver asked, “How long will my prison sentence be for killing her?”
A recorded clip then showed Cruz calling Michael.
When asked if he had seen their daughter, he replied, “I have not seen our deceased child.”
Michael questioned Driver about her motivations for the killing.
Through Cruz, Driver wrote, “It felt safest. Then I felt horrible. I went because I had no choice.”
Driver added that she took the knife because she felt trapped, mentioning “certain threats.”
In response, Michael said in the video, “You always had a choice. Why did you feel like you had no choice?”
Driver:” Because I could not handle being with the group anymore, and you left no alternative with the certain threats,”
Michael: “No, you were blaming yourself for everything.”
The prosecution pressed Cruz for more details about Driver’s personal items, which included a video recorded a month prior to the incident on November 27, 2020.
“My name is Chloe Driver, it is 11/27/2020. I’m being forced to get in a truck with Benyamin Ben Michael, or Brian Joyce, to see my daughter because he kept her away from me. I don’t know where she is. He won’t tell me anything. He kept her with people.”
Earlier this week, the prosecution claimed that Driver “understood the wrongfulness of her actions,” adding that she made incriminating search queries weeks before the killing.
The state them explained that Driver grabbed a knife from the kitchen, and walked up to the bedroom, where she locked the door before stabbing the baby. She then stabbed her own self in the neck.
The prosecution stated that Hannah had been stabbed four times in the neck and once in the back.
The trial continues. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Hammah Driver/Cherokee County DA]