DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — The fate of Brian Mann, a Decatur chiropractor accused of poisoning his wife, now sits with a Morgan County jury.
The second day of testimony in the trial of Brian Mann, a Decatur chiropractor accused of attempting to poison his wife, began early Wednesday morning. The jury began deliberating around 4:15 p.m. and mulled over the information for over an hour and a half before breaking for the day.
Mann and his wife, Hannah Mann, were in the middle of a divorce when he “intentionally caused her to unwittingly ingest particles of lead,” according to court documents.
On Tuesday, Hannah Mann said her husband was very concerned about the insurance coverage. She said that he opposed her going to the hospital, but did so after her mother urged her to.
The couple’s insurance agent also testified on Tuesday afternoon, stating that several life insurance policies across multiple companies were taken out in Hannah Mann’s name with Brian Mann listed as the beneficiary.
If she had died, they would have paid out over a million dollars to Brian Mann.
A nurse practitioner from Decatur General Hospital testified first on Wednesday. She said that Brian Mann told her he had taken an X-ray of himself and saw the lead in his stomach. She suggested that he take a skeletal survey, as it would show whether a person had been ingesting lead over a period of time.
Brian Mann agreed to the survey, the results of which the witness said came back negative. She told him that, while the results were negative, whatever was in his stomach needed to come out. He asked if that was necessary and if he could take the medication home with him.
A doctor at UAB, Felicia Hataway, testified next. She saw Hannah Mann when she came to the hospital in 2022. Dr. Hataway said that Hannah received a lumbar puncture shortly after she arrived and that she had an unusual amount of spinal fluid.
Hataway said that doctors started treating Hannah for both viral and bacterial meningitis. Initially, she responded well. However, about 12 hours later, she became intermittently unstable.
She added that Hannah had significantly high levels of lead in her system. The accepted level in adults is 10. Hannah’s levels were in the 80s.
Hataway said they began a 24/7 irrigation of her colon, something she hadn’t done before. She stated that it became clear pretty quickly that they were dealing with a criminal case.
Hannah Mann became so unstable, Hataway said, that she later had to be paralyzed because any kind of movement could throw the pressure of her brain off. She said that the only way Hannah would have gotten that much lead in her body is by ingesting it.
Current Hartselle Police Chief Alan McDearmond was called to the stand after Dr. Hataway. At the time of the incident, he was an investigator.
He said they were unsure if the lead was in the water or elsewhere. He told the courtroom that he had gotten a stool sample from Hannah with the material in it. He couldn’t find a lab to test it, so he said that he used a strainer to separate the stool and the materials “the best he could.”
McDearmond said that after they separated the two, the police department was able to get a search warrant for Brian Mann’s office. They took a sample of lead from the X-ray room at the chiropractic office, which led to Brian Mann’s indictment and arrest.
The defense cross-examined McDearmond, asking if he found lead in the home, or if he had found shavings. The chief answered no to both questions.
McDearmond was asked if the sample was marked in any way to indicate that it belonged to Hannah. He said no and denied there was any doubt that the sample belonged to her.
The State rested its case. The Defense then motioned for an acquittal, which was denied by Judge Charles Elliott.
After a lengthy break, the defense rested its case without calling witnesses. Both sides gave closing arguments.
In its closing argument, the State said that Mann had the means, the motive and the opportunity to kill Hannah and asked the jury to convict him. Defense attorney Chad Morgan argued that the State only has assumptions and not evidence.
News 19’s Josiah Elmore was in the courtroom providing live updates throughout the day and plans to be there again tomorrow. We will bring you updates when the jury reaches a verdict.
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