DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of Brian Mann, the Decatur chiropractor accused of attempting to poison his wife in September 2022.
Mann has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.
Mann and his wife were in the middle of a divorce when he “intentionally caused her to unwittingly ingest particles of lead,” according to court documents.
Mann was arrested after police received a tip saying he had lead leftover from the construction of an X-ray room at his chiropractic office. Police collected a sample of the lead from the X-ray room.
News 19’s Kayla Smith was in the courtroom to bring the latest updates on this trial. Opening statements began around 9:30 a.m., and the state began presenting its case against Mann.
His wife, Hannah Mann, testified first and laid the groundwork of what would be a major topic on Tuesday. She testified that her husband had taken out several life insurance policies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event of her death.
Three of those policies were taken out after she got sick, as she spent multiple months in the hospital, and medical staff identified she was experiencing lead poisoning.
Hannah Mann said her husband was very concerned about the insurance coverage, at one point making her wear ankle weights after she got sick so doctors wouldn’t notice her weight loss and notify insurance companies. She said that he opposed her going to the hospital, and she only did so after her mother urged her to.
The couple’s insurance agent also testified on Tuesday afternoon, discussing the details of those insurance policies. Several life insurance policies across multiple companies were taken out in Hannah Mann’s name with Brian Mann listed as the beneficiary.
If Hannah Mann had died, they would have paid out over a million dollars to her husband.
While on the stand, the insurance agent pointed out that its highly unusual for a wife to have more life insurance coverage than her husband when he is the primary breadwinner.
Hannah Mann did not directly accuse her husband of poisoning her.
Hartselle Police Chief Alan McDearmond also took the stand on Tuesday, making it clear that this was an unusual investigation. He was contacted by Hannah Mann’s family, who told him that they suspected she had been poisoned by her husband.
He testified that when he was brought in on the case as an investigator, he had no idea where to begin looking for the material, lead.
McDearmond said he searched the couple’s home for evidence, but it wasn’t until later on that the lead was connected to Brian Mann.
Danny Hill is a contractor who worked to remodel Brian Mann’s chiropractic office. He said his crew installed lead-lined walls in an X-Ray room, and that after that process was completed, several pieces of lead were left over.
Hill testified that Brian Mann told him he would take care of disposing of the material himself.
The trial will continue on Wednesday at 9 a.m. and we will bring you the latest on-air and online.
The post Wife, insurance agent testify as state begins presenting case in Decatur chiropractor’s attempted murder trial appeared first on WHNT.
