A young Alabama mother who nearly died after being deliberately poisoned with lead has spoken about the ordeal in a new investigation into the attempted murder of which her husband was convicted.
Hannah Pettey, from Morgan County, Alabama, suffered months of severe pain, weakness and rapid weight loss before being taken to hospital in January 2022. She had lost more than 45lb and weighed about 84lb when doctors discovered an “astronomical” amount of lead in her body.
Medical staff found lead in her bloodstream, bones and digestive system. Doctors concluded that the quantity could not have been consumed accidentally and alerted authorities, turning a medical emergency into a criminal investigation.
Police initially focused on the two people closest to Hannah: her mother, Nicole Pettey, and her husband, Brian Mann. Both were treated as potential suspects while Hannah remained in hospital, where she was placed in a medically induced coma and treated for life-threatening complications.
Mann, a chiropractor, told investigators he had been giving his wife vitamin capsules. Prosecutors later argued that the pills had been contaminated with lead taken from sheeting used to line the X-ray room at his practice.
The breakthrough came when a contractor who had worked on the office contacted police after recognising Mann from reports about the case. Investigators recovered a thin sheet of lead from inside the office wall, which prosecutors said could have been scraped into small particles.
Mann was arrested in September 2022 and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. He maintained his innocence, while his defence argued that police had found no lead-filled capsules and suggested that Nicole could have poisoned her daughter by bringing her milkshakes.
Prosecutors said Hannah’s mother did not have the same access to her as Mann, who was with her daily and supplied the capsules. They also argued that Mann had a financial motive, pointing to life insurance policies taken out on Hannah with him named as beneficiary.
Hannah testified that Mann had repeatedly urged her to take the capsules, even when she was in too much pain and felt too nauseous to swallow them. She also described a relationship in which she had experienced controlling behaviour and physical violence.
A Morgan County jury found Mann guilty in June 2025 after less than three hours of deliberations. He was sentenced to life in prison in August that year.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld both the conviction and sentence in June 2026. Mann is serving his sentence at Limestone Correctional Facility.
Hannah survived the poisoning but was told she would no longer be able to have children. She has since rebuilt her life with her children, while the case has become the focus of the television investigation The Gaslighting of Hannah Pettey.
