Alabama mom nearly died from lead poisoning husband convicted

Hannah Pettey’s Health Crisis and Legal Battle

In January 2022, Hannah Pettey experienced severe pain for six months. It was worse than ever.

Hannah Pettey: It was unbearable … I was in bed for probably like a week straight.

Anne Marie Green: Were you even able to care for your kids?

Hannah Pettey: I did as much as I could.

Hannah’s son Lincoln was 3, and her daughter Gracie had just turned 2. Hannah could not attend Gracie’s birthday party.

Hannah Pettey: I was so weak that I couldn’t hardly walk. I had a little office chair that I would roll around in our house.

Hannah said her husband Brian Mann was supportive during her illness.

Hannah Pettey: When I really started getting sick is when he was the sweetest to me …

Brian, a chiropractor, could not diagnose Hannah’s condition.

Brian Mann: I had no idea … that’s out of my forte. I wanted to refer her to a specialist.

On January 18, 2022, Hannah spoke with her mother, Nicole Pettey. After their call, Nicole felt something was wrong.

Nicole Pettey: Just know that feeling, I knew something was wrong.

Nicole called and texted Hannah. When Hannah finally called back, she could barely speak.

Nicole Pettey: She just kind of gasped … and then she asked me, “Mom, can you take me to the hospital?”

Brian was at work, so Nicole rushed to take Hannah to UAB, the hospital at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. While there, Nicole took several photos and videos.

Nicole Pettey: The doctor said, obviously she is very sick … I wanna keep her, but there’s no way that they’re gonna let me keep her.

Hannah suffered a seizure at the hospital, ripping off her gown.

Nicole Pettey: … she was skin and bones … they said she was starving to death when we got there.

Doctors told Nicole that Hannah had hours to live.

One doctor directed her anger at Nicole.

Nicole Pettey: She said, “who is responsible for her?”

Anne-Marie Green: What’d you say?

Nicole Pettey: I said, she’s married and they said, “she’s married?”

The seizure caused Hannah to lose consciousness. Doctors wanted to speak with Brian, so Nicole texted him.

Nicole Pettey: “Hey Brian, Hannah had a seizure about 2 hours ago. She still has not come to yet…”

Nicole did not receive a response from Brian.

Nicole Pettey: No, never.

Nicole said Brian ignored her throughout their marriage.

Nicole Pettey: … never seen him the whole time they were married … never any interaction with him whatsoever.

Brian learned about Hannah’s condition from his mother and arranged childcare.

Nicole Pettey: He got to the hospital around 9:30 that night …

Due to COVID restrictions, only one visitor was allowed at a time. Nicole was inside, and Brian was kept out.

Brian Mann: I was very irritated that Nicole was not switching out with me.

Eventually, Nicole came out, and Brian was allowed in.

Anne-Marie Green: It must have been shocking to see her in that hospital bed?

Brian Mann: Yes … but I was glad that she was there.

When Brian left for work, Nicole went in. Hannah was still unconscious after nearly 48 hours. When Nicole bent over her, Hannah woke up.

Nicole Pettey: I kissed her head, and I said, “I love you” … Her eyes just popped open.

Days later, doctors put Hannah in a medical coma to drain excess fluid from her brain.

Nicole Pettey: … they had to paralyze her because any type of movement … she would’ve died.

Anne-Marie Green: But, Nicole, it’s like things are going from bad to worse.

Nicole Pettey: Yeah, yeah.

Anne Marie Green: Did you ever give up hope?

Nicole Pettey: No. Oh no. No. Never. Not one time …

Brian was puzzled by Hannah’s rapid decline.

Brian Mann: … that is curious how bad she got from getting in the car with her mother to being admitted to the hospital.

Eight days after Hannah was admitted, doctors discovered the cause of her symptoms.

Nicole Pettey: Her exact words were, “she has an astronomical amount of lead inside of her.”

Doctors said Hannah’s colon was nearly 100% lead.

Nicole Pettey: They said there was no room in her stomach to hold anything. It was just complete lead.

Doctors informed Nicole that Hannah could not have ingested that much lead accidentally.

Nicole Pettey: They let me know that this is an attempted murder …

The hospital reported Hannah’s case to the Department of Human Resources. Hannah was placed in a secluded room, and Nicole and Brian were told to leave.

Nicole Pettey: I was beside myself … because I had to leave her.

Brian Mann: I immediately started thinking this is Nicole. … This has to be Nicole pointing fingers.

Brian claimed Hannah told him that Nicole was critical of her.

Brian Mann: Why don’t you put makeup on, um, are you sure you should eat that?

Hannah denied Brian’s allegations. She moved out in June 2017, after graduating high school.

Hannah Pettey: He was very, very sweet in the beginning … he’s very charming, good looking.

Hannah became pregnant shortly after they started dating.

Anne-Marie Green: How long were you guys dating before you proposed?

Brian Mann: We started dating in November. I believe I proposed after Valentine’s Day.

Hannah felt Brian could be controlling but married him in May 2018.

Alyson Holmes: Right before we were all about to walk down the aisle … Hannah expressed to us that she was very nervous.

Nicole Pettey: We told her a hundred times over. You don’t have to do it.

Hannah married Brian despite her doubts.

Anne-Marie Green: How was he as a husband?

Hannah Pettey: For the most part, he was really good as a husband … we got in a lot of physical fights.

Hannah described their relationship as good and bad.

Anne-Marie Green: Do you think you did that in the marriage a bit?

Hannah Pettey: Uh, yeah, I definitely did, I think.

Hannah experienced emotional turmoil during her son’s birth.

Alyson Holmes: … the nurses even told her … if you need us to do something, then you say this specific word.

Hannah never used that “safe word” but said their relationship improved over time.

Brian Mann: I would say, Hannah, talk to me. I am on your side.

Hannah felt stronger in their relationship.

Hannah began to feel sick again in January 2022 and went to the hospital. Doctors needed more information.

Nicole Pettey: They said the only way she gets this much lead in her system — is to ingest it.

Nicole remembered that Brian had given Hannah special supplements each night.

Doctors asked Nicole what Hannah had been eating before her hospital stay.

Nicole Pettey: From what they can see, it looks like someone has given her lead every single day for at least three months.

Nicole could only visit when Brian was at work.

Nicole Pettey: I never actually ran into him.

Doctors repeatedly asked Brian to bring in the capsules, but he never did.

Investigators contacted Lt. Alan McDearmond of the Hartselle Police Department.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: They said that I needed to go arrest somebody for attempting to kill their wife.

Investigators suspected Brian had given Hannah lead-filled capsules.

Brian Mann: McDearmond said … your wife’s been lead poisoned. … And they think it was intentional.

McDearmond asked Brian for permission to search his house, and he agreed.

Brian Mann: So, I took him all through the house.

Brian provided a bottle of supplements and a laxative.

Brian Mann: That is not true …

Investigators removed the children from Brian’s home.

Brian recalled a story from Hannah’s childhood.

Brian Mann: … she eventually got really bad, and her mother took her to UAB.

On January 29, McDearmond visited Hannah, but she was in a coma.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: I had no idea the condition she was in until I went to the hospital.

Doctors showed him Hannah’s X-rays.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: Oh, gosh, I was just floored.

McDearmond asked Brian to come in, but he refused to cooperate further.

On February 1, McDearmond cleared Nicole, allowing her to visit Hannah again.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: You could tell that she was very concerned about Hannah.

Days later, McDearmond received test results from Brian and Hannah’s home.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: Everything was negative.

McDearmond continued searching for the source of the lead.

In mid-February, Hannah began to recover.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: They didn’t give her any hope … they didn’t suspect that we would be able to even talk with her.

Hannah surprised everyone by getting stronger each day.

Nicole Pettey: They would say to her, “you’ve got your babies.”

Hannah’s neurologist informed her mother about the situation.

Hannah Pettey: She started giving me a heart to heart about why they have strong reasons to believe that it was Brian.

On March 3, after nearly two months, Hannah left the hospital and filed for divorce.

Friends were worried about her contacting Brian.

Kyle Golden: We did know that Hannah was still in contact with Brian.

Hannah felt vulnerable and confused after her discharge.

Hannah Pettey: I was on so many different medicines.

Despite risks, Hannah met Brian to talk.

Hannah Pettey: I just had to figure it out for myself.

Hannah did not ask Brian directly about the poisoning.

Brian never provided the reassurance she needed.

Hannah changed her mind about the divorce.

Brian Mann: Because she knew her mother had made up this whole thing.

Hannah’s family doctor wanted her committed due to concerns for her safety.

Hannah asked McDearmond to drop the investigation.

Hannah Pettey: I said, “he’s a family man.”

McDearmond needed Hannah’s cooperation for the case.

Hannah eventually decided to proceed with the divorce and cooperate with the investigation.

Hannah informed McDearmond about Brian’s life insurance policies.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: Well it gives you motive … money’s a motive.

McDearmond felt he had enough evidence to move forward.

Brian Mann was arrested and charged with attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty.

In September 2022, Brian was released on a $500,000 bond.

Police received a call from contractor Danny Hill about the lead.

Danny Hill: You do an X-ray room, the walls have to be lined with lead.

Hill showed how easy it was to scrape lead into tiny shavings.

Police obtained a search warrant for Brian’s office.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: The lead that we recovered from the office was very thin.

Hill’s information provided probable cause for the search.

Brian hired defense lawyer Chad Morgan.

Brian Mann: I should have never been separated from my kids.

In June 2025, Brian faced trial for attempted murder.

Garrick Vickery: It mostly was that he made a decision to slowly poison her.

Brian’s defense attorney claimed no lead-filled capsules were found.

Hannah testified about her experience with the capsules.

Hannah Pettey: I remember, um, being in bed one night and I was in so much pain.

Brian’s attorney suggested Nicole could be the one poisoning Hannah.

Hannah Pettey: No, not that I recall … I don’t even like milkshakes.

After a day-and-a-half, the state rested its case. The defense called no witnesses.

Brian’s lawyer maintained the lack of evidence was significant.

The jury returned a guilty verdict the next day.

Jeff Sollee: That guy’s a monster.

Hannah felt relief upon hearing the verdict.

Lt. Alan McDearmond: This is a great win for all domestic violence victims.

Hannah reflected on her relationship with Brian.

Hannah Pettey: No, I truly don’t think that he did … I just don’t think any of it was real.

Brian was sentenced to life in prison in August 2025.

Hannah graduated from college with a teaching degree.

Hannah Pettey: I’m just gonna focus on being the best teacher that I can be.

Hannah and her children moved back into their old home.

Hannah Pettey: I’ve repainted … I redecorated everything.

Hannah and Brian remain married. The next court date for the divorce proceedings is December 2026.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.