Chloe Driver
- Jessica Lewis
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Who Was Involved
Defendant: Chloe Driver
Victim: Her 13-month-old daughter
Location: Ogden, Utah
Incident Date: 2020
Trial: 2023
What Happened
In 2020, Chloe Driver called 911 and reported that she had harmed her baby. When police arrived, they found her and the child with serious injuries. The child later died.
Unlike many cases involving cover-ups, this case involved:
Immediate admission
Severe mental health concerns
Religious delusions tied to postpartum psychosis
Investigators and family members later described dramatic behavioral changes after the baby’s birth.
The Charges
Driver was charged with:
Aggravated murder (initially)
However, the case evolved due to psychiatric evaluations.
The Defense Strategy: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
The core of this trial was whether she was legally insane at the time of the offense.
The defense presented:
Expert testimony diagnosing postpartum psychosis
Evidence of religious delusions
Medical history documenting severe mental deterioration after childbirth
They argued she believed she was saving her child from something evil due to psychotic delusions.
The Prosecution’s Position
The state did not dispute that she had mental illness. The issue was whether she met Utah’s legal standard for insanity.
Utah’s standard focuses on whether the defendant:
Understood the nature of their actions
Understood that the act was wrong
The prosecution questioned whether she still knew what she was doing was legally wrong.
The Verdict (2023)
The jury found Chloe Driver:
guilty- but mentally ill
Instead of prison, she was committed to a state psychiatric hospital.
This outcome sparked debate nationwide about:
Postpartum psychosis
Criminal responsibility
The legal insanity standard
Why This Case Is So Complex
It forces listeners to wrestle with:
What true psychosis looks like
Where accountability intersects with illness
How the law defines “insane” vs. “mentally ill”
If you’re covering this on your podcast, this is more of a psychological/legal deep dive episode than a pure crime narrative.
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