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🇺🇸 United States /Crime & Justice

A young mom was near death from lead poisoning. Who was trying to kill her?

From CBS News · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Under investigation
  • Hannah Pettey, a 22-year-old Alabama mother, suffered months of debilitating pain and lost more than 45 pounds before doctors found her near death from lead poisoning.
  • Her mother rushed her to a Birmingham hospital after Hannah became unable to speak, and doctors suspected that either her mother or husband might be responsible for the poisoning.
  • The report follows the family’s account of Hannah’s rapid decline and the questions surrounding who was trying to kill her.

Hannah Pettey was so weak from months of unexplained pain that she moved around her Alabama home in a small office chair. By January 2022, the 22-year-old mother of two could barely walk and had been confined to bed for about a week.

Her son, Lincoln, was 3, and her daughter, Gracie, had just turned 2. Hannah was too sick to attend Gracie’s birthday party. She said her husband, Brian Mann, was especially kind as her condition worsened, but he also acknowledged that he could not identify what was making her ill.

It was unbearable … I was in the bed at this point for probably like a week straight.

· Hannah PetteyPettey described the severity of her illness before her hospitalization.

On Jan. 18, Hannah spoke with her mother, Nicole Pettey. Nicole said she immediately sensed that something was wrong. After repeated calls and messages, Hannah finally answered but could not speak. She gasped and asked, “Mom, can you take me to the hospital?”

Mom, can you take me to the hospital?

· Hannah PetteyPettey asked her mother for help after becoming too weak to speak normally.

Brian was at work, so Nicole drove Hannah to the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital. Nicole took photographs and videos as doctors assessed her daughter. She said one doctor told her Hannah was very sick but indicated that her vital signs were stable. Nicole feared that sending her home would be fatal.

Hannah then suffered a severe seizure and lost consciousness. Nicole recalled that her daughter looked like “skin and bones” and said doctors told her Hannah was starving to death and had only hours to live. A doctor questioned who was responsible for Hannah’s condition after learning that she was married. Doctors wanted to speak with Brian, and Nicole texted him while Hannah remained unconscious.

If you send her home, she’s gonna die.

· Nicole PetteyPettey urged the hospital to keep her daughter after doctors assessed her condition.

The report says doctors suspected that either Nicole or Brian was trying to poison Hannah. The case centers on the cause of the lead poisoning and who, if anyone, was responsible for the young mother’s near-fatal decline.

Who is responsible for her?

· Unidentified doctorA doctor questioned responsibility for Hannah’s condition after her seizure and hospitalization.
About this summary

Originally published by CBS News. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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