Alabama man sentenced to life in prison for attempted murder of wife

DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — A Decatur chiropractor was given his sentence after a jury found him guilty of attempted murder in June.

Brian Mann, a Decatur chiropractor, appeared in court Wednesday. He was sentenced to life in prison.

News 19’s Kayla Smith was in the courtroom to report on details.

Morgan County Circuit Court Judge Charles Elliot said he has seen a lot over the course of his career, but he has never watched a defendant snickering during the state’s closing argument before. During the sentencing, Elliot said he did not know whether to call Mann’s attitude flippant, but when he looks back at his note, he finds Mann’s treatment of his wife while her health deteriorated “jarring.”

Elliot said Mann’s actions had given him the opportunity to feel like his job as a Morgan County circuit judge makes a difference. He sentenced Mann to life in prison, asking the DA’s office to notify him when he was up for parole. Elliot said if he was not on the bench, he would drive to Montgomery and argue against Mann receiving parole. 

Elliot told Mann he would specifically keep the victim’s compensation fee he is required to pay low, so if his wife chooses to file a civil case against him, she can request a larger compensation. 

Mann was charged with the attempted murder of his wife in September 2022. He is accused of trying to poison her with lead from a construction project.

The Hartselle Police Department said it was contacted by the Morgan County Department of Human Resources, who said Mann’s wife was at UAB Hospital unresponsive.

UAB Dr. Felicia Hataway testified that for an adult, the safe level of lead is near 10. When Hannah Mann came to the hospital, her levels were in the 80s.

Officials also asked the department to test any substances at the home the couple shared for the presence of lead.

The HPD provided the court with enough probable cause in May 2023 to be granted a search warrant for Brian Mann’s business and former home. Through the HPD’s investigation, they attempted to find the source of the lead allegedly used to poison Brian Mann’s wife.

In her testimony, Hannah Mann said that her husband had taken out several life insurance policies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event of her death. She added that he opposed her going to the hospital, and her husband was very concerned about the insurance coverage. Eventually, she went after her mother urged her to.

The couple’s insurance agent also testified, stating that several life insurance policies across different companies were taken out in Hannah Mann’s name with Brian Mann listed as the beneficiary. If she had died, they would have paid out over $1 million to Brian Mann.

A Morgan County jury found Brian Mann guilty of attempted murder June 12.

“We’ve seen the best and worst of humanity all in one case,” said Morgan County Chief Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery. “What Brian did was awful. I can’t imagine anything worse in terms of a husband and wife. But Hannah’s response and her family, they’ve been so upbeat and positive throughout this process, which has dragged on for years. That’s the silver lining we have for this case.”

“It’s hard to say that this was justice because she will suffer for the rest of her life based on what he did,” Vickery said. “We can never give that back to her. This is as close to justice as we can get. So for that, we’re thankful.”