MONROE COUNTY, Mich. – A judge denied the requests to throw out the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of the woman accused of crashing her car into a boat club in 2024, killing two children.
Marshella Chidester is accused of driving under the influence and crashing her vehicle through a child’s birthday party at the Swan Boat Club in April 2024, killing two young children and injuring 11 other people.
Previous coverage: Judge denies motion to suppress statements from Monroe woman charged in birthday party crash that killed 2 children
Chidester‘s defense attorney claimed that she was arrested for driving drunk in a private area not open to the general public, making the blood-alcohol test inadmissible in trial. The attorney claimed drunk driving arrests only apply if the person is driving under the influence on property accessible to the general public. The judge denied this motion.
The defense also claimed the blood-alcohol test was improperly done, crediting one of the officers who previously testified that he missed a step during the blood-alcohol testing process. The judge denied this motion.
Before adjourning, the judge asked the defense why Chidester’s tether around her ankle was obstructed for two days. The attorney explained she had surgery on her leg, causing it to swell up. Her probation officer loosened the tether since her leg was swelling. After the swelling subsided, the tether became very loose. Chidester reportedly returned to the probation officer to tighten it.
The judge also brought up that Chidester’s recent testing said her BAC was at .01. The defense explained Chidester wasn’t sure how it happened, claiming it could have possibly been some tea with honey. He also said anyone, even children, can have a BAC of .01 because human bodies can naturally produce alcohol. The judge agreed the BAC was so low that it wasn’t much of a concern.
A full interview with Chidester’s attorney can be viewed below:
Background on Swan Boat Club crash
On Thursday, June 27, 2024, a judge ruled that Chidester will stand trial on two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating under the influence of liquor causing death and four counts of operating under the influence of liquor causing serious injury.
The 66-year-old lived next door to the boatyard in Berlin Township, just off Lake Erie. Surveillance video from Chidester’s own home captured her leaving on the day of the crash, carefully walking down the stairs before slowly, unsteadily and deliberately walking toward her car. After getting in the vehicle, the video shows her backing out of her driveway and out of frame, where she hit her neighbor’s truck in the neighbor’s driveway before speeding off to go to the birthday party.
Prosecutors argued the video shows that Chidester left her home not fully in control before driving her car through the boat club wall.
A neighbor heard the crash and ran to the Swan Boat Club, where they recorded cell phone video of a mother and two children pinned under Chidester’s vehicle inside the building and injured people strewn across the room.
The vehicle was reportedly driven 25 feet inside the building.
Those at the scene were able to find the strength to move the SUV off the two children, but it was too late. The two killed were identified as 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and her brother, 5-year-old Zayn Phillips.
While Chidester said she only drank a little bit that day, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said her blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit at the time.
The defense claims she only had one glass of wine on the day of the crash and that Chidester had a medical emergency that caused the crash.
If convicted, Chidester faces the possibility of life in prison.
