MONROE COUNTY, Mich. – The trial of Marshella Chidester, 67, the woman accused of driving drunk and crashing into a child’s birthday party —killing two young siblings — began Monday with opening statements and emotional testimony that left many in tears.
“The defendant backed out of her driveway, accelerating her car… crashing into a small tree and then into her neighbor’s full-size pickup truck, forcing it through a working fence,” said prosecutors during opening arguments. “The defendant then places her car into drive and speeds off.”
As the prosecution began presenting its case, the courtroom was overcome with emotion.
Some sobbed as video evidence was played, one witness and crash victim needed to be consoled in the hallway after testifying — appearing to relive the trauma of the tragic day.
“Due to the operation, [Marshella Chidester] was the factual and proximate cause of the death of these two children,” the prosecution added while speaking to jurors Monday. “We must show that she intended to kill or she intended to cause great bodily harm. In other words, she drove through the boat club wall, intending to kill someone or intending to seriously harm someone — or the third state of mind: that she knowingly created a very high risk of death or great bodily harm by her actions — knowing that death or great bodily harm was the likely result of what she did.”
The prosecution has already called eight witnesses, including two police officers, moving at a faster-than-expected pace. More testimony is expected from those who survived the crash and those who can discuss evidence in more detail.
Background
Chidester faces nine charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating under the influence, causing death, and four counts of operating under the influence, causing serious injury. If convicted, she could face life in prison.
Prosecutors said the 67-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.
On April 20, 2024, families gathered at the Swan Boat Club in Monroe County to celebrate Kristyn Sigler’s son’s birthday when Chidester’s SUV plowed through the building about 25 feet.
Witnesses testified they thought a bomb had gone off. Cell phone and body camera video showed the chaos, including screams from survivors.
Monday’s testimony
Sigler testified Monday that she had stepped outside to FaceTime a friend, and that call may have saved her life. When she ran back in to help, she said she heard someone yelling that a baby was trapped under the SUV.
“I heard a baby cry, and I looked underneath the vehicle, and I yelled for a jack,” testified Jason Wickland.
Wickland testified that he and others tried to lift the SUV to free little Zayn Phillips as Sigler pulled him to her.
“I put him on my lap, and the back of his head was bleeding, and his arm was limp and bloody,” Sigler tearfully recalled of 4-year-old Zayn Phillips, her godson. “But I asked him who he was, and he said Zayn.”
Phillips later died. Sigler testified that his 8-year-old sister, Alanah Phillips, was pinned and appeared to have been killed on impact.
“Alanah was wedged, but she was already gone,” Sigler testified. “She was blue.”
Chidester was seen sitting quietly in court as witnesses testified about the chaos following the crash.
Denise Roberts, who testified that she had been hit and lost consciousness during the crash, said when she came to, Chidester was being placed in a chair next to her at the scene.
“She said a couple times, ‘What happened?’ and she said, ‘I passed out.’ One of my nephews yelled, ‘Shut the F up, you lying b***, you’re drunk,’” she said.
Several witnesses testified they could smell alcohol on Chidester’s breath.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office reported her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
The Defense’s Argument
Chidester’s attorney, Bill Colovos, said she admitted she drank wine that day but said she had only one glass (“which she did not even finish”). They argue she suffered a medical emergency causing the crash.
“She suffers from seizures and neuropathy,” Colovos said in his opening statement. He added that while she did not have seizures all the time, when she did, “Her feet go down real hard, the proofs will show, in her hands, too.”
The defense also questions whether Chidester’s blood draw was handled and stored properly, causing her BAC to be miscalculated.
“Now you’ve got something that’s fermenting, so you could have something that’s .01 or .02 that turns into a 2.0 because it’s fermented,” said Colovos.
