Marshella Chidester trial: What's next for suspect in deadly Swan Boat Club crash
MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - In a few months, Marshella Chidester will face a jury for the Swan Boat Club crash that killed two children earlier this year.
A judge set her trial date Friday, along with a date for another hearing to address motions filed by her attorney regarding the April crash in Monroe County.
Here's where the case stands:
Case background
On April 20, Chidester left her home and headed to the Swan Boat Club, which was on the same block as her house.
Security camera video showed Chidester hitting a neighbor's vehicle before driving to the club. A security camera from the business showed her speeding through the parking lot before slamming into the building.
Inside, a children's birthday party was being held, and numerous people were struck. In addition to killing Alanah Phillips and Zayn Phillips, the crash injured more than a dozen people.
A deputy previously testified that Chidester smelled like intoxicants and failed several field sobriety tests. Her BAC was found to be .18, authorities said.
Despite this, before the BAC was released, her attorney Bill Colovos argued that she was not drunk. According to Colovos, Chidester had been suffering from seizures since November, takes medication for the condition, and needed to stop driving for several months last fall due to seizures.
After the BAC was revealed, Colovos argued that his client shouldn't face murder charges since she did not intend to kill anyone.
"There was no intent by my client whatsoever," he said.
He also argued that her BAC results were tainted.
"Somebody that's at a .18, they've got some slurring going on. You can detect it right away," Colovos said. "The BAC, I think, is tainted, and if you take the BAC away, there is just nothing there."
However, the judge refuted this claim and ordered Chidester to trial after hearing evidence from both Monroe County Sheriff's deputies and victims of the crash.
Marshella Chidester's trial
Chidester, 67, was ordered to stand trial on two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, and four counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury in June.
Her trial is scheduled to begin on March 3, 2025, in Monroe County Circuit Court.
This week, Chidester's attorney Bill Colovos filed a motion requesting a change of venue.
Colovos also filed a motion to delay Chidester's trial pending the conclusion of a case involving her doctor, Ram Garg.
Garg is currently facing charges stemming from a pill-mill he was allegedly running out of his Taylor office. According to the motion, Garg cannot testify in Chidester's trial because he has invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during his own case.
In that same motion, Colovos also argued that Garg, who was treating Chidester for neurological issues, was "grossly negligent."
"Defense has now learned that it was gross negligence to have permitted and authorized the defendant to operate a motor vehicle due to her physical conditions and spasms it causes," Colovos wrote.
In addition to requesting a delay and a new court for the trial, a motion was also filed requesting to exclude statements Chidester made before she was read her Miranda Rights.
After the crash, Chidester was seen on police body camera footage speaking to a Monroe County Sheriff's deputy.
After the crash, Chidester claimed she did not remember the crash. She told deputies that she had drunk some wine earlier in the day, and also said that she has seizures and takes medication for the condition.
Swan Boat Club crash suspect Marshella Chidester's BAC was more than double legal limit
Marshella Chidester, the driver who crashed into the Swan Boat Club and killed two children in April, had a blood alcohol level more than double the legal limit in Michigan.
Prosecutors have until Jan. 10, 2025 to respond to the motions. A hearing is scheduled to address the motions on Jan. 17, 2025.
Chidester is also being sued by numerous victims, including the mother of the two children she killed, 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 5-year-old Zayn Phillips. The lawsuit is on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case, according to court filings.
More victims added to lawsuit against driver in Swan Boat Club crash
In addition to the mother and brother of the siblings killed in the crash, seven more victims have been added to a lawsuit against the driver who crashed into the Swan Boat Club, her insurance company, Verna’s Tavern –which served the woman alcohol hours before the crash– and now the Swan Boat Club itself.