Marshella Chidester's Swan Boat Club crash trial nears - Here's what to know

MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Marshella Chidester will soon face a jury for the fatal Swan Boat Club crash.

Authorities allege that Chidester, 67, was drunk when she crashed into the Monroe County boat club last year, killing two children.

Swan Boat Club crash

The backstory:

Chidester was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, and four counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury after the April 20, 2024, crash that killed 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 4-year-old Zayn Phillips and injured more than a dozen people.

According to authorities, Chidester had a BAC of .18 when she drove her vehicle into the Swan Boat Club while a birthday party was being held.

Video from security cameras at Chidester's home, which is next to the club, showed her slowly walking out of her house and backing her SUV into another vehicle just before crashing into the building. 

Chidester told deputies that she didn't remember it happening. When asked how she was feeling on a scale of 0-10, with zero being sober and 10 being passed out drunk, Chidester responded that she was at seven. She was also heard telling the deputy that she "wouldn't want to drive," when asked if she felt she was OK to drive.

A deputy who testified during her preliminary exam said that Chidester failed several field sobriety tests, couldn't maintain her balance, had watery, bloodshot eyes, and smelled like alcohol.

Chidester told authorities that she had drunk one glass of wine at a nearby bar early in the day, a fact her attorney Bill Colovos said was confirmed during a search at that bar.

She also told the deputy that she had a seizure the month before the crash and was hospitalized for several days. 

What they're saying:

Colovos has maintained that the crash was a result of Chidester's medical condition, not alcohol. 

"Somebody that's at a .18, they've got some slurring going on. You can detect it right away," he previously argued. "The BAC, I think, is tainted, and if you take the BAC away, there is just nothing there."

Motions filed in Marshella Chidester case

Several motions filed by Colovos have been denied.

Efforts to suppress evidence 

Colovos wanted several pieces of evidence excluded from the trial, including statements Chidester made to deputies after the crash and her BAC results. A judge denied all of these requests.

What they're saying:

Colovos argued that his client's blood sample wasn't properly handled and thus should not be admitted as evidence.

"It's based upon that they had faulty, when they took the blood, when they were supposed to preserve the blood, when they transported the blood, and when the blood was tested, all of it was faulty," he said.

According to Colovos, the blood was allegedly not properly preserved and stored, which can cause it to ferment.

"It wasn't preserved properly by statute, by law," he said. "We really wish it would have been done right because then it would have showed what her real blood alcohol level was."

Colovos said the basis for his request comes from evidence presented during Chidester's preliminary examination last year. According to Colovos, an officer who handled the blood sample testified that he did not shake it after adding a preservative.

"He was supposed to shake it because that preservative is what keeps it from being instead of a .02 turns into a .18. if the preservative is not shaken," Colovos said in court Friday.

The other side:

The prosecution argued that any concerns about BAC should be argued at trial. Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Daniel White agreed.

After the motion to suppress the BAC was denied, Colovos requested that the issue be addressed before jurors are in the courtroom. White declined this request.

Requests to move trial

Colovos also wanted to move the date and location of the trial, both motions that were denied.

What they're saying:

Colovos requested to move Chidester's trial out of Monroe County, but that motion was denied.

He also attempted to have the trial delayed so that Chidester's doctor, Ram Garg, can testify. Garg is currently in the middle of his own legal case for allegedly operating a pill mill, and he has invoked his Fifth Amendment rights while the case is pending.

His request to push the trial has been denied by both a Monroe County Circuit Court judge and the Michigan Court of Appeals. 

What's next:

Chidester's trial is scheduled to begin on March 3.

More Swan Boat Club crash coverage

• Marshella Chidester's BAC is admissible in court, judge rules
• Marshella Chidester's attorney claims her BAC was 'tainted'
• Judge rules Swan Boat Club crash evidence can be used in court
• Photos show Swan Boat Club crash aftermath

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