Swan Boat Club crash trial: Marshella Chidester's BAC is admissible in court, judge rules

MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - As Marshella Chidester's trial date nears, a Monroe County judge has ruled that her blood alcohol test results can be used in court.

Chidester's attorney, Bill Colovos, has argued that her blood sample was not properly handled, so the BAC results were tainted. He wanted an evidence hearing before her trial to address his assertions. Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Daniel White denied this.

Colovos then requested that the issue not be discussed in front of the jury.

"They can't lay the proper foundation, and I would rather not have that at the time of trial to taint a jury," he said.

White also denied this request. 

Potential alcohol use was also an issue brought up during Friday's hearing. Last week, Chidester's alcohol monitoring tether was obstructed twice, for 12 hours each time, the judge said. 

Colovos said those obstructions were caused by leg swelling that went down, causing the tether to be loose. 

"I have some real questions about that," White said before ordering Chidester to be tested for alcohol following the hearing.

The backstory:

Chidester, 67, 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.

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

However, Colovos, argues that her BAC results were tainted, and thus should not be admissible 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.

He also maintains that the crash was caused by a medical condition. According to Colovos, Chidester had been experiencing seizures since November 2023, was taking medication for the condition, and needed to stop driving for several months during the fall before the crash due to seizures.

The prosecution argued that BAC is an issue that should be addressed at trial, not before. White agreed.

Dig deeper:

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

In addition to the BAC results, 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 Colovos said was confirmed during a search at that bar.

A motion to suppress video of Chidester speaking to deputies in the parking lot of the boat club after the crash was previously denied. 

What's next:

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

Colovos has been fighting to delay the trial 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. 

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