Marshella Chidester trial: Judge rules Swan Boat Club crash evidence can be used in court
Swan Boat Club crash evidence to be reviewed
A judge is deciding if statements made by Marshella Chidester, the woman who crashed into Monroe County's Swan Boat Club last year, can be used during her trial. Chidester is scheduled to stand trial next month on murder charges for the crash that killed two children.
MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Statements that Marshella Chidester made after the fatal Swan Boat Club crash will not be excluded from her trial.
A judge ruled during Chidester's motion hearing on Monday that all body cam footage from her arrest would be admissible in court.
Marshella Chidester in court on June 27, 2024
Swan Boat Club crash comments
The backstory:
After crashing into the Monroe County boat club on April 20, 2024, Chidester told sheriff's deputies that she didn't remember what happened. Body camera video of that encounter was shown during previous court hearings.
"I thought I was driving up to the boat club, and evidently I was driving right into the building," she told a deputy.
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.
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.
Chidester also told the deputy that she had a seizure the month before the crash and was hospitalized for several days.
After the defendant's Walker hearing on Feb. 10, Circuit Court Judge Daniel White denied her attorney's motion to suppress statements she made after police.
Her statements recorded in police body cam footage will be admissible in court during their trial.
Though Chidester's blood alcohol content was .18 at the time of the crash, her attorney has argued that a medical condition was to blame.
2 children killed in crash
The backstory:
A birthday party was being held at the Swan Boat Club when Chidester drove her vehicle through the building, killing 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 4-year-old Zayn Phillips.
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.
The deputy who spoke to Chidester immediately following the crash testified that she failed several field sobriety tests, couldn't maintain her balance, had watery, bloodshot eyes, and smelled like alcohol.
She was arrested and 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.
Swan Boat Club crash: Judge denies request to move Marshella Chidester's case out of Monroe County
Marshella Chidester's trial for the deadly Swan Boat Club crash will be held in Monroe County Circuit Court, a judge ruled Friday.
The other side:
Before the BAC was released, 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."
What's next:
After the Walker hearing, Chidester will return to Monroe County Circuit Court on March 3 for her trial.
The Source: Previous FOX 2 reporting was used to write this story.