Swan Boat Club trial verdict: Marshella Chidester found guilty of murder, other charges

MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - After hearing four days of testimony and less than two hours of deliberation, jurors found Marshella Chidester guilty of murder and other charges stemming from the Swan Boat Club crash.

Chidester was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, and four counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury on Thursday,

This conviction comes after Chidester, 67, drove her vehicle through the Swan Boat Club in Monroe County's Berlin Township on April 20, 2024. The crash killed 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 4-year-old Zayn Phillips, and left more than a dozen people wounded.

What's next:

Chidester was remanded to the Monroe County Jail, where she will remain until her sentencing on May 15.

What they're saying:

"My client's very devastated," said Bill Colovos, Chidester's attorney.

Colovos said he didn't expect such a quick verdict in the case, which he called one-sided.

"They say quick verdicts are not good for someone that's charged," he said, noting that he is questioning if jurors truly deliberated or had their minds made up when they entered the jury room.

He said he is concerned that his client may not have gotten a fair trial since the case got so much attention in both the media and on social media.

"She was well aware that it could certainly go either way or split," Colovos said.

Colovos said he plans to file an appeal within the next 60 days. The basis for this includes the fact that the court declined to suppress some evidence that he wanted to be withheld from trial. 

Trial recap

According to evidence presented in court, Chidester had a .18 BAC when she crashed into the boat club. Her attorney, Colovos argued that his client suffers from a medical condition that caused her to crash. He also challenged how her blood sample was handled, and asserted that the blood began fermenting before it was tested.

A forensic toxicologist that Colovos called as an expert witness said that the blood test results showed signs of fermentation, while a forensic scientist who tested the blood at Michigan State Police's lab said that there was no evidence of fermentation.

After Colovos challenged the BAC results, the prosecution brought forth new evidence during its rebuttal - video from inside Chidester's home that showed her carrying wine bottles and a wine glass both the morning of the crash and just before the crash.

Read and watch day-by-day recaps here:

Monday recap: Jury seated, 8 witnesses describe 'chaos'

Tuesday recap: Mother of children killed recalls learning what happened from hospital

Wednesday recap: Defense begins calling witnesses

Thursday recap: More evidence of alleged drinking shown

2 kids killed in boat club crash

The backstory:

Two children, 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and 4-year-old Zayn Phillips, were killed after a vehicle barreled through the Swan Boat Club during a birthday party on April 20, 2024.

According to authorities, Chidester, 67, had a BAC of .18 when she drove her vehicle into the Berlin Township club.

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 crash, 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.

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

Marshella Chidester's defense

What they're saying:

Colovos has maintained that the crash was a result of Chidester's medical condition, not alcohol. He has also argued that her blood sample was not 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.

Colovos filed a motion requesting not to have the BAC results presented during trial.

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.

The BAC is expected to be a big part of the trial, with Colovos previously saying that he will have an expert testify about how the blood sample was handled. 

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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