Monroe woman faces trial for birthday party accident that killed two children

BERLIN TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Monroe County woman faces murder charges after allegedly drunkenly entering a child’s birthday party.

Marshella Chidester is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and ploughing her car through a children’s birthday party at the Swan Boat Club in April, killing two young children and injuring 11 other people.

A judge ruled on Thursday, June 27, that she will stand trial on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of driving while under the influence of alcohol causing death, and four counts of driving while under the influence of alcohol causing serious bodily harm.

The 66-year-old lived next to the shipyard in Berlin Township, right on Lake Erie. Surveillance video from Chidester’s own home shows her leaving the house on the day of the accident, carefully walking down the stairs and then walking slowly, uncertainly and deliberately toward her car. After getting into the vehicle, the video shows her backing out of her driveway and disappearing from the frame, ramming her neighbor’s truck into his driveway before speeding off to head to the birthday party.

Prosecutors argued that the video showed Chidester leaving her home without complete control before driving her car through the boat club wall.

A neighbor heard the impact and ran to the Swan Boat Club, where they recorded video on their cellphone of a mother and two children trapped under Chidester’s vehicle in the building and of injured people scattered around the room.

The vehicle was reportedly driven 25 feet into the building.

Two children were killed in the accident. They were identified as 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and her brother, 5-year-old Zayn Phillips.

While Chidester said she had only had a little to drink that day, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit at the time.

The defense claims that she only drank one glass of wine on the day of the accident and that Chidester suffered a medical emergency that caused the accident.

The trial is scheduled to begin on July 12. If convicted, Chidester faces life in prison.