NEWPORT, Mich. (WTVG/Gray News) – A jury found a woman accused of drunkenly crashing her car into a child’s birthday party, killing two young siblings, guilty on all charges on Thursday.
Marshella Chidester, 67, of Newport, was convicted on nine charges in the deadly crash that killed siblings Zayn and Alanah Phillips and left numerous other people injured.
The crash happened at the Boat Club in Newport, Michigan, last April.
The jury found her guilty on two counts of murder, two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, and five counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious injury.
Chidester faces what essentially equates to two life sentences.
Her sentencing is scheduled for May 13. She’ll be booked into the Monroe County Jail in the meantime.
Chidester’s defense attorney said he would appeal the ruling in the next 60 days.
The father of the kids killed in the crash, Brian Phillips, said he was relieved to hear the verdict. He said it was a step toward closure in this painful chapter in his life.
“I believe they did get this right,” Brian Phillips said. “The evidence clearly showed what she did, and she should be held accountable for what she did.”
Members of the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office held a news conference after the verdict was read.
“There’s never any winners in a case like this,” Monroe County Prosecutor Jeff Yorkey said following the verdict. “There’s nothing that we’re going to be able to do to bring back Zayn and Alanah or heal the physical and mental damage for the people that were present at that birthday party last year in April.”
He thanked the first responders who “prevented this tragedy from being worse than it was.” He thanked everyone who was part of the investigation and prosecution, including the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the forensics team with Michigan State Police and the victim’s rights coordinator.
The trial began Monday, and closing arguments were Thursday. The jury deliberated for about two hours.
Jurors heard testimony this week from forensic experts with Michigan State Police, attendees at the Swan Boat Club who were there the day of the crash, and the mother of the children who died.
Prosecutors said Chidester was intoxicated by alcohol and/or gabapentin, an anticonvulsant medication, at the time of the crash. Investigators testified that the defendant’s blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.
The defense questioned whether those blood tests were legitimate, saying they contained a trace amount of acetate, which could be a sign the blood samples were not properly handled.
An employee from a local business Chidester attended the day of the crash had testified that the business only served her one glass of wine and she didn’t appear intoxicated when she left.
After the defense rested on Thursday, the prosecution rebuttals began.
Prosecutors showed a new video that appeared to show Chidester returning to her kitchen for what appeared to be multiple glasses of wine less than an hour before the crash.
The prosecution called a witness from a local party store who said the defendant bought a bottle of wine and a small four-pack of wine around 9:00 a.m. that day.
A representative with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said he found a small wine bottle in the console of Chidester’s car during the investigation.
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