Midwest
Michigan woman to stand trial in crash that killed young brother and sister at birthday party
A Michigan woman has been ordered to stand trial in a crash that killed two siblings and injured several other people who were at a boat club to celebrate a child’s birthday.
Marshella Chidester, 66, was bound over Thursday to Monroe County Circuit Court on two counts of second-degree murder and other charges in the April 20 crash at the Swan Boat Club in Berlin Township, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Detroit.
MICHIGAN WOMAN FOUND LIVING INSIDE GROCERY STORE SIGN WITH COMPUTER, DESK AND COFFEE MAKER
Authorities have said Chidester was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. A deputy testified Thursday during Chidester’s preliminary examination in Monroe County District Court that a blood test at a hospital after the crash revealed her blood alcohol content was 0.18. The legal limit in Michigan for operating a vehicle is 0.08.
This booking photo provided by the Monroe County, Mich., Sheriffs Office shows Marshella Chidester. The Michigan woman has been ordered to stand trial, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in a crash that killed two siblings and injured several other people who were at a boat club to celebrate a child’s birthday. (Monroe County Sheriffs Office via AP)
Deputies said Chidester told them she was headed to a birthday party at the boat club. She told one deputy that she had “passed out” while driving.
Surveillance video played Thursday showed a SUV barreling along an unpaved road leading to the boat club, then crashing into the building. After authorities arrived, police bodycam video showed the SUV stopped against a counter or wall as several injured people were being treated by first responders.
Monroe County sheriff’s deputy Steven Schmidt testified that the scene was chaotic. “There were injured people everywhere,” he said, adding that a small child who appeared not to be breathing was on the ground.
Killed were 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and her 4-year-old brother, Zayn Phillips. Their mother, Mariah Dodds, and another sibling were among the injured.
Dodds testified that the party was for the 3-year-old child of a friend.
Defense attorney Bill Colovos argued against the second-degree murder charges, saying there was no testimony that Chidester operated her vehicle with intent to cause the deaths.
He said during Chidester’s arraignment in April that she only had a glass of wine and a bowl of chili four hours before the crash, and that she has suffered since November with “epileptic-type seizures in her legs.”
Prosecutor Jeff Yorkey argued at Chidester’s arraignment that she has had substance abuse issues that were corroborated by her friends and family. Yorkey also said there was no indication that Chidester suffered a seizure before the crash.
Home surveillance video recorded just prior to the crash and played in court Thursday showed Chidester holding a railing and going step-by-step from her porch, then walking slowly to her SUV, which was parked next to a garage. As she backed out from the driveway, the SUV sped in reverse around the opposite side of the garage and slammed into a neighbor’s parked vehicle. The SUV then accelerated forward, past the garage, driveway and down the road.
Detective Sgt. Jeff Hooper testified that Chidester’s home is about 500 feet from the boat club near Lake Erie.
Chidester’s circuit court arraignment is scheduled for July 12.
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Detroit, MI
DPD investigating after human remains found in home on Detroit’s west side
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Human remains were found in a furnace of an home on Detroit’s west side, the Detroit Police Department tells us.
The remains was found by an individual working on the home in the 5200 block of S Clarendon just after 11 a.m.
Anyone with information can call 313-596-2260 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SpeakUp.
Stay with WXYZ.com for updates on this developing story.
Milwaukee, WI
Former Judge Hannah Dugan fined $5,000, won’t serve prison time, judge rules
MILWAUKEE — Former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan won’t serve prison time or probation and has been fined $5,000, a judge determined on Wednesday during her sentencing hearing.
It comes after a jury found her guilty of obstruction last year for helping an immigrant evade federal agents.
During the hearing, Dugan’s defense team called two character witnesses to the stand to speak on her behalf, including Rev. Gregory J. O’Meara, who is also a Marquette University Law School faculty member, and Janine Geske, the retired director of the Andrew Center for Restorative Justice and a law professor at Marquette.
“Hannah models what it means to be a Christian,” O’Meara said.
Dugan herself also spoke for the first time since the case against her began.
She told U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman that she tried to “maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves.”
Dugan added her actions on April 18, 2025, when the incident occurred, were “not done with any malicious intent or to advance any personal interest.”
Wrapping up her remarks, Dugan said to the court she has been cast as a scofflaw and a hero, but considers herself neither of those things.
“I am a public servant who’s just trying to do my job,” Dugan said, adding that she has had to retire from public life due to threats against her and her family.
A prosecutor then acknowledged that “she has experienced collateral damage because of her conduct,” but said “judges can’t choose to disregard the law.”
Prosecutors argued that Dugan’s actions amounted to an “abuse of trust” and asked the court’s sentence to reflect that.
Adelman then spoke, saying Dugan made a bad decision and that he doesn’t believe prison is necessary.
“This is a few minutes of conduct for someone who has dedicated her life to public service,” the judge said. “It’s a marked deviation from an otherwise law-abiding life.”
He also noted that Dugan’s actions didn’t stop the ICE agents from arresting the defendant outside the courthouse.
In April of last year, federal agents showed up at the Milwaukee County Courthouse to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who had reentered the country illegally. On that particular day, he was appearing before Dugan’s courtroom for a state battery case.
Dugan confronted the federal agents in a hallway outside the courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office. Following that, she helped Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents eventually caught up to him outside the courthouse.
Dugan was later arrested and charged for her part in the incident, and she was found guilty of obstruction last December; she was acquitted on her concealment charge.
Her lawyers argued during her trial that President Donald Trump’s administration sought to “crush” Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court hearings.
Dugan resigned the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship she had held for nine years in January amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers who labeled her an activist judge. In her resignation letter, she said her prosecution threatened “the independence of our judiciary.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has the backing of Trump in his race for governor, urged authorities to “lock her up” in a social media post following her conviction.
Minneapolis, MN
Traffic shift starts Wednesday on I-394 in Minneapolis
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