She sat in that courtroom, confident, feeling untouchable, like this was just a formality, before she walked back out those doors, a free woman. Former Boat Club Commodore Marcela Chedester had convinced herself the jury would believe her. Her lawyers painted her as a sick woman who’d suffered a medical emergency, a seizure, they claimed.

ill.  What you’re about to see is the moment Marcella Chittistister realized her medical defense couldn’t compete with what those cameras captured. The moment she understood she wasn’t going home. Not that day. Not for decades. This is the chilling case of the former boat club commodor who turned a birthday party into a crime scene.

 And every single detail I’m about to show you has been verified through court records, police body camera footage, home security video, and trial testimony. If you’ve never heard this story before, prepare yourself because what happened in Berlin Township, Michigan on April 20th, 2024 will challenge everything you think you know about drunk driving, premeditated choices, and how your own security cameras can destroy [music] your defense.

 I would never ever do anything intentional. Never.  Do you think you’re okay to drive? I wouldn’t want to drive.  You wouldn’t let you drive?  No.  I think I had a seizure.  You were having a birthday party.  The afternoon of April 20th, 2024 had started just like any other Saturday in Berlin Township.

 It’s a small community about 30 mi south of Detroit near Lake Erie. The kind of place where everyone knows everyone. At the Swan Boat Club, a 3-year-old’s birthday party was in full swing. Children were everywhere having fun. Then around approximately 3:00, this happened. An SUV appeared on the unpaved road leading to the boat club.

It was moving fast, like 44 mph fast. There hadn’t been any apparent attempt to break. No swerving, no stopping. The vehicle plowed straight through the north wall of the building. It penetrated 25 ft inside until it came to rest against a counter. 15 people in total were injured. Nine required immediate hospitalization.

 Two had died, both of them children. 8-year-old Alana, a lover of gymnastics, independent, and kind. She died from the sheer force of the initial impact. Her brother, four-year-old Zayn, eventually lost his life while in the ambulance. They were the youngest two of Brian Phillips and Mariah Dodd’s three children.

 Mariah’s godson was turning three that day. That was why they were at the circus themed party at the Swan Boat Club that Saturday. It was supposed to be a perfect spring afternoon. Cake, games, laughter, the sort of thing you do when you want to create wonderful core memories for your kids. But in an instant, what was supposed to be a beautiful experience had turned into the family’s worst nightmare.

 The driver of the SUV that had the family was none other than 60-year-old Marcella Chittistister. Retired from DTE Energy after working as a manager at the nearby Fairmy 2 nuclear plant. She lived about 500 ft away just down the block. She’d served as commodor of the club back in 2017. She knew the building well, knew everyone there.

 She’d even been invited to the party. And yet, she’d done this. When first responders arrived some 15 minutes later, the scene in front of them was chaos. Pure chaos. I got these information. I’m going to start working on [clears throat] getting  anybody in there.  I don’t know.  And yet in the midst of it all sat the perpetrator almost unmoved.

 Take care of the baby first. [laughter]  Which one? Can you come with [laughter] me just for a second?  Were you driving?  Can you come with me just for a second? Okay.  Their children’s mother, Mariah Dods, had been standing right next to them when the SUV crashed through. She’d come within an inch of her life that afternoon.

 A punctured lung, broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade, her chin split open. She’d lost consciousness instantly. The last thing she remembered was giving her children cake. The next thing she knew, she was waking up in a hospital bed. Thankfully, her oldest son survived, but he suffered severe injuries.

 It would take him 10 and 1/2 months before he could walk again. So, what turn of events could have led to a sex edgenarian becoming the killer of two children? The events of that afternoon had been a result of poor decision-making? Poor decision-making that would ruin multiple people’s lives that afternoon. Chidster had lived in Newport, just down the road from the club, nearly all her life.

 She and her husband Hugo had bought their home there in the 80s and even celebrated their wedding at the very same club. Though they never had children, their roots in the community ran deep. Now, it’s important we note that Chidister hadn’t been in good health prior to the accident. She’d suffered from epileptic type seizures in her legs that caused temporary paralysis, and she was on prescription medications for other age- related health issues.

 Despite her seizures, she was licensed to drive. And over the many decades she did so, she had never once received so much as a parking ticket. But that day, she’d chosen to only serve herself, and the results were disastrous. When she was brought in for questioning, her timeline of events was very spotty. She had no memories of the crash and only remembered waking up in a police vehicle.

 All right. When you’re done at Verest, where did you go to?  Um, went to the boat club.  Straight to the boat club.  Mhm.  Okay. So, um,  they were having a birthday party. So, you woke up in the police car?  Yep.  Okay. And then basically, do we know the events after that?  Nope.

 I don’t I don’t recall anything prior to that at all.  So, from 12:10, we didn’t go directly to the boat club. We went home. Did we go to the store? Did we go to a friend’s house? Um, what did we do during that time?  I I don’t know. I don’t know. I know that um the party started at 3:00, the birthday party, so I was there a little bit before that.

 Chittistister’s testimony wasn’t getting police anywhere, so they decided to try an alternative. Surveillance footage. The timeline of events they found proved intent. At 9:00 that morning, Party Store employee Anthony Cathawa opened his shop in Newport. Marcela Chittistister was already waiting at the door.

 According to court testimony, she purchased a fourpack of single serving Pog Grigio bottles, small clear plastic bottles. She also bought a standardized bottle of red Cabernet wine 9 in the morning. Most people haven’t even finished their coffee by then. From there, she headed back home to enjoy her purchase. What Shittister didn’t know was that her own home had security cameras in the kitchen.

 cameras that were recording everything. Prosecutors later obtained those recordings through a search warrant. What they showed would become the most damaging evidence in the entire case. At approximately 9:30 that morning, Chitister appeared on her kitchen security footage. She walked from her living room area holding what appeared to be a mini wine bottle.

 She made several trips each time, another small bottle in her hand. By 10:24, the video showed her walking those empty bottles from the living room to the kitchen. Around 11:00, she left her house. She drove to Verna’s bar and grill for lunch. Kellyanne Thornton was the server who waited on Chittistister’s table.

 According to her testimony, she served Chittistister one glass of wine with her meal. Chittistister ordered chili, she ate, she paid her bill. Thornton testified that Chittister didn’t appear drunk when she left around noon. But here’s what destroyed the defense. Chittistister went back home after lunch. Chittister had gotten surveillance cameras installed in her home, and they had recorded everything, the multiple trips to and fro across her kitchen with bottles and glasses of alcohol.

Then her neighbor’s camera caught a crucial moment. That was when something happened that should have been a final warning. Chittister, in her drunken haze, drove her car into her neighbors. The force of the impact striking the neighbors fence, a clear sign she wasn’t in control of her vehicle.

 But instead of stopping, instead of going home, Chitister kept driving. And that’s when the crash happened. But what happened next would show prosecutors exactly what kind of person Marcela Chidister really was. When Deputy Schmidt approached Chitt, she was sitting in a chair inside the destroyed building. From the body cam footage, it was clear she could barely maintain her balance.

 I think so.  I think so.  This one out here. I got you. I got  Where you going with her?  Over towards my car. Okay.  Then Deputy Cody Karina arrived. His body camera captured a critical conversation.  Have you been drinking at all today?  A little bit. Yes.  Okay.

 When’s the last time you had something to drink?  Probably half an hour ago.  Half an hour ago. What do you drink?  Wine. Okay.  Okay. So, what happened today? Where where were we at today?  I went to lunch with some friends.  Okay. About what time was that?  Um noonish.  Okay. So, around noon, you went to lunch.

 Do you remember what you ate?  Um yep. I had some chili and a um a fish sandwich.  A fish sandwich. Okay. Where was that at?  At Verest.  At Verest. Uh what did you drink there? You drink water, pop?  I had a glass of wine.  Just one glass of wine.  Yep. Okay.  Okay. So, you have one glass of wine at Verna’s.

 Um, after that, what happens? You leave at noon. Um, what do you do when you get home?  Um, I just came home and just kind of chilled out and was waiting for my husband to get up and taking a nap.  Okay.  Um, did you drink anything else there?  No, I didn’t even I didn’t even get a drink down here because I never made it this far.

 And did you eat anything else today?  No.  Okay. Okay. And then where where were you driving to?  Just from Verest to here.  To here. What were you coming here for?  Home.  Oh, you’re so you’re going from Veras to home.  Yeah.  And you left Veras at noon?  Yes.  Okay.

 Um but then you said you went home first.  I’m home here.  Oh, okay. So you were trying to go from Veras to home. How long were you at Vern then?  Uh maybe an hour. Not even that long.  Okay. So you made no stops between Vernas and here?  No.  And when did you go to Veras again?  Uh about noon.  About noon. Okay.

 Then Chitister took an alcohol level test.  So this is a PL breath test. Um I just want to see where you’re at with your alcohol level. If you have one glass of wine, it’s going to be really low. Okay. So just go ahead and uh blow like you’re blowing a balloon. Okay. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Thank you.  I just want to make sure everything is okay.

 Her attitude to the situation remained detached, almost matter of fact.  Oh, absolutely.  Oh my gosh, that was so scary. Do you remember what happened when you were going around here?  No, not really. I pulled into the parking lot and I was I thought I was driving up to the boat club and evidently I was driving right into the pavilion.

 When you got to the parking lot, what happened?  I don’t remember.  You don’t remember? Got to this parking lot. You don’t remember anything?  I don’t.  But the defining moment came here.  Okay. Uh, is there so on a scale of zero to 10, zero being like you’re stone cold sober, you can drive perfectly.

 Uh, 10 being you’re passed out drunk. Uh, where do you think you’re at right now?  Uh, seven.  A seven. Okay. Do you think you’re okay to drive?  I wouldn’t want to drive.  You wouldn’t let you drive?  No.  She knew. She admitted it on camera. She knew she wasn’t fit to drive, but she got behind the wheel anyway.

 From there, Chittistister was transported to the hospital. Deputy Schmidt accompanied her. He administered a blood draw kit for alcohol testing. When the sample was tested at the Michigan State Police Toxicology Lab, Chittistister’s blood alcohol content was.18. That’s more than twice Michigan’s legal limit of 08. But that wasn’t all they found in her blood.

Apparently, Chitister also had gabapentin in her system. It’s a medication used to treat seizures and nerve pain. The thing is, alcohol and gabapentin together could exacerbate the effects of intoxication. The defense would later argue that the blood sample had been mishandled, that it fermented. The results were inaccurate, but prosecutors had something that couldn’t be disputed.

 Detective Sergeant Jeff Hooper from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Chittistister’s home. He was the one who found the kitchen security camera and extracted hours of footage from it. Then investigators made another discovery that would connect everything. 2 days after the crash, they searched Chittistister’s trash.

 They found empty mini wine bottles, the same brand Anthony Cathawa had sold her at 9:00 that morning. The defense claimed Chittistister only had one glass at Verna’s. But what about the 9:00 a.m. purchase? What about the home videos? What about the empty bottles in her trash? Chidister was arrested at the hospital.

 Her charge, two counts of seconddegree murder, another two counts for operating while intoxicated, causing death, and a final five counts for operating while intoxicated, causing serious injury. She faced life in prison. But in a most shocking twist, on April 25th, just 5 days after the crash, Chittister posted a $ 1.5 million bond.

She was released. She had to surrender her passport, wear an alcohol tether, not drive. But she went home to the house just 500 feet from where she’d killed two children. She even gave interviews and press releases.  Wanted to just let people know, you know, that I’m so very very um disturbed about the situation and uh I can’t I don’t remember what happened.

 I can only say that I’ve been praying for everyone that’s been injured. I would never ever do anything intentional. Never. I mean, that’s just just not me. And especially to a boat club that I love so much and I have family and friends there. I think I had a seizure. I think that the same thing that my husband said that I did when I have a seizure is just like just go straight.

 And I think when I got in the car, that’s what happened. I just had the seizure and probably put my foot on the accelerator and crashed into the building.  She was going to put everything behind her. But for Dods, the story was terribly different. She woke up in a hospital bed. Her children were gone. Her oldest son survived, but it would take him 10 and a half months before he could walk again.

 The community was devastated. Two children dead at a birthday party. 15 people injured, and the woman who caused it lived right down the street. But of course, soon the case was back in court. The defense immediately began building their strategy. Bill Kovos, Chittistister’s attorney, would argue this wasn’t murder, but rather a medical emergency.

Remember that argument. You’ll see how it falls apart. In December, Kovos filed several pre-trial motions. He wanted to change the venue. He argued his client couldn’t get a fair trial in Monroe County because it was too small. Everyone knew about the case. Judge Daniel White denied the motion. Kovos also wanted to suppress Chittistister’s statements to police.

 He claimed she hadn’t been read her Miranda rights properly. He said her statements were involuntary. White denied that motion, too, but the defense wasn’t done. Kovos challenged the blood alcohol test results. He claimed the blood draw kit hadn’t been refrigerated properly. He said the blood fermented, that acetone and isopropyl compounds in the sample proved contamination.

 White ruled the jury would decide whether the test was valid. The trial was set for March 3rd, 2025. The courtroom was packed. Family members of Alana and Zayn wore shirts with the children’s photos. The shirts read, “Our guardian angels.” Presented to the court was the surveillance video of the crash, the SUV barreling toward the building, the impact, the destruction. The courtroom went silent.

Kovos gave the defense opening. He acknowledged the tragedy, but he argued there was no intent to kill. He asked the jury to consider whether his client was reckless or whether she’d suffered a medical crisis beyond her control. The prosecution called 27 witnesses over 4 days. Kristen Sigler testified first.

Thankfully, she’d just missed the crash as she’d stepped out of the party to FaceTime a friend. She was the mother hosting the birthday party.  There was a very loud what sounded like a bomb. Um, and I was right by the door, so I ran in and it looked like a bomb at that point. I didn’t know what happened.

 There was just um my son and his cousins right in the doorway. And so I got them outside and there was just debris everywhere.  Was there dust in the air? Was it hard to see?  Uh, yes. There was a lot of dust um still floating around. Um some lights were flashing. [snorts]  After you got your son and the other children outside, what did you do then?  Um I went back in and found u Diane Medina and my niece Leah on the ground.

So I started picking the debris up off of them and trying to help with them. Next, Mariah Dods took the stand.  After the crash, what’s the first thing you remember?  Waking up in the hospital.  Okay. Do you have any recollection of the boat club after the crash at all?  No. just I remember trying to open my eyes and it was black like I was asleep or something and I heard like long distance voices and it was just a few things that I heard and then that was it.

 and then I woke up in the hospital.  But surprisingly, one of the biggest shockers of this case came right after Dodd’s testimony when instead of cross-examining her, Chittistister’s lawyer broke down in tears. I’m very sorry. I’m sorry for your loss. I lost my son in September. He died peacefully. It’s older. And every time I work on your case, I thank you, Bill.

And I think you’re children. You have my deepest sympathy. And I’m human. Might be a defense attorney, but I’m human. And you seem like a much stronger person than me. It’s hard. My uh my prayers are with you and your family. I wish you the best. People keep telling me God has a plan. I guess that’s what we got to do.

 So, I just wanted to come out here for a minute and tell you true heartfelt that I feel very bad for you and your family. It’s a club you don’t want to belong to. [clears throat] And um I don’t have any questions for any you’ve gone through enough in life. But um  judge people appreciate  okay thank you very much excuse me thank you which means you  during closing arguments the defense argued the blood test was flawed reminded them of Chittistister’s perfect 50-year driving record.

 Why would she suddenly drive drunk into a building where she knew everyone? The prosecution walked through the timeline. The wine purchase, the videos, her admission on body camera that she was at a 7 out of 10 in intoxication. the neighbor’s fence she hit before the crash. The jury deliberated 90 minutes.

 Their decision guilty on all counts. Chittistister’s sentencing came on March 17th, 2025. And of course, she had something to say. All right. I’ve been thinking about what I was going to say to you for over a year. That was a terrible, terrible tragedy. I can’t help but say I’m so very, very sorry for the loss of your children.

I prayed for them every day and I believe I said heaven father would also forgive me as well as people that were injured. I never meant to harm those children when I was involved in the accident and the only thing that I can say is I’m so very sorry and I never ever meant to come across as not being so hurtful.

I’ve asked the Lord to forgive me and I ask that you at least look into your heart and at some point you can possibly forgive me. I want to appreciate that so much. I have a little verse that I want to read. I said this steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercy never ends. And that comes from Lamentations 3:22.

And I hope the Lord will show you some mercy and help you over your terrible tragedy, loss of your children. I’m again so very sorry. And I pray for your boy and your family as well as I do for the other people that were injured. I pray they’d be able to recover and get back to their normal selves again.  I’m sorry. That’s really all I can say.

 Wow. Thank you.  But in the end, she was sentenced to 25 to 50 years for the murder charges, 7 to 15 years for operating while intoxicated causing death, 2 to 5 years for operating while intoxicated causing serious injury. The sentences would run concurrently. Chidister would be eligible for parole in 25 years.

 By then, she’d be 92. Marshella Chidister is currently serving her sentence in a Michigan state prison. Her attorneys have filed an appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals. They’re challenging the admission of the home security footage and arguing the search warrant was defective. As for the parents and families of Alana and Zayn, they’re still picking up the pieces of what’s