After surviving a devastating high-speed crash that claimed the lives of her boyfriend and a friend, Mackenzie Shirilla recounted to police and others that she couldn't recall the events that transpired. The 17-year-old was driving her boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic Russo, and their friend, 19-year-old Davion Flanagan, home from a gathering with friends at around 5:30 a.m. on July 31, 2022, when her Toyota Camry slammed into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio, at a speed of around 100 mph. Both Russo and Flanagan passed away at the scene.
Initially, authorities treated the crash as an unfortunate accident. However, prosecutors later argued that it was a failed attempt at murder-suicide linked to what they described as a toxic, on-and-off relationship between Shirilla and Russo, who had been dating for four years. Four months after the crash, Shirilla was arrested. In August 2023, she was found guilty of murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, and several other offenses.
According to a 2024 Ohio Court of Appeals opinion that upheld Shirilla's conviction and was obtained by PEOPLE, Shirilla sent a text message to Christine Russo, Dominic's mother, sometime after the fatal crash. In the message, she expressed her inability to remember the incident and even mentioned considering hypnosis to regain her memories. "I remember turning onto the street, and then my vision fades to black," Shirilla wrote. "It really kills me not to be able to remember anything. I promise you I would tell you if I could. I've been asking my therapist why I don't remember, and she said it's because of trauma. I'm gonna try to get hypnotized and make myself remember," per the opinion.
The opinion also states that Christine told investigators that the relationship between her son and Shirilla had become strained in the six months leading up to the crash, citing frequent arguments and claiming that Shirilla had become more "possessive" of Dominic. Additionally, a friend of the Russo family testified that in the weeks before the crash, he witnessed Shirilla threatening to crash her car with Dominic inside, per the opinion. Shirilla's parents, Natalie and Steve Shirilla, have since disputed this claim in the recent Netflix documentary "The Crash," saying texts from Shirilla to Christine show that Dominic was actually the one who made the alleged threat.
Shirilla has claimed that she passed out while behind the wheel due to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a chronic medical condition that causes fainting and dizziness. However, no medical records or expert testimony confirming such a diagnosis were presented at her bench trial. Prosecutors also cited car data showing that the gas pedal was floored and the brakes were never used in the five seconds leading up to the crash. They further pointed to gear changes and steering movements made just before impact. Surveillance footage showed that Shirilla was driving normally on the residential road before suddenly speeding up. Testing also confirmed that the car did not experience any mechanical failure.
Now 21 years old, Shirilla is incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville and will become eligible for parole after serving 15 years.
