Ohio resident Mackenzie Shirilla was 17 in July 2023 when she made headlines for driving her car into a wall at 100 mph, resulting in the fatalities of her co-passengers: boyfriend Dominic Russo, 20, and friend Davion Flanagan, 19.
She is serving a life sentence for the crime and is back in the spotlight courtesy of a Netflix documentary, The Crash.
Highlights
- Mackenzie Shirilla’s high-profile 2023 homicide case has returned to the spotlight following the release of the Netflix documentary 'The Crash.'
- Body language analyst Bedros “Spidey” Akkelian claimed Shirilla’s responses in the documentary appeared deliberately vague and avoided directly addressing key questions.
- Despite her conviction and sentencing, Mackenzie’s family continues to insist she is innocent.
It features interviews with her, her friends, and family members, and Bedros “Spidey” Akkelian — a Canadian mentalist and behavior analyst — has dissected their body language for his YouTube channel, The Behavioral Arts.
Discussing one of Mackenzie’s responses specifically, Akkelian said she appeared to be aiming for ambiguity on purpose.
Body language expert claims Mackenzie Shirilla was deliberately vague in a key moment featured in Netflix’s The Crash
Image credits: Netflix
Akkelian has 1.47 million subscribers on his YouTube channel.
In a video posted on May 24, he studied a moment when the convicted teen was asked by an off-camera person, “How does a medical emergency account for the control of the car?”
The question referenced Mackenzie’s defense during the trial, in which she claimed she suffered from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition that can result in dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, shortness of breath, and more while driving.
Image credits: Netflix
Responding to the question, Mackenzie said, “I’m unsure, because I have no recollection of that morning, but I [do] know [that] nothing about it was intentional, because that’s not my character.”
While for some viewers the answer seemed convincing, the body language expert presented a concerning undercurrent to Shirilla’s response.
The analyst, who has previously shared his findings with outlets such as CNN and FOX News, said the interviewer had asked the right question because the way she answered said far more than she was willing to admit.
Image credits: mackenzieshirilla/Instagram
“One of the things that we focus on is ‘Did this answer my question?’ and ‘Did this answer my entire question?’ So anything that falls along the lines of redirecting, not answering the question, answering only one specific part of the question — all these things fall into the category of non-answer statements or refusal to answer,” Akkelian said.
He explained that Mackenzie did exactly that.
Mackenzie Shirilla opted out of answering why a medical emergency caused her to accelerate into a wall
Image credits: Netflix
“If you really think about it, her memory has nothing to do with the specific question,” he said.
Akkelian also pointed out how Mackenzie stumbled at the beginning of her response, which indicated she was thinking too hard or, in medical terms, experiencing “an increase in cognitive load.”
This was not because she did not know what to say, he said, but because she was thinking hard about how to word her answer, perhaps to avoid getting in trouble.
Image credits: Law&Crime Network
An investigation into the car that Mackenzie drove into the wall at a brick Plidco building in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb, revealed her foot was pressed to the accelerator to the full extent and that the brakes were never applied before impact.
It played a significant role in determining Mackenzie’s punishment, as Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Russo said while reading the ruling: “She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The mission was d**th.”
Mackenzie was sentenced to life in prison in August 2023 on four counts of homicide, four counts connected to causing severe bodily injury, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of illicit substance possession, and one count of possessing criminal tools.
She, Dominic, and Davion were returning home from a graduation get-together at around 5:30 a.m. on the day of the crash.
Her toxicology report confirmed the presence of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in her system when she crashed.
Mackenzie Shirilla had threatened to crash several times leading up to the actual crash
Image credits: Law&Crime Network
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Mackenzie and her boyfriend, Dominic, fought often and that family members viewed their relationship as toxic.
According to a court filing, two weeks before the crash, Mackenzie made the threat while driving with Dominic in the passenger seat after becoming upset during an argument between them.
He called his mother and asked to be picked up, and a friend went to get him.
Image credits: Law&Crime Network
She was recorded on another occasion threatening to key Dominic’s car and break the handle off a door after he refused to let her into his home.
Mackenzie’s legal team filed an appeal against the conviction in September 2023, but the Ohio Eighth District Court dismissed it.
In October 2024, her attorneys filed a post-conviction relief petition, which was also denied.
Mackenzie Shirilla’s family has maintained she is innocent
“We believe she’s been falsely accused of something. We believe there’s no evidence. There’s no evidence that you can show me that says prior calculation, intent — there’s nothing,” Steve Shirilla, Mackenzie’s father, told NBC News on May 14.
Natalie Shirilla, Mackenzie’s mother, said she believed her daughter did not receive a fair trial, reiterating what her husband had said.
“Look at the evidence critically and objectively, and you will see there is no evidence of intent. She never threatened his life,” she said.
“Mackenzie would never hurt anybody she loves,” she added. “She stands up for people who are in trouble or struggling. That’s who she is.”
Image credits: mackenzieshirilla/Instagram
Mackenzie apologized to the families of the victims before her sentencing while also pleading innocence.
“I’m so deeply sorry. I hope one day you can see I would never let this happen or do it on purpose,” she said.
She remains incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville as of this writing.
"She deserves to rot in jail," a netizen said
