The teenager found guilty of intentionally crashing her car into a building to take the lives of her then-boyfriend and a friend had received a chilling text from one of the victims weeks before the tragedy.
On July 31, 2022, police were alerted to the crashed vehicle of Mackenzie Shirilla in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville.
The then-17-year-old, who was behind the wheel, was the sole survivor of the crash.
Highlights
- Dominic Russo had reportedly sent a breakup text to Mackenzie Shirilla weeks before he lost his life.
- Shirilla was found guilty of intentionally slamming her car into a brick wall to take the lives of her boyfriend and one of their friends.
- The woman, who is in prison, maintains her innocence and says the crash was a tragic accident.
Image credits: WKYC Channel 3
The two other passengers, Shirilla’s boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, were pronounced deceased at the scene.
When officers first arrived at the scene, they said the car had been "split in two."
Shirilla maintains her innocence, claiming she experienced a medical emergency shortly before the fatal crash and has no recollection of the events leading up to the incident.
The car’s black box and surveillance footage, however, tell a different story.
Image credits: Nichole Russo/Facebook
The case sparked renewed attention with the Netflix documentary The Crash, released on May 15, which features testimonies from investigators, the victims’ families, and Shirilla herself.
Part of the investigation focused on Shirilla’s violent treatment of her boyfriend, Russo, and the threats she made toward him before the fatal crash.
A text message made public by TMZ has now revealed the teenager was seriously considering breaking up with Shirilla weeks before he lost his life.
“Kenzie u know i love u but i dont think we should be together at this point, there isnt very much time on earth,” he wrote in the text message.
Image credits: Mackenzie Shirilla/Facebook
Russo then mentioned the constant “breakup fights” between the couple and said they should go their separate ways.
He wrote, "I dont want u to think im abandoning u i wish it could work but i dont think its going to at this point especially with the threats; we should just breakup so we can both fimd happiness somewhere else."
Russo reportedly sent the text on July 2, 2022, about four weeks before the crash that claimed his and Flanagan’s life.
In the documentary, Shirilla framed her constant fights with her boyfriend as the typical ups and downs of young love, stating there was nothing incriminating about her behavior.
She said the crash was a tragic accident and that she never intended to take either of her peers' lives.
In a video Russo filmed days before the fatal crash that was shown in court, Shirilla is heard threatening to break into his house and key his car.
Two weeks before the incident, Shirilla had also threatened to crash her car while driving with Russo as a passenger, seemingly after an argument, according to a prosecutor’s filing.
Prosecutors concluded that Shirilla slammed her car into a brick wall at 100 mph to take her boyfriend’s life and that, in her eyes, Flanagan was a necessary second fatality to carry out her plan.
At the time of the crash, the high school students had been dating for four years and were living together.
Image credits: Netflix
“She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The decision was d*ath,” a judge concluded when delivering her verdict in 2023.
The judge described Shirilla's actions as “controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional, and purposeful.”
“This was not reckless driving,” the judge said in courtroom footage seen in the documentary. “This was m*rder...[Shirilla] morphs from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels.”
One piece of evidence against her was the surveillance footage from the incident, taken at approximately 5:30 a.m., which shows her vehicle making a turn on a quiet street before suddenly speeding toward the building.
Additionally, blood tests revealed that Shirilla had not consumed any hard substances that could have affected her driving in the hours before the crash.
Image credits: Netflix
Forensic analysis also showed the then-teenager did not hit the brakes seconds before the collision.
On Aug. 14, 2023, Shirilla, then 19, was found guilty of m*rder, felonious as*ault, and aggravated vehicular homicide.
She was sentenced to life in prison, with first eligibility for parole after 15 years.
In court, she apologized to Russo and Flanagan’s families and called her late boyfriend her “soulmate.”
“The families of Dominic and Davion, I’m so deeply sorry. I hope one day you can see I would never let this happen or do it on purpose. I wish I could remember what happened,” she said, crying.
Shirilla, now 21 years old, is incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.
Her legal team filed an appeal in September 2023, but the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals upheld her conviction.
Shirilla’s parents insist their daughter has been “falsely accused” and that there is no evidence to conclude she committed a crime.
“There’s no evidence that you can show me that says prior calculation, intent, there’s nothing,” Steve Shirilla told NBC News. “There’s zero evidence. All the prosecution has that’s factual is five seconds of black box information.”
Image credits: Netflix
Russo and Flanagan’s families believe Shirilla is guilty.
“She ruined everybody’s existence on Earth, not just Dom’s — everyone in our families, everyone in Davion’s family, my kids,” said Christine Russo, Dominic’s older sister.
She has started a podcast, The Big Sister: Unhinged, to give her brother a voice beyond his victimhood, discuss sibling grief, and raise awareness about domestic violence.
Additionally, Christine has launched a Change.org petition to change the law in Ohio to ensure Shirilla, who was an influencer before the crime, does not profit from her actions.
She wants to update the Son of Sam law for the digital age. The law states that convicted criminals cannot profit from books and movie rights, but it does not mention social media.
Image credits: mackenzieshirilla/Instagram
“No victim's family should have to watch the person who k*lled their loved one turn that crime into any attention, followers, donations, sponsorships, merchandise, paid interviews, documentaries, social media income or other personal benefits,” she argued.
One of Flanagan's sisters, Davyne, spoke in court and asked the judge to give Shirilla “the longest possible sentence.”
"My son Davion is and always will be so much more than cargo," Flanagan’s mother, Jaime, said through tears at the sentencing, per Court TV. "He was precious. He was an amazing soul with a heart of gold."
The victims’ families were left stunned by a jailhouse call between Shirilla and her mother, Natalie, which reflected their alleged intention to profit from the double homicide.
Image credits: mackenzieshirilla/Instagram
In the call, Shirilla speculates that her case could be picked up by Kim Kardashian, who graduated from her four-year Law Office Study Program last year. Over the past few years, the reality star has attempted to publicize several inmates' claims of innocence.
“The calls that have come out just listening to them and the laughter between her and her mother is sickening,” said Christine Russo.
“Her mom tells her to write her book; she talks about being a model after she gets out.”
The 21-year-old will not be eligible for parole until 2037.
