Mackenzie Shirilla, now 21, was just 17 when she drove her Toyota Camry at nearly 100 mph into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio – killing her boyfriend Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, in a crash a judge called ‘murder, not reckless driving’

The Netflix documentary ‘The Crash’ features Shirilla’s FIRST-ever prison interview, where she insists she’s ‘not a murderer’ and claims a POTS medical condition caused her to ‘black out’ – despite car data showing her foot was on the accelerator 100% until impact

Prosecutor Tim Troup reveals chilling evidence: three seconds before the crash, the steering wheel turned sharply and the car shifted from drive to neutral and back to drive – ‘I think the boys were trying to save their lives’

Christine Russo, Dominic’s sister, has launched ‘Dom and Davion’s Law’ with nearly 60,000 signatures – seeking to block violent offenders from profiting off their crimes on social media, fearing Shirilla could become ‘the next Gypsy Rose Blanchard’

CLEVELAND, Ohio – At 5:34 a.m. on July 31, 2022, a 2018 Toyota Camry carrying three young people rocketed down an empty road in a Strongsville industrial park.

The car hit 100 mph.

Then it slammed head-on into a brick wall.

‘This is the worst crash I’ve ever seen,’ one officer said as first responders arrived at the scene.

In the front passenger seat lay Dominic Russo, 20. Stacked on top of him was Davion Flanagan, 19. Both were dead.

Behind the wheel, still breathing but wedged into the wreckage, was Mackenzie Shirilla – then 17 years old.

She survived with three broken ribs, serious organ injuries, and a claim that she remembered nothing.

Now, nearly four years later, Netflix’s new documentary ‘The Crash’ has reignited the national debate around one of the most controversial murder cases in recent Ohio history.

‘LITERAL HELL ON WHEELS’

During Shirilla’s 2023 bench trial, prosecutors argued that this was no accident.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo (no relation to the victim) agreed.

‘This was not reckless driving,’ the judge said in courtroom footage seen in the documentary. ‘This was murder.’

She described how Shirilla ‘morphs from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels’.

The evidence was devastating.

Data recovered from the car’s event data recorder showed that Shirilla had engaged the gas pedal 100 percent for the full five seconds leading up to the crash. There was no braking. No swerving.

In fact, the car’s steering, brakes, accelerator, and tires were all functioning perfectly.

Investigators also ruled out drugs and alcohol. Toxicology tests came back negative for psilocybin and alcohol, with only THC present. Mechanical failure was eliminated as a possibility.

That left only one conclusion, prosecutors said: intent.

‘THE BOYS WERE TRYING TO SAVE THEIR LIVES’

But the most chilling detail came from the car’s data recorder.

Assistant Prosecutor Tim Troup made a grim discovery: Three seconds before impact, the steering wheel turned sharply, and the car shifted from drive to neutral – then back to drive again.

‘I think the boys were trying to save their lives,’ Troup says in the documentary.

The implication is horrifying: In those final seconds, as the car accelerated toward the wall, one of the passengers may have grabbed the gear shift in a desperate attempt to stop the vehicle.

They failed.

‘There are those five seconds when no one knows what went on in that car,’ said Angharad Scott, a producer of ‘The Crash’.

THE TOXIC RELATIONSHIP

Shirilla and Russo had been in an on-and-off relationship for roughly four years.

By July 2022, she had just graduated from Strongsville High School and, with her parents’ consent, moved in with him.

But behind closed doors, the relationship was volatile.

Christine Russo, Dominic’s mother, testified that her son had sent her an urgent message saying he was in the car with Shirilla, who was driving erratically and dangerously, and that he needed immediate help.

In the weeks before the crash, Dominic had reportedly tried to break up with Shirilla multiple times.

Worst of all, someone reported that Shirilla had threatened to crash a car with Dominic inside just two weeks before the fatal collision.

Prosecutor Troup called this ‘prior calculation’.

SHIRILLA SPEAKS: ‘I’M NOT A MURDERER’

In ‘The Crash,’ Shirilla sits down for her first-ever on-camera interview from the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.

Her lawyer was present throughout.

‘I’m not saying I’m innocent. I was a driver of a tragedy,’ she says. ‘But I’m not a murderer.’

Shirilla points to her 2017 diagnosis of POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), a blood pressure disorder she claims can cause her to ‘black out’.

‘The most logical speculation seems to be a medical emergency,’ she says.

But when pressed on how that would explain her retaining control of the vehicle, she hedges.

‘I’m unsure, because I have no recollection of that morning, but I know nothing about it was intentional – because that’s not in my character.’

She also addresses the firestorm over her social media presence. In the months between the crash and her arrest, Shirilla continued posting TikToks – dancing, modeling, seemingly ‘living her best life’ – which the prosecution used during sentencing to demonstrate a ‘shocking lack of remorse.’

‘I feel like anybody’s social media isn’t really them,’ she says. ‘It’s how they want the world to see them. And at the time, that’s how my 17-year-old brain was wanting to be seen.’

‘THAT WAS THE WORST APOLOGY I’VE EVER HEARD’

At her sentencing hearing in August 2023, Shirilla read a statement.

‘The families of Dominic and Davion, I’m so deeply sorry,’ she said. ‘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.’

The victims’ families were unmoved.

Davyne Flanagan, Davion’s sister, told the court: ‘That was the worst apology I think I’ve ever heard in my life. I know when someone’s being fake.’

She asked the judge for ‘the longest possible sentence’.

Judge Russo sentenced Shirilla to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life. She will be eligible for parole in September 2037.

The judge noted she believed there was a ‘very good likelihood’ Shirilla would spend the rest of her life behind bars.

‘SHIRILLA THE KILLA’ – LIFE BEHIND BARS

Inside prison, Shirilla has apparently embraced a new identity.

Former inmate Shyann Topping, 27, who served time with Shirilla, told The US Sun that the convicted killer goes by a chilling nickname: ‘Shirilla The Killa.’

Topping claims Shirilla is already planning her post-release fame.

‘Like, she’s gonna go back to concerts. She’s gonna travel. She’s gonna be an influencer and write a book when she gets out about everything that happened,’ Topping said.

‘She said it might take some time, but she’s gonna get out and live it again.’

Topping initially supported the idea but has since changed her mind.

‘Now I’m thinking, okay, she was just trying to grab a piece of fame,’ Topping said. ‘I don’t think she would do any of that for the families if she got out. I think she would throw up a big middle finger to them like, “I got away with it.”‘

Shirilla’s mother, Natalie, has maintained her daughter’s innocence and continues to fight the conviction. Her first appeal was denied, but the family has vowed to ‘fight, fight, fight’.

‘DOM AND DAVION’S LAW’: FIGHTING FOR CHANGE

For Christine Russo, Dominic’s sister, the Netflix documentary has forced the family to relive the tragedy ‘again and again.’

But what angers her most is the potential for Shirilla to profit from her notoriety.

‘What hurts even more is seeing how modern social media culture allows violent offenders to gain attention, followers, donations, publicity, and influence from the crimes that destroyed families like mine,’ Christine wrote on her Change.org petition.

She has launched ‘Dom and Davion’s Law’ – Victims Before Influencers – in collaboration with the nonprofit Silver Lining of Hope Incorporated. The petition has garnered nearly 60,000 signatures.

‘Violent crime should not become a pathway to fame, money, influence, or opportunity,’ the petition states. ‘Public attention should never become a reward for homicide. Notoriety should not become a business model.’

Christine has drawn direct comparisons to Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was released from prison in December 2023 and has since amassed over 9 million TikTok followers, landed a reality TV show, and built a reported $3 million net worth.

‘It is hard, the thought of (Mackenzie) getting out, and you know that – Gypsy Rose – it’s going to happen,’ Christine said on her podcast, ‘The Big Sister: Unhinged.’ ‘I got to figure out how to stop her from becoming the next Gypsy Rose.’

The proposed law would modernize ‘Son of Sam’ laws for the digital age, blocking violent offenders from monetizing their crimes through book deals, TikTok campaigns, or TV shows.

THE ROAD AHEAD

For now, Mackenzie Shirilla remains behind bars.

Her first parole hearing is more than a decade away – in September 2037.

But for Christine Russo and the families of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan, the fight is far from over.

‘Public attention should never become a reward for homicide,’ Christine wrote.

‘Notoriety should not become a business model.’

What do YOU think? Was Mackenzie Shirilla’s crash a tragic medical emergency – or cold-blooded murder? Should ‘Dom and Davion’s Law’ be passed to stop convicted killers from profiting off their crimes? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Compiled from various sources