MacKenzie Shirilla, a Cuyahoga County woman whose murder trial is the focus of a new Netflix documentary, remains in an Ohio prison while she attempts to have her conviction overturned.
Shirilla, 21, was the driver in a crash that occurred on July 31, 2022, in the Strongsville area near Cleveland. Dominic Russo, 20, who was Shirilla’s boyfriend, and Davion Flanagan, 19, a mutual friend, died in the crash.
In 2023, a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge convicted Shirilla of murder and other charges in connection with the crash.
The documentary, called “The Crash,” includes information about the investigation and interviews with people involved with the case, as well as Shirilla and her family.
Shirilla is serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for at least 15 years.
What happened on July 31, 2022?
According to court records and information presented in the documentary, Shirilla, her boyfriend, Russo, and Flanagan, a mutual friend, were in Shirilla’s Toyota Camry in a business park type area of Strongsville.
Court records say the three had been at a party but left, likely around 5 a.m.
Around 5:30 a.m., the Camry hit a brick building at nearly an estimated 100 mph. Shirilla, then 17, was seriously injured. Russo, who was in the passenger seat, and Flanagan, who was in the backseat, died in the crash.
The crash investigation determined that in the five seconds prior to the vehicle’s impact, there was no attempt to hit the brakes and the accelerator remained engaged and fully pressed to the floor, court records say.
About three seconds before impact, there was indication of someone turning the steering wheel and the gear shifting from drive to neutral and back to drive, according to court records and the documentary.
The car also went airborne less than two seconds before impact after hitting a curb, court records say.
Shirilla had Psilocybin mushrooms in her possession at the time of the crash but only had THC in her system, according to court records.
What charges did MacKenzie Shirilla face?
Shirilla was initially charged in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court and then bound over to be tried as an adult. She opted to have her case heard by a judge and not a jury.
Shirilla’s defense argued she has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, which caused her to pass out behind the wheel of the car.
Other evidence in the case included testimony about the volatility of Shirilla and Russo’s relationship, including a prior incident in which Russo allegedly called his family to get him after Shirilla was driving erratically and threatening to wreck the car, court records say.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Margaret Russo – no relation to Dominic Russo – found Shirilla guilty of multiple counts of murder, felonious assault and aggravated vehicular homicide. She sentenced Shirilla in August 2023 to the only sentence allowed in Ohio for murder, 15 years to life, for both Flanagan and Russo’s deaths but chose to ran Shirilla’s sentences concurrently.
What has happened to MacKenzie Shirilla since?
Following her conviction, Shirilla filed an appeal with the Eighth District Court of Appeals that was rejected. The Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear arguments on that appeal, upholding Shirilla’s conviction and sentence.
A second appeal focusing on a petition for post-conviction relief was rejected in March 2026 after the judges determined Shirilla’s filing was one day after the allowed 365 day filing period. Petitions for post-conviction relief are centered around allegations outside the trial itself, such as the discovery of new evidence or ineffective counsel.
Shirilla has appealed the decision to reject her petition to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: MacKenzie Shirilla, woman in Netflix doc ‘The Crash,’ still appealing conviction
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
