Mackenzie Shirilla's lawyers made surprising claim in appeal as her third request denied
Topics: Mackenzie Shirilla, Crime, US News, Netflix
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Mackenzie Shirilla, Crime, US News, Netflix
Mackenzie Shirilla's legal team made a surprising claim as the Supreme Court of Ohio has once again declined to hear an appeal, after she was convicted of murder in 2023.
Shirilla has attempted to appeal her murder case a total of three times, twice in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and once in the Eighth District Court of Appeals, all of which have been denied by the Supreme Court.
The young woman from Ohio was just 17 years old when she purposely smashed her vehicle at 100mph into a brick wall in 2022, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 19, who were in the passenger seats.
And while Shirilla claims that she had suffered a medical emergency behind the wheel that led to the fatal crash, a judge ruled in 2023 that it was 'controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional, and purposeful' murder, and was consequently handed two concurrent life sentences.
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A Netflix documentary titled The Crash revisits the infamous case that divided the nation, in which Shirilla speaks out publicly for the first time since her conviction.
But during her attorney's attempt to appeal the case for the third time, they made a surprising claim about the 21-year-old's state during the collision.
After filing the appeal on April 27, they claimed: "There is medical evidence that Mackenzie Shirilla suffered from a pre-existing medical condition that could have caused her to black out while driving."
Her attorneys wrote in the appeal that the trial court dismissed her petition for post-conviction relief because it was filed after the deadline.
And in response to the appeal, the court argued that Shirilla 'miscalendared' the due date.
The court found: "The trial transcripts were filed in her direct appeal on October 23, 2023, triggering the 365-day statutory clock to file the petition.
"Shirilla filed her petition on October 24, 2024, which is the same day that many of her exhibits were notarized.
"Because 2024 was a leap year, Shirilla's petition was late by one day. The trial court properly denied her petition as untimely."
When delivering the verdict in court in 2023, the judge stated: "This was not reckless driving - this was murder.
"She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The decision was death."
The young woman remains incarcerated in the Ohio Reformatory for Women, where she is expected to have her first parole board hearing in September 2037.
Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, get into an argument. A friend overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”
Shirilla is driving Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, from Russo’s home to a friend’s house. At around 5.30am, she crashes the car into a Plidco Building in Strongsville, Ohio, travelling at 100mph without braking. Police arrive on the scene 45 minutes later. Russo and Flanagan are pronounced dead and Shirilla is transported to MetroHealth Medical Center.
200 people attend a vigil for Russo and Flanagan. Shirilla remains in critical condition. When a detective visits her in hospital, she is said to be speaking a ‘unique language’ similar to pig Latin.
Shirilla attends a Halloween party wearing fancy dress which resembles a corpse, which Davion’s father considers in very poor taste. He says in Netflix’s The Crash: “Dressing up as corpses three months after she killed two people, it just sickened us to the very core.”
Shirilla is arrested and faces 18 charges, including two counts of aggravated murder. She also faces charges for allegedly breaking into the Columbia Church of God in Columbia Station days before the crash, along with drug trafficking and possession charges.
Shirilla’s trial begins. Her defence team argue she may have passed out at the time of the crash due to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), but no medical records or expert testimony confirm the diagnosis.
Shirilla is found guilty on all counts. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo calls her ‘hell on wheels’, and the court concludes she intetionally crashed the car in a premeditated act.
Shirilla is sentenced to two concurrent 15 years to life sentences. Her legal team later lose an appeal and relief petition. She remains incarcerated in the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
Mackenzie’s parents insist that she’s innocent. Her father Steve tells WKYC: “Show me one piece of evidence - one - that says she did this on purpose. Show it to me, then she's right where she belongs and she's guilty of it. But there isn't any.” Her mother Natalie claims there are texts in which Shirilla says Russo was ‘trying to end her life’.
Netflix’s The Crash premieres. In it, Shirilla insists she is ‘not a murderer’ and has no memory of the crash, continuing to blame POTS.
Steve Shirilla is placed on administrative leave from his job as an art and digital media teacher at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland following allegations he had ‘demonstrated poor judgement’. Viewers of Netflix’s documentary objected to his attitude towards Shirilla’s marijuana use and his dismissal of claims she told a classmate to end their life.
This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole.