Five important details Netflix's Mackenzie Shirilla documentary didn't show
More shocking details keep coming out of the Mackenzie Shirilla case, the subject of the hugely popular true-crime Netflix documentary The Crash.
The new Netflix documentary has reignited interest in the controversial case about convicted killer Mackenzie Shirilla, exploring the details surrounding the crash that killed her boyfriend Dominic Russo and friend Davion Flanagan.
Shirilla has insisted that she blacked out and never meant to kill them, despite prosecutors arguing she drove with intent into a wall at more than 100 miles per hour. Black box evidence proved that she was pressing down the accelerator as the car collided with a wall.
Now 21 and serving 15 years to life behind bars, Shirilla broke her silence for the first time in the 90-minute documentary, insisting she is innocent and claiming she suffered a seizure moments before the crash.
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This marks Shirilla’s first prison interview since her conviction and has generated substantial debate around intent, accountability, and justice.
Law & Crime shared five interesting details that the doc didn't dive into, that could change your perspective on the case entirely.
Cell phone data showed she 'scoped out the site'
Cell phone data indicated that Shirilla was in the vicinity of the crash site days before the incident, which prosecutors argued suggested she was scoping out the location.
Mackenzie used the crash to try and get a modeling contract
Shortly after the crash, while hospitalized, Shirilla and her mother reached out to a Los Angeles modeling agency seeking employment, which the prosecution used to argue she was attempting to capitalize on her role as a victim.
She wanted to put her photo in Dominic's casket
Shirilla sent text messages to a classmate asking them to retrieve photos of her from Russo’s room to place in his casket so he could be 'with her forever'.
She attended a concert months after the crash showing 'lack of remorse'
Prosecutors introduced video evidence showing Shirilla attending a concert in a wheelchair months after the crash, using it to demonstrate a lack of remorse while the investigation was still ongoing.
She was seen driving shortly after the crash
Authorities were informed that Shirilla was seen driving a car in Strongsville shortly after the event, despite her mother’s testimony about her dizziness and medical condition, which countered claims regarding her inability to operate a vehicle safely.
Where is Mackenzie Shirilla now?
Shirilla did not testify during her trial, instead choosing to read a statement at her sentencing in August 21, 2023. While crying, she apologized to the Flanagan and Russo family, but still protested her innocence.
She said: "I hope one day you can see I would never let this happen or do it on purpose."
Judge Russo ultimately sentenced Shirilla to 15 years to life for Flanagan and 15 years to life for Russo, to be served concurrently. Shirilla is imprisoned at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, about 130 miles from Strongsville.
In March, Ohio’s Court of Appeals denied Shirilla’s petition as her team 'filed one day past the 365-day jurisdictional deadline'. She is eligible for parole in 2037.
Mackenzie Shirilla timeline
July 17 2022
Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend Dominic Russo get into an argument. A friend overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”
July 31 2022
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.
August 2022
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.
October 2022
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.”
November 4 2022
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.
August 7 2023
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.
August 14 2023
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.
August 23 2023
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.
May 22 2025
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’.
May 15 2026
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.
May 18 2026
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.
September 2037
This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole.
UNILAD has contacted Netflix for comment.
Topics: Mackenzie Shirilla, Netflix, True crime, Crime, Ohio
Thomas Bamford