Topics: Mackenzie Shirilla, Crime, Netflix, True crime, Ohio
Prosectors in Mackenzie Shirilla's case have released new files about the young woman as they double down on her 2023 guilty verdict.
Shirilla was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 15 years for the deaths of her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan.
The two young men, aged 20 and 19, died in a car crash after Shirilla, who was 17 at the time, drove a car into a building at 100mph.
Her lawyer and family tried to argued that Shirilla had some kind of medical episode behind the wheel of the car and that she 'blacked out' because of her Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS).
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However, prosecutors argued that that couldn't have been the case as it was found that Shirilla's foot was on the gas up until the car crash and the vehicle hit speeds of 100mph – something an unconscious person wouldn't have been able to do.
Shirilla, her friends, family, and those involved with her case all feature in a new Netflix documentary called The Crash. In it, some of her friends express their doubts about Shirilla being guilty, as do her parents.
Shirilla also maintains her innocence in the program and is still trying to appeal her conviction to this day. Her latest appeal was filed in late April where it was argued that their initial appeal filed on October 24, 2024, shouldn't have been thrown out because they missed the deadline by a day.
Under Ohio law, convicted defendants generally have 365 days after their trial transcripts are filed to challenge their conviction, Cleveland 19 reports.
But Shirilla's team are now arguing that they should have had more time because a separate transcript was filed weeks after the main trial record.
They made these arguments in their latest appeal, filed with the Ohio Supreme Court on April 27, 2026.
Following this, prosecutors have now released files detailing their investigation into Shirilla to prove that she was in fact guilty and have argued that her latest formal request should be thrown out.
A spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement, per The Tab: "Prosecutor [Michael C. O’Malley, the county Prosecutor] believes without question that Mackenzie Shirilla is guilty of murder.
"We are confident that any court that reviews this case will come to the same conclusion."
The new documents include including over 30,000 pages of texts Mackenzie Shirilla sent around the time of the 2022 crash, court files, and records.
Some of those texts show the true nature of Russo and Shirilla's relationship and how toxic it was.
In once instance, text changes between the couple revealed that Shirilla allegedly tried to stab Russo 'in the eye' after an argument.
In a different message, Russo accused Shirilla of having anger issues – which she admitted to.
She penned in a message to him: "Obviously I have anger issues I've been working on in my whole entire life I need somebody that's going to be there for me and D escalate [sic] my situation‘s when I'm going through a manic episode and you never do that you choose to escalate the situation all the time."
It's also believed that Russo wanted to leave Shirilla, but she was having none of it.
At one stage she said she'd 'flip out' if he broke up with her.
Something which isn't detailed in the Netflix documentary are the phone calls the police received from Deanna Fausnight, the mother of David Proctor who dated Shirilla in 10th and 11th grade.
She told cops she feared her son's relationship with Shirilla was 'toxic' and that the pair 'argued constantly' – something which sounded similar to her romance with Russo.
Elsewhere cops found evidence that Shirilla was known for her reckless driving. Per a PowerPoint presentation, numerous sources said that the 17-year-old was known for being a 'crazy' driver and that it wasn't uncommon for her to get road rage.
The rest of the files released by police can be found here.
