Mackenzie Shirilla’s legal team asks Ohio Supreme Court for new trial alleging altered coroner’s report

Mackenzie Shirilla, the Ohio teenager convicted of intentionally crashing her car into a brick building at 100 mph, is making a final bid for freedom.

In July 2022, a 17-year-old Shirilla drove her vehicle into a commercial building in Strongsville, Ohio, killing her passengers: her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend, Davion Flanagan.

Following a bench trial in 2023, she was found guilty of four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, and two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide.

She was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and is currently housed at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.

However, her legal team is now claiming that her rights were violated and that she deserves a new trial.

Mackenzie Shrilla has launched yet another appeal in a bid to have her conviction overturned (Netflix)

The Coroner's Report Allegation

Shirilla’s attorneys recently petitioned the Ohio Supreme Court to hear her appeal.

The lawyers allege that the official coroner's report regarding the fatal crash was modified without adhering to proper protocols.

This latest legal maneuver comes after a devastating procedural blow to her defense. Earlier in 2026, the Eighth District Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision to deny Shirilla's post-conviction relief petition.

The dismissal occurred because her lawyers filed the paperwork on October 24, 2024—missing the strict 365-day statutory deadline by exactly one day.

Despite the defense arguing that the timeline should have started later, or that 2024 being a leap year should afford them an extra day, the court strictly dismissed the appeal as untimely.

Recently, the Ohio Supreme Court declined to review the appeal, citing jurisdictional grounds.

An image shows the wreckage of the car Shrilla was driving (Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office)

Netflix's The Crash and Public Outrage

The legal battle is unfolding under intense public scrutiny following the recent release of the Netflix documentary The Crash, which chronicles the tragedy and the ensuing trial.

During the trial, prosecutors argued Shirilla showed a "shocking lack of remorse," pointing to social media posts and TikToks she made in the months following the deaths of Russo and Flanagan.

Furthermore, decoded prison phone calls captured her mother, Natalie Shirilla, telling Mackenzie that rehabilitation programs are meant for 'actual criminals'.

The renewed attention from the documentary has prompted swift action from the victims' families. Dominic Russo's sister, Christine, recently launched a Change.org petition advocating for 'Dom and Davion's Law'.

The proposed legislation aims to modernize Son of Sam laws for the digital age, closing loopholes that allow violent offenders to gain social media followers, influence, and potential profit from their crimes.

"Since the documentary aired, our family has had to relive this tragedy publicly over and over again," Christine Russo wrote in the petition.

While Shirilla maintains she blacked out due to a medical condition (POTS) and did not intentionally cause the crash, vehicle data recorders showed the accelerator was floored with zero braking before impact.

As the courts continue to reject her appeals, Shirilla remains behind bars with her legal avenues rapidly closing.