Mackenzie Shirilla accused boyfriend of trying to kill her before deadly crash as bombshell texts revealed

Mackenzie Shirilla appeared to accuse her boyfriend of four years, Dominic Russo, of attempting to kill her just weeks before the fatal crash, which tragically claimed his life.

In July 2022, Shirilla, 17 at the time, drove a car at 100 miles per hour directly into a wall in Strongsville, Ohio, fatally crushing 20-year-old Russo and friend, Davion Flanagan, 19.

While Shirilla has long maintained she never meant to kill the pair, claiming she blacked out during the crash, the then teenager was convicted of 12 felony offences, including murder, felonious assault and aggravated vehicular homicide.

A judge sentenced Shirilla to two concurrent sentences of 15 years behind bars, with the criminal not eligible for parole until 2037 at the earliest.

Alleged text messages appear to show that two weeks before the crash, Shirilla accused Russo of trying to kill her by crashing his car.

Obtained by PEOPLE from the Strongsville Police Department, she allegedly said on July 17 2022: "The fact that my boyfriend of four years just tried to end my life by steering me off of the highway that's how I know you're not in love and you never were somebody who loves me would never do this to me."

Russo said he 'rly didnt', but Shirilla added: "I'm already nervous driving in the rain as it is and the fact that you would even try to steer me off of the road and make my car spin out."

Shirilla then threatened to 'file a police report', which led to Russo responding: "If u do im telling your mom your a prostitute ... cuz u are."

On July 21 2022, just 10 days before the crash, Shirilla texted Russo begging to be let into his home.

He said no because she'd 'threatened to break a bunch if s**t', to which Shirilla replied: "I'm only going to break s**t if you don't let me in."

Shirilla's murder charges have come back into the limelight following the release of Netflix's The Crash, which features interviews with the families involved.

Former Ohio prison inmate Kat Crowder, who was previously a cellmate of Shirilla, recently shared her experience of spending time with the convicted murderer.

In a video she shared to TikTok, Crowder claimed: "When I was in prison with her, it was at the beginning of her sentence, and the Mackenzie that came on to Netflix was not the same Mackenzie that I witnessed in prison.

"She thrived for fame, even when I was in prison with her, she thought she was going to be the representative of the prison."

She continued: "Let me tell you something, Mackenzie Shirilla did not walk around that prison yard with an ounce of remorse.

"Mackenzie did not walk around that prison yard thinking about those lost loved ones that she claimed to think about every single day. [She] walked around the prison thinking, how is she going to get in with the cool kids?"

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 confirms 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 Ohio Refamatory 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.