Emily Brown
Bodycam footage caught by police in Ohio reveals what convicted murderer Mackenzie Shirilla was thinking about during her arrest for the death of her boyfriend and friend.
Shirilla was 17-years-old when the car she was driving crashed at 100mph into a building in Strongsville, Ohio on 31 July, 2022.
Shirilla's boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic Russo, and friend, 19-year-old Davion Flanagan, were also in the car at the time of the collision, and when officers arrived they found all three unconscious.
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Russo and Flanagan ultimately died as a result of the crash, and Shirilla was arrested on November 4, 2022 as prosecutors claimed Shirilla had intentionally crashed the car to kill the two passengers.
Bodycam footage caught by officers with the Strongsville Police Department shows the moment Shirilla was arrested for the crime and placed into the back of a police car.
In the video, one officer can be seen introducing himself to Shrillia and explaining that he's the one who's been investigating the crash.
"You're under arrest for aggravated murder x 2, okay?" he says.
The officer then proceeds to swap the pair of handcuffs restraining Shirilla with another pair, but the teen is instead focused on a piece of jewellery around her wrist at the time.
"Could you please be careful taking this one off so it doesn't break the bracelet please?" she asks.
Later, Shirilla can be seen sitting in the back of a police car, where she leans over and appears to try and go to sleep.
In 2023, Shirilla was found guilty of murder, felonious assault, aggravated vehicular homicide, drug possession and possessing criminal tools.
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Margaret Russo - no relation to Dominic Russo - said the teenager had morphed from 'a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she [made] her way down the street'.
“She had a mission and she executed it with precision," the judge said.
Russo made her comments after watching surveillance footage from the crash, which formed a key piece of evidence in Shirilla's trial. She described Shirilla's actions as 'controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional, and purposeful'.
“The video clearly shows the purpose and intent of the defendant,” Russo said: “She chose a course of death and destruction that day.”
Shrilla's lawyers appealed the convictions, claiming there's not sufficient evidence to sustain them, however, the ruling was upheld by an appeals court in September 2024.