Teen found guilty of murdering boyfriend and friend by intentionally crashing car at 100 mph
Ben Thompson
Featured Image Credit: WKYC/Facebook/natalieshirilla
A teenager broke down in tears after she was convicted of murder earlier this week, having been accused of driving into a brick wall at 100mph on purpose.
The horrific collision - which happened last year - killed Mackenzie Shirilla's boyfriend and his friend instantly.
As she was found guilty in court for the July 2022 incident, the 19-year-old sobbed.
Shirilla's boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and his friend Davion Flanagan, 19, lost their lives during the horrific incident.
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Judge Nancy Margaret Russo said: "This was not reckless driving. This was murder.
"She had a mission, and she executed it with precision.
"The decision was death."
The crash took place when Shirilla was just 17 years old and happened because her relationship with Russo was under duress, prosecutors argued.
Shirilla, from Strongsville, Ohio, was found guilty of four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of drug possession and one count of possessing criminal tools.
Shirilla was filmed acting with 'purpose and intent' by flooring her car moments before it jumped a curb and hit the wall of a warehouse.
The judge says the move was calculated as she chose an early time of day to make the drive, knowing that nobody would be on hand to help.
When people came across the scene, Shirilla was found unconscious in the driver's seat with her foot still on the accelerator.
Russo, who was in the passenger seat, and Flanagan, who was in the back seat, were both declared dead at the scene.
Upon waking up in hospital, she displayed signs of grief and remorse, the court heard.
Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim Troup said the teen wanted revenge after her fling with Russo fizzled out.
He said: "Davion was just cargo.
"Whatever she had in for Dominic, [Flanagan] was just along with his friend and got sucked into a toxic relationship and just got in the wrong seat that night."
Shirilla had THC in her system over the state's legal limit but she was not pursued on driving under the influence charges.
Her attorney, Jim McDonnell, had pushed for his client to only be found guilty of vehicular homicide but not for murder.
Shirilla's mother says she hopes her daughter will appeal the verdict.
On the other hand, the victims' mothers have expressed relief.
Flanagan's mother said: "We are just thankful that we feel justice was served today.
"There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t miss our son and justice was served for him today. But honestly there’s no winners here. There’s no winners here today."