Recently unveiled bodycam footage captures a tense moment when Mackenzie Shirilla’s father harshly criticizes the police, referring to his daughter as “a dumb 18-year-old” and insisting they refrain from questioning her following her arrest related to a fatal accident.
The tragic incident, which is at the heart of a high-profile Ohio murder case often referred to as “hell on wheels,” has gained renewed attention with the release of Netflix’s true-crime series “The Crash.”
Shirilla, who is now 21, is currently serving two concurrent sentences ranging from 15 years to life. She was convicted of killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 19. Prosecutors argued that Shirilla deliberately drove her Toyota Camry into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio, on July 31, 2022.
The bodycam footage, obtained by a news outlet, shows Steven Shirilla arriving at the Strongsville Police Department on November 4, 2022, following his daughter’s arrest.
Mackenzie Shirilla, at 19, intentionally crashed her vehicle into a building on July 31, 2022, resulting in the deaths of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan. (Images courtesy of the Strongsville Police Department, A. Ripepi and Sons Funeral Home, and Jardine Funeral Home)
“I need to speak to my daughter,” Steven Shirilla is heard telling officers. “You guys aren’t allowed to speak with her at all, that’s from the lawyer. He does not want you guys speaking to her.”
“It’s unbelievable, I mean she’s 18,” Steven tells the officer.
When officers told him Mackenzie Shirilla was 18 and could speak for herself, he shot back: “Yeah, but she’s a dumb 18-year-old that just turned 18.”
When his wife, Natalie Shirilla, protested, he added: “All the kids nowadays are dumb.”
Steven Shirilla repeatedly insisted police were “not allowed” to question his daughter and said he needed to speak with her so she understood not to say anything to investigators.
As officers left the station’s lobby, he yelled, “Don’t ask her any questions!”
The body camera video offers a new glimpse at the frantic moments after Shirilla’s arrest. Other body camera video captured the aftermath of the fatal crash, with officers sifting through the annihilated vehicle as they pieced together the case.
Police records reviewed by News Media show Strongsville officers responded around 6:15 a.m. on July 31, 2022, after the Camry struck the PLIDCO building at 11792 Alameda Drive in Strongsville.
Mackenzie Shirilla sits behind the wheel of her Toyota Camry alongside a photo of Davion Flanagan, one of two men she was convicted of murdering. (Instagram)
Shirilla, then 17, was removed from the driver’s seat and flown to MetroHealth Medical Center. Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead after being mechanically extricated from the wreckage, records show.
A grand jury presentation reviewed by News Media said Life360 data showed the vehicle traveling 90 mph in a 35 mph zone, while Event Data Recorder information showed the accelerator fully engaged and no service brake applied in the seconds before the devastating crash.
Mackenzie Shirilla reacts emotionally during her sentencing in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland, Ohio, on Aug. 21, 2023. She was found guilty of four counts of murder and other charges related to the deaths of her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and his friend, Davion Flanagan, in July 2022. (Law&Crime)
A later police request to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said the deaths were initially classified as accidental, but investigators believed the evidence showed the crash was “not an accident, but an intentional act.”
Police asked the medical examiner to conduct a secondary review and change the manner of death to homicide.
Mackenzie Shirilla breaks down in sobs in court after being convicted of four counts of murder for intentionally crashing her car into a brick wall, killing her boyfriend and his friend, on Aug. 14, 2023, in Ohio. (WKYC Channel 3/YouTube)
Prosecutors argued at trial that Shirilla drove into the building to end her toxic relationship with Russo, and that Flanagan was an unintended victim who happened to be in the car. Shirilla’s case is back in the limelight after Netflix’s new series, “The Crash.”
— Judge Nancy Margaret Russo
Shirilla has maintained the crash was not intentional. News Media has reached out to Shirilla’s attorneys for comment.
Ohio teenager Mackenzie Shirilla was convicted Monday of murdering her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and his friend Davion Flanagan by slamming her car into a brick wall while driving 100 mph. (Instagram)
Since the Netflix series, Fox 8 learned that Steve Shirilla will not be returning to his teaching position at Mary Queen of Peace School.
“Catholic school personnel decisions are the purview of each school in the Diocese of Cleveland. Due to privacy considerations, neither the schools nor the Diocese ordinarily discuss personnel issues publicly,” Catholic Diocese of Cleveland told News Media. “However, we can confirm that Mr. Steve Shirilla will not be returning to Mary Queen of Peace School.”
News Media has reached out to Mary Queen of Peace School for comment.
