The Ohio Supreme Court has denied Mackenzie Shirilla’s appeal, ending her ability to pursue further appeals at the state level. Shirilla, 22, is serving 15 years to life for intentionally killing her boyfriend and his friend in a high-speed car crash.
“It is ordered by the court that the motion for reconsideration in this case is denied,” wrote Supreme Court of Ohio Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy, according to documents obtained by FOX 8 I.
Mackenzie Shirilla crash conviction
Shirilla was 17 and still in high school when she began dating her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20. They had been together for about four years when she drove her Toyota Camry during the early morning hours of 31 July 2022.
Shirilla drove the car into the brick Plidco Building in Strongsville, Ohio, at upwards of 100 mph. She was seriously injured, while Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene.
In August 2023, Shirilla was found guilty of all 12 charges against her, including murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, felonious assault and drug possession.
Prosecutors argued that Shirilla deliberately caused the crash as part of a premeditated murder plot arising from a highly toxic and volatile relationship with Russo. They said Shirilla was ‘on a mission’ to kill him after their relationship deteriorated and he threatened to break up with her.
Investigators said Shirilla orchestrated the fatal crash to stop Russo from leaving her, believing that if she could not have him, no one would.
“She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The decision was death,” Judge Nancy Margaret Russo said.
“Her actions were controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional and purposeful. This was not reckless driving. This was murder.”
Ohio Supreme Court rejects Shirilla appeal
Earlier this year, Shirilla asked an appeals court to consider new evidence suggesting that she has a medical condition affecting her heart rate and blood flow. She said the condition may have caused her to black out shortly before the crash.
The court rejected her 2024 appeal because it was filed one day after the 365-day deadline. Her lawyers argued that the filing should still be considered timely because 2024 was a leap year and included an extra day.
Shirilla then took the issue to the Ohio Supreme Court. In June, the justices declined to hear the case, saying the 365-day deadline was clear. The court has now rejected the matter again.
In July, Shirilla filed a separate case in federal court, arguing that her 2023 trial and imprisonment violated her constitutional rights and that her lawyers failed to provide adequate assistance. That case remains pending.
Her case was featured in the Netflix true-crime documentary The Crash, released in May.
Mackenzie Shirilla timeline
17 July 2022
Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, have an argument. A friend allegedly overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”
31 July 2022
Shirilla drives 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 the Plidco Building in Strongsville, Ohio, traveling at 100 mph without braking. Police arrive 45 minutes later. Russo and Flanagan are pronounced dead, and Shirilla is taken to MetroHealth Medical Center.
August 2022
About 200 people attend a vigil for Russo and Flanagan. Shirilla remains in critical condition. When a detective visits her in hospital, she is reportedly speaking a ‘unique language’ similar to pig Latin.
October 2022
Shirilla attends a Halloween party wearing a costume resembling a corpse, which Davion’s father considers to be 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.”
4 November 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, as well as drug possession charges.
7 August 2023
Shirilla’s trial begins. Her defense team argues that she may have passed out at the time of the crash because of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), but no medical records or expert testimony confirm the diagnosis.
14 August 2023
Shirilla is found guilty on all counts. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo calls her ‘hell on wheels’, and the court concludes that she intentionally crashed the car as part of a premeditated act.
23 August 2023
Shirilla is sentenced to two concurrent 15-years-to-life sentences. Her legal team later loses an appeal and a relief petition. She remains incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
22 May 2025
Shirilla’s parents insist that she is 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 that texts show Shirilla said Russo was ‘trying to end her life’.
15 May 2026
Netflix’s The Crash premieres. In the documentary, Shirilla insists she is ‘not a murderer’ and says she has no memory of the crash, continuing to blame POTS.
18 May 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 after allegations that he had ‘demonstrated poor judgement’.
Viewers of the Netflix documentary object to his attitude toward Shirilla’s marijuana use and his dismissal of claims that she told a classmate to end their life.
23 June 2026
The Ohio Supreme Court declines to review Shirilla’s appeal case. Her lawyers missed the deadline for a post-conviction review by one day because 2024 was a leap year, and the court upholds an earlier decision that Shirilla’s conviction could not be challenged.
6 July 2026
Shirilla’s attorneys file a motion asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider her appeal, arguing that the filing deadlines were confusing.
September 2037
This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole.
