Mackenzie Shirilla
Mackenzie Shirilla is an American woman convicted of killing her boyfriend Dominic Russo, and his friend Davion Flanagan.[1]
Shirilla was driving the youths home, and crashed her vehicle into a brick wall, at 5:30am on July 31 2022.[1] The youths had been smoking marijuana, and Shirilla had THC in her blood above the legal level.
A passer-by reported the crash 45 minutes after it occurred.[2] Both Russo and Flanagan were killed.[1] Shirilla was reported to stopped breathing when she was rushed to Hospital.
Surveillance video caught the car going 160 kilometres per hour.[1] Shirilla would later say that she didn't remember the crash, or the night that preceded it.
Shirilla triggered controversy when she wore a "ghoulish costume" when she attended a Halloween party several months after the deaths.[3] She was arrested for aggravated vehicular homicide five days later.[4][5] Authorities concluded she deliberately crashed the car.[1] She stood trial and was convicted, in July 2023.
At her trial prosecutors described Shirilla's relationship with Russo as a volatile one, that included break-ups and threats.[6] One witness described hearing Shirilla threaten to crash a vehicle on Interstate 71, while Russo was a passenger, two weeks before the crash.[7]
Russo's family said the pair had dated for "three to four years", and she spent most of that time living in the Russo household, even though that would have meant Russo, who was three years older than Shirilla, started dating her when she was only thirteen or fourteen years old.[6]
Dan Ladden-Hall, writing in The Daily Beast, reported on notes that were apparently left by Shirilla on her boyfriend's online obituary, that seemed to "paint a radically different picture to that of the callous killer..."[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Kathryn Mannie (2023-08-22). "Teen who killed boyfriend in 160 km/h crash sentenced for murder in Ohio". Global News. Archived from the original on 2023-08-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20230825181543/https://globalnews.ca/news/9912181/ohio-woman-car-crash-boyfriend-murder-mackenzie-shirilla/. Retrieved 2023-12-17. "Mackenzie Shirilla was only 17 years old on the night she crashed her Camry into the side of a commercial building outside Cleveland. Prosecutors argued at her murder trial that the teen had a toxic relationship with her boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic Russo, and deliberately drove into the brick wall to end their relationship."
- ↑ Jen Smith (2023-08-16). "Ohio teen Mackenzie Shirilla's tribute to boyfriend she murdered by crashing into building at 100mph after scouting route in 'mission of death' to end their toxic romance". Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-08-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20230816154302/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12413101/Ohio-teen-Mackenzie-Shirilla-19-guilty-murdering-boyfriend-passenger-crashing-car-warehouse-100mph.html. Retrieved 2023-12-17. "A passer-by spotted the vehicle 45 minutes later and called for help."
- ↑ Tristan Balagtas (2023-09-22). "‘Hell on Wheels’ Teen Dressed as Corpse for Halloween Weeks After Killing Friends in Intentional Car Crash". The Messenger News. Archived from the original on 2023-10-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20231012034618/https://themessenger.com/news/hell-on-wheels-teen-dressed-as-corpse-for-halloween-weeks-after-killing-friends-in-intentional-car-crash. Retrieved 2023-12-17. "Last Halloween, months before her trial but a scant twelve weeks after she killed Russo and Flanagan, Shirilla reportedly booked a hotel room with her girlfriends and dressed up as a dead person — complete with dark eyeshadow and red painted lips — in a revealing, all-black outfit, according to photos obtained by the Daily Mail."
- ↑ Kevin Quinitchett (2023-08-16). "CRASH NIGHTMARE Who was Mackenzie Shirilla’s boyfriend, Dominic Russo?". The Sun. Archived from the original on 2023-08-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20230818074342/https://www.the-sun.com/news/8852001/dominic-russo-mackenzie-shirilla-boyfriend-killed/. Retrieved 2023-12-17. "On November 4 of the same year, driver MacKenzie Shirilla was arrested for aggravated vehicular homicide."
- ↑ Jen Smith (2023-09-22). "EXCLUSIVE: Mackenzie Shirilla dressed up as a CORPSE for Halloween just three months after murdering her boyfriend and his innocent friend Davion Flanagan in a 100mph 'hell on wheels' crash". Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20230922165945/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12546705/Mackenzie-Shirilla-dressed-CORPSE-Halloween-just-three-months-murdering-boyfriend-innocent-friend-Davion-Flanagan-100mph-hell-wheels-crash.html. Retrieved 2023-12-17. "The outfits and her lack of thought for the boys she'd killed seem to have been a tipping point for prosecutors, who charged her with double homicide five days later."
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Marlene Lenthang (2023-08-23). "Teen who murdered boyfriend in 100 mph crash had toxic relationship with him, prosecutors said". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-08-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20230820144033/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teen-murdered-boyfriend-100-mph-crash-toxic-relationship-prosecutors-s-rcna100636. Retrieved 2023-12-17. "Prosecutors argued in the four-day trial that the couple fought, Shirilla made violent threats — including once threatening to crash her car with Russo in it, and ultimately deliberately did so to end their tumultuous relationship."
- ↑ Kaitor Kay (2023-08-08). "Day 2 of trial for Strongsville teen charged with murder in deadly crash". WKYC-TV (Cleveland, Ohio). https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/crime/trial-strongsville-teen-charged-murder-deadly-crash-2nd-day/95-50b1bfb8-2ce1-42f8-8ce1-1b9bcfadcf2e. Retrieved 2023-12-17. "A Russo family friend also took the stand and testified that he had heard Shirilla threaten to crash a vehicle that she and Russo were in on Interstate 71 about two weeks before the fatal accident."
- ↑ Dan Ladden-Hall (2023-08-17). "Teen Apparently Left Deranged Notes on Obit of Boyfriend She Murdered". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 2023-08-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20230821084528/https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/teen-apparently-left-deranged-notes-140432477.html. Retrieved 2023-12-17. "The comments, if indeed they were made by Shirilla, paint a radically different picture to that of the callous killer Judge Russo—who is not related to Dominic—described Monday."
