399: What Netflix's "The Crash" Left Out | Proof, Receipts & Timelines | The Case of Mackenzie Shirilla

What first seemed like a tragic car accident quickly spiraled into one of the most controversial murder cases in recent memory. After crashing her car at nearly 100 miles per hour, killing her boyfriend and friend, Ohio teenager Mackenzie Shirilla was accused of intentionally driving them to their deaths. But years later, with Netflix revisiting the story and new text messages, prison calls, and claims of medical episodes surfacing, people are beginning to question whether everything about this case is really as clear as it once seemed. Was this a calculated act of murder, or could there be more to the story than anyone realized? Join Annie as she reopens the case of Mackenzie Shirilla.. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. .🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [email protected].📚 Episode Sources Cleveland19 | Court TV | Cuyahoga County Court Records | Fox8 | Law & Crime | Phone Calls From Prison | Strongsville Police Department | Strongsville Police Department FB | WKYC Channel 3••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

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• 1:29Speaker 03

  The crime we're investigating is an aggravated hitler homicide.

• 1:33Speaker 04

  I was just kind of shocked, really. I didn't really know how to process it all.

• 1:44Speaker 05

  Car's split in two. It truly was a horrific crash. See, there's an occupant inside. We gotta bust the window out.

• 1:53Speaker 04

  I just felt like there was more to the story than just an accidental crash.

• 1:59Annie Elise?

  Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serially.

• 2:21Annie Elise?

  Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to an all new episode of Seriallessly with me, your host and your true crime BFF, Annie Elise. Now, if you are brand new, listening to this podcast or watching this YouTube channel for the very first time, let me just give you a breakdown. My name is Annie, and what I like to do on here is not only deliver and present a true crime case to you, but do it in a way where it is the full deep dive, going down the rabbit hole so that you don't have to. All the details, the social media activity, past relationships, everything that you find yourself Googling yourself when you're watching a documentary. I find all that information out, and then I present

• 3:02Annie Elise?

  all of it to you. But my goal in doing that is to do it in more of a conversational way, as if your friend or best friend was telling you about this case that they just heard about, and that they can't stop researching, or thinking about, or talking about. So, again, if you're brand new, that's what we do over here. If you enjoy it, subscribe and follow the podcast. And, you know, that's how it goes. Every single Monday, a brand new case. And then every Thursday, I do an episode called Headline Highlights, where I talk about everything happening in real time that week in the true crime world. Now, today, we are doing one of the infamous deep dives. And you may have heard about this case, if you listen to true crime or follow true crime. You may have also seen clips of the trial,

• 3:47Annie Elise?

  or footage from the case in your TikTok feed, or your Instagram reels feed, because it's the case of Mackenzie Shirilla, a name that a lot of people do know, but many don't. You also might be familiar with the name, because Netflix just released a documentary about this case called The Crash. And what's really interesting is, there's a lot of division with this case. Many people believe that what happened was intentional, that this is, you know, the product and result of a spoiled young girl who had everything in her life, and And the moment she, something went wrong, she decided to take it out on everybody else.

• 4:27Annie Elise?

  While some say, no, this was absolutely accidental. She was too young to know how severe this was going to be and what her actions would truly cause. And there's a little bit of conflicting opinion out there. Now, I will say this personally, I first covered Mackenzie's case years ago. And with that, I have done extensive research. I've interviewed a lot of people close to the case. I participated in a documentary back then where I was shown a lot of privileged information before it even went to trial. Different things like that to where my belief is that this was absolutely intentional. But again, not everybody agrees with that. And that's certainly okay, which that's my point and why I'm coming on here today.

• 5:11Annie Elise?

  I want to present the case to you with a set of fresh eyes, new perspectives, everything we've learned, things that have come out post-trial. So that then you can really decide for yourselves, what do you believe? Do you believe that this is all just a horrific tragic accident? Or do you believe that this was calculated and intentional? So let's start here. I want you for just a moment to imagine being a teenager again. Cause and I say again, because I feel like a lot of you aren't teens. I feel like we skew a little older over here. So, but if you are a teen, you're involved too. But I want you to imagine being a teenager and you're just graduating high school.

• 5:49Annie Elise?

  It's that super exciting time in your life where you're young, you're full of life, you have dreams, ambitions, there's parties, there's excitement. And like, you just can't wait for what's to come. But then you get word that three other teenagers who live in your area, potentially even our classmates of yours, were in a deadly car crash. And even more than that, one of the worst car crashes that first responders had ever seen in the Ohio area. It rattled the entire community. There was shock, grief, confusion. But above all else, there were a lot of rumors, rumors that took what seemed to be a very simple, yet tragic car accident into something.

• 6:32Annie Elise?

  Potentially far worse. So let's jump right in. In the early morning of July 31st, 2022, the peaceful suburb of Strongsville, Ohio nestled just outside of Cleveland, became the scene of a heart-wrenching tragedy that rocked its tight-knit community forever. Initial reports began to surface about a devastating car accident involving three people: 19-year-old Davion Flanagan, 20-year-old Dominic Russo, and 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla. Both Davion and Mackenzie had just graduated from Strongsville High School just a few months earlier. Early on in the investigation, law enforcement believed that Mackenzie Shirilla

• 7:17Annie Elise?

  somehow lost control of the Toyota Camry that she was driving, and then crashed into a brick building on Alameda Drive at 5:34. It wasn't until approximately 45 minutes later at 6:15 a.m. that a passerby, a runner who was out for their morning jog, came upon the wreckage and immediately dialed 911. When law enforcement arrived, they found all three passengers unconscious, unresponsive, and trapped within what was now just a brutally mangled car frame. The first responders from Strongsville Fire Department worked quickly to help get Dominic, Davion, and Mackenzie out of the car. Unfortunately, though, both Dominic and Davion were declared dead at the scene.

• 8:01Annie Elise?

  Mackenzie, who was driving the car, was critically injured and flown to Metro Health Medical Center. Investigators waited for the results of her blood testing, which would show if drugs or alcohol played a role in this crash. The victims' families and the community were completely grief-stricken, and frankly, just sick about this. Dominic and Davion now had their potential dreams and futures abruptly cut short. Dominic had started a successful business and always talked about all of his big plans for the future. And Davion was a fantastic football player, well-known in the community, and had plans to open up his own barber shop after high school. But now, all of that was- Gone in an instant.

• 8:44Annie Elise?

  The community sadness and loss eventually led to many questions. Why was this a one car accident? If Mackenzie lost control of the car, how did that happen? What was going on inside the car leading up to this? Was Mackenzie intoxicated or under the influence of some type of drug? Why were all three of them even over on Alamina Street in that part of town in the early morning hours to begin with? It's not near where Mackenzie, Dominic, or Davion lived. So where were they going? And how could this possibly happen? Mackenzie underwent extensive medical treatment for her injuries and somehow survived miraculously. However, she said that she couldn't remember what happened leading up to the crash. She said that she had blacked out.

• 9:29Annie Elise?

  Now, just for a moment, I am going to draw on my personal experience for a second. A lot of you know, who have been with me for a while on here, that you know that I was in a horrific car accident when I was 16 years old. I wasn't wearing my seatbelt. I flew, hit the windshield, knocked out some teeth, ended up having brain surgery from how awful this car accident was. And I can say, even now, I still do not remember anything from that accident. And I wasn't the one driving, but I was in the accident and I'm still blacked out. I remember leaving the house that morning. I don't remember the accident. I don't remember the final, the moments coming out of the accident. The first memory I have is when first responders were already there on scene and they were

• 10:14Annie Elise?

  cutting me out of my clothing and getting me out of the car. But I don't remember anything else. So there has been a lot of speculation if Mackenzie was in fact blacked out during the accident or not, or even has a recollection of the memories leading up to the accident itself. And if that's true or not, and I, while I don't know in her situation, if she's lying or if it were true, and we'll talk more about that as we go on, but I do want to mention that it is entirely possible to blackout even the events leading up to the collision itself, because for me, it, that is what, exactly what happened. So while law enforcement began going further into their investigation, many people in the community began to talk and the community had strong yet mixed feelings about what they thought happened here.

• 10:59Annie Elise?

  Some people thought that this was just a tragic accident, but others who knew Mackenzie and Dominic and knew them more closely began to believe that this wasn't an accident at all. And instead, it was something far more sinister. Mackenzie and Dominic began dating in 2021 and they had an overall tumultuous relationship. They would break up, get back together, and then they would do it all over again. The pattern just was on a repeat. And I know that that can be sort of a vague statement, saying that a relationship, you know, is tumultuous, but we're going to get into their relationship more in just a little bit here, so stick with me because a lot of information has come out since I first covered this case. Davion was one of Dominic's close friends.

• 11:44Annie Elise?

  According to news reports, Davion, Dominic, and Mackenzie were hanging out at a party and smoking a little bit of weed the night leading up to the crash. And Mackenzie and Dominic offered to give Davion a ride home. Mackenzie was described by people who knew her in high school as selfish and entitled, and she never had to really take any accountability for her actions. She always just kind of got away with everything. After Mackenzie began to recover from the accident, many of the posts on her Instagram and TikTok really upset people as well, and we will get into specifically what she posted here shortly, don't worry. Most of her social media has now been deleted, so I couldn't find much except for a few screenshots here and there.

• 12:26Annie Elise?

  However, people in the community who knew her from school commented on social media about Mackenzie's behavior, and all of those comments are still public. Some of the posts said that her parents knew about her drug use and that her mom would like some of the pictures that she posted when she was smoking weed. And some pictures sparked outrage because people thought that she just was moving on with her life, as if nothing ever happened, with no remorse at all. There were also some pictures Mackenzie posted with her and her friend dressed as weed for Halloween, which also caused a huge stir online. Several classmates weren't surprised that this horrific tragedy- Tragedy resulted from Mackenzie's actions, even going as far as to say that she probably would have killed someone one day anyway,

• 13:10Annie Elise?

  and that she only cared about herself and herself only. Other people felt like Mackenzie had definitely done drugs and that that is what caused the crash. And the police seemed like they weren't doing anything about it. And now this was another situation where Mackenzie would just get away with her selfish and dangerous behavior once again. Well, all of that online speculation and discussion over what happened that tragic night wouldn't matter for much longer because a few days after Halloween, everything changed. It turned out that the police were not letting Mackenzie get away with anything, and they had been conducting a thorough investigation this entire time. On November 4th, 2022, Mackenzie was arrested. According to court documents, Mackenzie faced a total of 18 charges.

• 13:55Annie Elise?

  Counts one and two, aggravated murder. Counts three, four, five, and six, murder. Counts seven, eight, nine, and 10, felonious assault. Counts 11 and 12, aggravated vehicular homicide. And all of these charges were related to that crash on July 31st, 2022. Count 13, trafficking. Count 14, drug possession. And both of these charges were for the magic mushrooms that were found inside the car. Count 15, possessing criminal tools. And this was for a digital scale that was found in the car. So there were 15 charges in total related to the car crash and to the deaths of Dominic and Davion.

• 14:37Annie Elise?

  The other three charges were for allegedly breaking into the Columbia Church of God in Columbia Station on July 19th, 2022. Those charges were count 16, breaking and entering. Count 17, vandalism. Count 18, desecration. Mackenzie's blood test from the hospital revealed that she had THC in her system and that she was likely high at the time of the accident after their investigation and talking to witnesses who saw her that night. Even though mushrooms were found in her car, this was apparently not in her test result. Mackenzie's bail was set at 500 $100,000, but she didn't get bailed out of jail and remained in juvenile custody until it was time for trial.

• 15:18Annie Elise?

  The body cam footage of Mackenzie's arrest was finally released in 2025, and I have to be real with you, it's an absolute doozy. And I don't use that word lightly. I personally hate that word. And I don't want to give too much away before I show you guys some of the clips, which for those of you who are listening to the audio version of this, you'll be able to hear what's happening. But I do encourage you, pop over to YouTube, watch the visual as well, because I think that will provide more context. But what I have to say is that Mackenzie shows absolutely zero remorse. Zero remorse for any of the crimes that she was being charged with.

• 15:58Speaker 03

  Hi, Mackenzie. Step off for me.

• 16:02Speaker 03

  I'm Detective Hizzou. I'm the one who's been investigating the crash. You're under arrest for aggravated murder times two, okay? Nobody's gonna ask you any questions. Nobody's gonna bother you. Can I have your key, please?

• 16:14Speaker 07

  Could you please be careful taking this one off?

• 16:16Speaker 03

  You got it.

• 16:16Speaker 07

  So it doesn't break the bracelet?

• 16:17Speaker 03

  You got it. You got it. Okay, Mackenzie, I'm gonna take your handcuffs off. I need like all the jewelry and everything to come off, okay?

• 16:23Speaker 07

  I can't wear it, yeah, but...

• 16:24Speaker 03

  No, I need you to take it off while you're in jail right now.

• 16:34Speaker 07

  I can't wear this?

• 16:36Speaker 03

  No. Unfortunately, everything's gonna have to come off right now. Once we know when the detective comes back and we know for sure what's going on. Everything's gonna be bagged up here. It's not going anywhere.

• 16:52Speaker 07

  Sorry, this is just like one of those, which is really hard to get off.

• 16:54Speaker 03

  That's fine. Take your time.

• 16:55Annie Elise?

  Her first response to being told that she was being charged with murder was to take care of a bracelet. Take care of a bracelet so that it didn't break. And then, after being told that she could not wear any jewelry in jail, which obviously should be common sense, right? But I guess it's not all that common, who knows? She started to break down. That's what rattled her. That's what made her upset, because she couldn't wear jewelry into the jailhouse. I mean, again, it just kind of goes back, for me at least, into this spoiled, entitled, young girl thinking that the world revolves around her. But anyway, back to her arrest.

• 17:38Annie Elise?

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• 18:23Annie Elise?

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• 19:00Annie Elise?

  Since she was a minor at the time of the crash and charged as such, there weren't many public details about this case that were released. However, all that changed in March of 2023, when prosecutors and the judge agreed to try her as an adult. When the crash occurred on July 31, 2022, Mackenzie was 17. Her birthday is on August 2. So she turned 18 just two days after everything happened.

• 19:27Annie Elise?

  She had a hearing in April of 2023 via Zoom where Mackenzie pleaded not guilty as the judge continued her bond at $500,000. But again, Mackenzie remained in custody. During the hearing, the prosecution told the court, "The evidence in this case overwhelmingly indicates that these were intentional and purposeful deaths." On July 19, 2023, almost a year after the horrific crash, Mackenzie had her first pre-trial hearing. During the hearing, Mackenzie did not accept a plea deal that the prosecution was offering, and her lawyer indicated that they were prepared for trial. In the U.S., you have a right to a trial by jury or a bench trial. If defendants want to waive their

• 20:09Annie Elise?

  right to a trial by jury for whatever reason, they can. And this can be a defense strategy if, for some reason, they are worried about what a jury verdict would be. Some defendants may feel like they would have more of a fair shot if the judge were to decide their verdict based on the law, fearing that potential jurors would make their decision based on emotion and not the law necessarily. However, that isn't the only reason that people waive trial by jury. There are a number of reasons why people choose that route. Additionally, defendants do not have to provide a reason to the court for their decision to waive a jury trial. So with that, that's what Mackenzie chose, and her bench trial was

• 20:50Annie Elise?

  set for August 7. The first day of trial began on August 7, just five days after Mackenzie's 19th birthday. During opening statements, the prosecution detailed all of the moments leading up to the devastating crash.

• 21:04Speaker 05

  6:15 in the morning, Strongsville Police and emergency personnel received a 911 call.

• 21:10Annie Elise?

  They revealed the black box inside Mackenzie's vehicle had been clocked at 100 miles per hour. Black boxes aren't the official term. It's an EDR or Event Data Recorder, but these devices record driving and vehicle data from immediately before, during, and after an automobile crash. And that wasn't all. They also had cold, hard evidence to prove this, because when the accident occurred, a nearby building's security camera caught the entire thing on video. In the video, you can see Mackenzie's car going extremely fast before disappearing off the screen and ultimately crashing.

• 21:50Annie Elise?

  The prosecution also said that this didn't just happen based on reckless driving either, and they would present a witness who overheard Mackenzie's threats.

• 21:59Speaker 05

  That he observed at that time the defendant striking Dominic Russo with both hands, and that he overheard her make a statement, an admissible statement, and she said, Dominic, I'm going to crash this car. We find that it is especially important to her state of mind just two weeks later, when she used a car to kill Dominic Russo.

• 22:20Annie Elise?

  Despite this, Mackenzie's lawyer, Mr. McDonnell, of course, had a much different perspective. He argued against the insinuation of intent. Instead, he said that this was a tragic accident rather than a premeditated act.

• 22:36Speaker 03

  How can you come to any conclusion other than, if anything, she's reckless? Is it just kids being kids? Is it Dominic grabbing the steering wheel? Is it Mackenzie maybe speeding and say, oh my God, park out, it's late, I'm coming up to this, I better do something, and she goes like that to avoid an accident, not acting purposely, but in fact, trying to avoid it? Is it sudden acceleration panic? Those are all possibilities.

• 23:06Annie Elise?

  Mr. McDonnell also said that the side airbags going off in the final seconds before the crash could have contributed to the severity of the event. He said, and I quote, "It occurred in about four and a half to five seconds before. It's a significant force that makes a huge sound. There's talcum powder or some type of powder that is let go." So if they only have five seconds of recordings, and those five seconds are all what happens after the airbag is deployed, how can you come to any conclusion other than, if anything, she's reckless? During the course of the four-day trial, many first responders and other witnesses were called to the stand. It turns out that there was more to the crash than just that

• 23:50Annie Elise?

  video of Mackenzie flying by at 100 miles per hour. There was another building that captured footage of Mackenzie turning on the street before pressing. On the gas. In this video, you can see Mackenzie driving at a completely normal speed, braking as she prepared to turn as well. Her blinker was on and was signaled to the correct direction that she was going. This video was key to the prosecution's argument that this was intentional and wasn't some wild situation where she was driving completely out of control the entire time. Even worse, experts spoke about the EDR box in Mackenzie's car and said that through their investigation, they were able to determine that Mackenzie had the gas pedal pushed all

• 24:35Annie Elise?

  the way down and made no attempt to ever even use the brakes. The crash team analyst also said about one second before the crash, the steering wheel made a hard right turn of 142.5 degrees. It also showed the impact from a sign in the grass outside of the building, which may have triggered the airbags before slamming into the brick wall. Mackenzie's attorney questioned the analyst about the wheel moving in an attempt to insinuate that it's possible that one of the victims moved the wheel by saying that it's basically impossible to know who pulled that wheel and caused the crash. He also suggested that because it was dark, maybe it was hard for Mackenzie to see.

• 25:18Annie Elise?

  But even in his defense, he conceded that Mackenzie's handling of the car was in fact reckless. When the prosecution reviewed the crash scene photos and the photos of the victims during their autopsies, everyone in the courtroom was extremely emotional, including Mackenzie. Dominic's mother, Christine Russo, testified. The courtroom vibe changed instantly when she began her testimony. Everyone could tell that she had once cared deeply for Mackenzie. After all, Mackenzie had even lived with them for a while. But the love story that she painted between Mackenzie and her son Dominic was far from rosy. It seemed like they were always at odds with threats and arguments overshadowing the good times.

• 26:01Annie Elise?

  She also brought up a text message that Mackenzie sent her after the crash where Mackenzie said, "I remember turning onto the street and then my vision fades to black. It really kills me not being able to remember anything. I promise you I would tell you. I've been asking my therapist why I don't remember and she said it's because of trauma, but I'm going to try to get hypnotized and make myself remember." Then Dominic's older brother Angelo Russo took his turn. The raw emotion in his voice said it all. He talked about how Mackenzie and his brother were constantly on and off again, saying, "I witnessed a lot of negative behavior from her to my brother,

• 26:41Annie Elise?

  and that just kind of pushed me away as a big brother figure because she just wasn't fair to him." One of Dominic's friends, Christopher Hench Martin, was also called to the stand to testify. This was to testify about an incident between Mackenzie and Dominic in a heated fight, where she threatened him. According to court documents, on July 17, 2022, approximately two weeks before the deadly crash, Mackenzie was driving her vehicle on Interstate 71, with victim Dominic Russo as the passenger, when she threatened to immediately crash the vehicle. Mackenzie was upset over a disagreement between the two of them, which resulted in Dominic seeking the help of his mother Christine Russo, through a phone call asking her to come and pick him up.

• 27:26Annie Elise?

  Dominic's friend, Christopher Hench Martin, went to pick up Dominic and remained on the phone with Dominic during the incident. While on the phone, he heard Mackenzie state, "I will crash this car right now." Mackenzie exited the highway onto Route 82 between Pearl Road and Bagley Road. As the friend pulled up to get Dominic and Mackenzie's car pulled over to the side of the road, the passenger door opened, and the friend observed Mackenzie striking Dominic with both of her hands. Dominic then exited the vehicle and left with his friend. The prosecution also brought up another incident in July 2022 between Mackenzie and Dominic. According to court documents, in July 2022, within the same month as the deadly crash,

• 28:10Annie Elise?

  Mackenzie again made multiple threats toward Dominic. Videos recovered from Dominic's cellphone revealed the altercation involving Mackenzie, where she can be heard repeatedly degrading Dominic, threatening him, and damaging his property. It is understood from the videos that Dominic was not comfortable letting Mackenzie inside of his home at the time, and he made multiple attempts to reason with Mackenzie, to calm the defendant down and communicate with the defendant in a better manner. Mackenzie refused these attempts and can be heard banging on Dominic's house door, demanding to be let inside. Mackenzie called Dominic a multitude of degrading and highly inappropriate names. Despite Dominic's efforts trying to reason with Mackenzie,

• 28:55Annie Elise?

  she refused to listen and continued her erratic behavior. Exceedingly important are the threats made by Mackenzie to Dominic throughout the incident. She threatened to key Dominic's car if he would not let her in, and she verbally counted down multiple times in an attempt to force Dominic to let her in. She repeatedly told Dominic that this was his last chance to let her in, and she stated, and I quote, "You're gonna come open this door right now, or there's gonna be a serious fucking problem." She threatened to break the handle off the door and can be heard hitting and damaging the door as well. Mackenzie stated, and I quote, "Dom, I'm gonna give you one last second, or else I'm keying your car."

• 29:38Annie Elise?

  Dominic then had to call his mom for help and stopped recording. Now, that phone call that I just described has actually been made public. The original call was about nine minutes long, but honestly, it doesn't really take the full nine minutes to see that Mackenzie was threatening him. She was antagonizing him.

• 29:57Speaker 07

  But I forgot. Because you broke up with me earlier. Because you are a little fucking weak bitch. You broke up with me earlier. You really broke up with me earlier. This is your last chance to open the door, or you are not coming out of this house all night, because I will not leave. You literally broke, you literally broke up with me earlier, right? Like, what is the point you're trying to, like, you broke up with me, like, early? What, what, what? No, no, I, no, I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. You said, "We're not together." You really said that shit. Like, you really broke up with me earlier. Like, what are you trying to make? Like, why would I just let you in my house if you broke up with me? You're not even gonna break my shit. Like, if I need to key my car, if I need to break the door, it's like... You're not letting me in the house. You're gonna key my car if you, if I don't let you in? You don't let me in the house, yeah.

• 30:42Speaker 07

  Dom, if you do not open, like, you think I'm joking? You think I'm joking? You think I'm joking? Like, I'm dead ass.

• 30:50Speaker 07

  What? What are you dead ass about? Okay, I'm gonna give you one last chance to open the door.

• 30:59Speaker 07

  So, I don't know, I'm going to go in.

• 31:04Speaker 07

  Kenzie, I can't open the door. I can't sit here and fight. We're gonna go to dinner. The fuck is see my grandparents. I can't, I can't sit. Don't open the door. I'm gonna let you know that right now. And then what? What would happen? What are you trying to say? You're not coming to dinner. You're not going to dinner.

• 31:24Speaker 07

  What do you me- what do you mean? You know, that's exactly what I mean. You don't know exactly what I mean. You're gonna come open this door right now? Or there's gonna be a serious fucking problem?

• 31:37Speaker 07

  I can't, no. You can't keep making all your starts. I can't open the door. Get me out of a place that you say is my home. Kenzie, I didn't kick you out. You took all your shit and did. Instead, we were done.

• 31:49Speaker 07

  We not say we are done. Dom? Okay, ready? I'm gonna count to ten. The door's gonna open, okay? You're gonna open the door. Stop hiding behind the door like a little fucking bitch. If you hang up on me, we're done. I'm leaving. Kenzie, there's nothing I could do. Like, I can't. Door is. Stop being a little bitch. I can't let you in my house with how you're acting. Like, it's as simple as that. Like, there's no way. There's no way I should, like. Huh? I'm just gonna break the handle on. It's already moving.

• 32:21Speaker 07

  I can break the lock? Like, you're really gonna break into my house? Yes, I will. I will break into my house. You're right. I will break into it. It's not, not your house. My house. Dom, now open the door. Now, open the door.

• 32:37Speaker 07

  You have thirty seconds left on the phone call to open the door. We're done.

• 32:41Annie Elise?

  So if you're wondering how all of these prior acts were able to be brought into trial in the first place, since it's technically 404B evidence, it's because the prosecution filed motions to allow it in, saying that it went to Mackenzie's motive. According to court documents, the prosecution believed Mackenzie's past threats and aggression toward Dominic provided an important perspective of how Mackenzie responds in situations where she is displeased or in disagreement with others. Further, the evidence shows that she was aware of her ability to cause harm to the victims, especially by means of her own vehicle, and how she could use the power of threats and control to ultimately reach the outcome that she desired.

• 33:26Annie Elise?

  The other acts evidence confirms that there was no mistake or accident in deliberately crashing her car and ending the lives of the victims. Dr. Esther Seng, a metro health system trauma surgeon who worked on Mackenzie's medical report, was also a witness in the trial. She told the court that Mackenzie told their team at the hospital that she did not remember what led to the crash. The prosecution also asked the surgeon to read part of the medical report. She said, and I quote, "Patient then became tearful, processing heavy loss and a depression since her accident. Patient shared feelings of grief, guilt, and shame. Patient stated she wanted to die and that it was her fault for killing her boyfriend."

• 34:10Annie Elise?

  One of the prosecution's theories was that Mackenzie was afraid that Dominic might break up with her or really leave her. So instead, she decided to kill him with her car like she had threatened to do in the past. And poor Davion, who was just innocently trying to get a ride home, was collateral damage. And Mackenzie didn't even care if he died too. However, some people who were at the same party before the crash didn't recall anything crazy going on between Dominic or Mackenzie that night. So either something must have happened in the car or she planned on going through with it that night anyway. But the prosecution had even more damning evidence to prove this was, in fact, a premeditated planned murder. Because there was evidence that Mackenzie

• 34:55Annie Elise?

  had been to that area of the crash just three days beforehand. And they showed the courtroom data of her cellphone being in that vicinity. They suggested this as proof that she was familiar with the scene before the day of the crash and believe that this was her attempt to scope out the area and come up with a plan. It was also brought up that maybe Mackenzie was trying to kill herself along with Dominic and Davion in the car, but just happened to survive.

• 35:28Annie Elise?

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• 36:13Annie Elise?

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• 36:32Annie Elise?

  However, Mackenzie's attorney said that she was not suicidal in any way. Mackenzie's mother took the stand near the end of the trial. She had a very different angle on what might have caused that tragic crash. She said that Mackenzie has a condition called POTS, Pastoral Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a condition which causes dizziness. When the connection between the crash and Mackenzie's condition was brought up, her mom said that it could be. Mackenzie's aunt also testified with a much different story of what Mackenzie and Dominic's relationship was like. She believed that the two were honestly head over heels for each other, despite all of the rumors and talk about them having a rocky relationship.

• 37:14Annie Elise?

  Many people felt that Mackenzie's mother's testimony was another example of her mom trying to excuse her daughter's bad behavior.

• 37:21Speaker 03

  Shirilla is also facing charges of felonious assault and aggravated vehicular homicide. The judge says she'll deliver a verdict on Monday at 1:00 p.m.

• 37:31Annie Elise?

  And then, the verdict was in. There is nothing that I can do or say.

• 37:36Speaker 07

  today that will return these two young men and their families. There is nothing I can say or do to restore Mackenzie Shirilla to the life she had before July 31st, 2022. And there is nothing that I can say or do to restore the lives of these three families before the fateful moments on that day. This trial is a culmination of decisions made by one person, the defendant. Those decisions have forever altered the futures of three families and of you also, Mackenzie. And your decisions forever robbed Dominic and Tabby on the futures that they had before now.

• 38:21Speaker 07

  If there is one thing that can be taken away from this case, as painful as it is, it is this. Every decision we make is important. Every action we make is important. Regardless of whether the decision is a good one or a bad one, or the actions are good or not, the result is the same. The consequences ripple through time and affect many more people than one might think at the time of the decision. In criminal cases, the state carries the greatest burden under our law, proof beyond a reasonable doubt. As I previously stated, I consider all the evidence presented.

• 39:01Speaker 07

  And at this point, I would like to comment specifically on exhibit 802, the crash video. This is the type of evidence you can never unsee. You can never forget the visual or audio of this exhibit. It's chilling and tragic. As you review that exhibit, you know that you are watching the oncoming deaths of two people, and there is nothing that will stop it. The video clearly shows the purpose and intent of the defendant. She chose a course of death and destruction that day. Exhibit 802 crystallizes the deadly decision-making of the defendant.

• 39:41Speaker 07

  She morphs from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she makes her way down the street. Mackenzie alone made the decision to drive her car, to drive an obscure route, a route she visited a few days before, and a route not necessarily taken by her. Mackenzie alone chose the time to make the drive, really in the morning, when any reasonable person would expect a few people would be nearby to witness it or offer lifesaving assistance. She made these decisions despite knowing, as any reasonable person would, that her mission of death could have involved others, not even in the car with her, other people, other cars, pedestrians.

• 40:24Speaker 07

  She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The mission was death. Mackenzie alone decided to push the pedal to the floor, demand the ultimate speed that be able to 90 to 100 miles per hour. She alone decided what was to be. Mackenzie decided death was the ultimate goal that day. Fines defendant Mackenzie Sharilla guilty of murder to a Davidian plan, in violation of Mahari Vice Code Section 2903.02A, charged in count two indictment.

• 41:00Speaker 07

  Count three, murder. The court having had count three tried to in pursuant waiver, fines defendant Mackenzie Sharilla guilty of murder to win Dominic Russo in violation of Mahari Vice Code Section 2903.02B, is charged in count three. Count four, murder. The court having had count four tried to in pursuant waiver, fines defendant Mackenzie Sharilla guilty of murder to win Dominic Russo in violation of Mahari Vice Code Section 2903.02D, is charged in count four. Count five, felonious assault. The court having had count five tried to in pursuant waiver, fines defendant Mackenzie Sharilla guilty of felonious assault.

• 41:46Speaker 07

  To make Donnie Russo violation of the Hary Vice Code, section 2903 point 11 of the revised code is charged in count five of the indictment. Count six, felonious assault.

• 41:59Annie Elise?

  Mackenzie was found guilty on all counts. In the video, you can see Mackenzie's family seated in the front row behind her, visibly upset and shocked. As Mackenzie was leaving the courtroom, you could hear her family speaking loudly to talk to her.

• 42:13Speaker 03

  Love you, baby.

• 42:15Annie Elise?

  At Mackenzie's sentencing, the judge heard victim impact statements from the victim's family.

• 42:24Speaker 07

  Your Honor, my name is Jamie Flanagan. I am the mother of the victim, Davion Flanagan. I want to share a small part of what we lost on 7/21, I'm sorry, 7/31 or 42. My son Davion is and always will be so much more than we thought. He was precious. He was an amazing soul with a heart of gold. He gave to the world what he wanted most in his own life: love. The kind of love that would rescue a friend in the middle of the night, no questions asked. The kind that would protect others and honor them.

• 43:07Speaker 07

  He made friends easily with his infectious smile. He was a gifted athlete. He had plans to go to barber school and open his own shop. My son did not have a swathe of friends, but instead was a friend to all. He would go out of his way to show love and kindness to others, including those that were often cast aside by society, the less fortunate, the developmentally challenged, the hurting, and the undervalued. Davion made sure that everyone that crossed his path knew that he truly saw them, that he valued them, and that they were worth his time.

• 43:48Speaker 07

  Davion and my kids have had more than their fair share of heartbreak, of hardship, and of loss. Davion was adopted with his sisters from foster care. They're biological siblings. We are honored to be chosen, or to have been chosen, to be their parents.

• 44:10Speaker 07

  They're forever family. I am devastated by the loss of Davion. The world lost a truly special man. My girls lost their best friend, their protector, the one and only trusted family that has been by their side from day one.

• 44:30Speaker 07

  This alone,

• 44:32Speaker 07

  or he alone, understands the pain and loss that they have gone through and was always there for them. This fact alone breaks my heart, my girls, and my family. So many dreams shattered, a future stolen. We will never get to see the amazing man that he was surely to come.

• 44:54Speaker 07

  He, his life was precious, like I said. He was so much more than cargo. I pray daily for strength and perseverance for myself and for my family. I also pray that Mackenzie will find true remorse in her heart and true repentance. We thank all of those that were so hard to help us bring justice for our son. We are forever thankful. Davion, we miss you terribly. But as Christians, we pray with hope. We will make sure your memory lives on in the age of the day that we are not going to get in between.

• 45:38Annie Elise?

  Hello, could you start with your name?

• 45:40Speaker 07

  Hi, Your Honor, my name is Devion Flanagan. Davion was my older brother. The passing of Davion Markel Flanagan has been very difficult for me. We have gone through everything together since day one. Davion was a big brother to me and my aunt, Leah. We all got adopted together and he loved us well. After Davion passed away, a lot of trauma and past pain has been able to my life. It's always been difficult to go through this trauma, but this traumatic event. Davion was not just a big brother to me, he's been a role model in many ways.

• 46:15Speaker 07

  He was the person entrusted to know because community will save. Taught me the importance of charity, each moment and enjoying life. The memories we have are strong, but we can't tell me the value of life. Just how valuable it's going is you can't understand, but it's worth it in the end. I don't want this pain for anyone else. I don't want people to have to go through this. As an eight-year-old, I hate the fact that this dog because someone decided to take what you like. Now that David has gone, I feel stuck. I feel as if I can't move forward. I feel lost. I was... He was the one who picked me up when I fell. He was my best friend and the only person that has stayed with me since I was born.

• 47:01Speaker 07

  But I will... I will love you to give me courage to be the longest possible sentence. I know her for about three years and actually, she's always taken this way out. Will be eligible for parole while my bill will be gone forever. Thank you, Your Honor. Thank you. I'm Christina Zol, Dominic's mother.

• 47:25Speaker 07

  No one wanted this to be murder. For a punishment, Mackenzie should have been murdered for this accident. But this was not a car accident. The evidence on the side is clear. That Mackenzie should have murdered my son, Dominic, as well as David. There's no fix put in this case as the sure looks like it would require. Want to thank causal police department in the state of Ohio for seeking the truth behind this crash. Thanks to them, we all know what happened in that car that day. What we don't know is why. I wish I could change this every day. I lost three children in that crash.

• 48:12Speaker 07

  And I'm gonna go smile each day, but I don't think about myself. It's lost David, my house brother, broken.

• 48:21Speaker 07

  The cries heard.

• 48:24Speaker 07

  The struggle of famine and fraud, yet the verdict, are nothing more than a lack of remorse.

• 48:32Speaker 07

  Mackenzie's children were left with no choice. Dom and Davion did not. We are all left here, mortal.

• 48:42Annie Elise?

  But what Dom and Davion lost can never be remedied in any way,

• 48:50Annie Elise?

  and by any person with a sentence.

• 48:55Annie Elise?

  So I thirty first, two thousand twenty-two. Coke, because his mother is there with the loss of her son Davion.

• 49:04Annie Elise?

  I didn't even have to visit my house at all. And the first thing that sent to me was, "Well, please don't listen to what everyone's saying on Facebook."

• 49:16Annie Elise?

  Yeah. My son is dead. Friend is dead. A gentleman in North Sea. Social media is losing heart. Social media is made of pain, in spite of the life of Mackenzie, that has negatively gained her this poor friendship tragedy. No one can imagine the pain of losing a child, unless they've lost one themselves. The pain is forevermore. Time does not heal this wound.

• 49:45Annie Elise?

  Mackenzie, you're a new person because you did this.

• 49:50Annie Elise?

  Be thankful that you're still alive and in the future, whatever that may be. Dom and Davion are robbed of their futures, their hopes and their dreams.

• 50:02Annie Elise?

  Mackenzie showed no mercy on Dominic, nor did she on Davion. Only God will this family can ever rest in understanding. Thank you. To hear their pain is so unbelievably heartbreaking and just unimaginable. When I was researching this case, I found a GoFundMe for Dominic's gravesite. The GoFundMe was from his sister, and it read, "Hi, everyone. I'm Dominic's oldest sister. Dom tragically passed away on July thirty-first, two thousand twenty-two. He was twenty years old, and our..." Our hearts were left shattered to pieces. Since then, myself, my sister and mom find comfort in keeping his gravesite a site to see for everyone to come and enjoy.

• 50:45Annie Elise?

  It started as his parents and siblings trying to hide the dirt after his burial, and it blossomed into this beautiful memorial site that keeps us working together in honor of Dom. My mom tends to it every day for hours, whether it's printing pictures for everyone to look at, adding solar lights, adding decorations, keeping up the landscaping around it, adding and exchanging hundreds of flowers, laminating letters and pictures, finding trinkets to add to it, or beautiful statues, etc. This is what we do it for, for Dom, and it's in honor of our beloved brother and son. Friends and family leave memorabilia, notes, pictures, things like that that remind them of Dom. Somehow, yesterday, his grave was set on fire, and everything burned to the ground.

• 51:30Annie Elise?

  Nothing was salvageable, except a cement cross. Most of the items were irreplaceable, such as flowers and ribbon from his funeral, letters from his nieces and nephews and friends and siblings and parents, stuffed animals, things that can't be replaced. The items cost us thousands of dollars and will cost us thousands to replace. Most items were very expensive. We spent on the flowers alone originally around $1,200. Each solar light decoration can range up to $50 apiece. We are asking for any donations from friends and family so that we can get his gravesite back to how it was, and before July 31st of this year, which marks his one-year anniversary.

• 52:12Annie Elise?

  Dom's grave means so much to us, words can't explain. We miss and love you so much, our Nucci baby. Until we meet again, your sister loves you. Since then, the GoFundMe has been updated stating, quote, "Hi, everybody. Just wanted to say thank you for all of your generous donations. We were able to recreate Dom's grave beautifully. Any further donations will go to purchasing updated memorial items, such as flowers, etc. in the future. Thanks again, we love you so much, Dom." So when it came to sentencing, the state gave their recommendations for sentencing and reasoning.

• 52:48Speaker 05

  There are, there's very little that I can say after hearing from those who love Dominic and Davion in regards to the impact that the defendant's conduct had on these families' lives. And we have received a series of letters that has been submitted on behalf of the defendant. In summarizing these, they described her as a good student and a loving and caring person, and that she could never do something like this. And they continually, despite the verdict, refer to this as an accident, an unfortunate accident, and tell you that she is also a victim. And there are just a few things that I think is important for the court to consider in

• 53:33Speaker 05

  determining a sentence today. Part of the evidence in this case, and introduced in trial, was evidence from the defendant's cellphone. There were search warrants executed on her various social media accounts, her school records, her medical records, things of this nature. And I think that who she actually was is directly contradictory to what is painted by the letter submitted on behalf of her today. I'm not even cool. I'm just one of those girls that can do a lot of drugs and not die.

• 54:06Speaker 07

  I'm the kind of girl that can do drugs and like not die. I'm the girl you die for. Both of those videos were posted on her TikTok.

• 54:35Speaker 05

  Shortly after the crash.

• 54:39Speaker 05

  Strongsville Police were notified that they had received concerning emails from the community that the defendant and her mother were seeking employment with the Los Angeles modeling agency. Mackenzie Shirilla said to Vitale, "Thank you for the comment. I would love to work with you guys. I've been emailing you guys a lot. Such a great opportunity. Thank you." Is there a date? There is not a date on this, Your Honor. Based on the investigation, it was delivered to the police while the defendant was still in the Metro Health Hospital. So it was during that time period. She was in the hospital for several weeks. Shortly after being released from the hospital, the police were provided additional videos

• 55:23Speaker 05

  of the defendant from her wheelchair as she attended a concert down in the flats. And again, Your Honor, I'm introducing these to the court to show the shocking lack of remorse. This was something that was being exhibited while the investigation was still going on before she was charged and arrested in November of last year. And these were the sort of things that were coming to the police and the shocking lack of remorse, coupled with the fact that the defendant was reported driving of an automobile shortly after this event, that she was seen in Strongsville again driving a car, in spite of the fact that, as her mother testified, she got dizzy sometimes from a condition

• 56:08Speaker 05

  that she had to take salt pills for, in spite of the fact that it was, in fact, her mother who provided her with the car that she used to take Dominic and Davion's life.

• 56:18Annie Elise?

  And I'm just gonna say it. I literally cannot with any of this bullshit with her. I literally cannot with this. The Instagram post while Mackenzie is in the hospital, days after the accident, with her and her mom responding to a modeling agency in LA? Are they out of their minds? I mean, maybe, but I think we know now where Mackenzie may have learned some of her behavior, which, no shade, but just saying. Mackenzie's mother also gave a statement before sentencing, and honestly, when I was watching this, I could not believe it. I contemplated if I wanted to include the whole thing, but I think it really is important because it gives so much insight into what all of these claims about who Mackenzie is

• 57:02Annie Elise?

  and how she acts were really about.

• 57:04Speaker 07

  Can you start with your name?

• 57:09Speaker 07

  I just want to say, my lounge matressa went home. Sure. I just want to say to families that I'm broken, sad, and lost, and my heart hurts for everyone. Okay, baby, most of these friends, and I'm like, you're welcome to live, and he was part of our family. Okay, I'm so sorry that you said that you're heartbroken. Okay, and then, Your Honor, this was a terrible, tragic nightmare accident that happened that she has no memory of. And she will never emotionally or physically recover of it, recover from it, um, she'll always beg to. And we're asking that you please not release any of this consecutive, whose family, and we all love each other.

• 57:50Speaker 07

  That morning of the accident, she called, I got a phone call that was a car accident. And so we went to the hospital, and I didn't even know who was in the car. So then I picked up and confirmed it, and I was still in pride because I missed him so much, we loved him so much.

• 58:08Speaker 07

  I called, um, like, over and over again, friend, but he wasn't answering the phone, and he didn't answer the phone. So then I tried to call his mom, and she didn't answer the phone either. And I still didn't know who was in the car, I didn't even know she was alive, I didn't know what was happening. So then we were in the waiting room. And then his mom ended up thinking she did call me, so I answered the phone, and I was like, oh my God, like, I don't even know who was in the car. Like, what's happening, was that dog? And she said, what do you mean, my son is dead? And I was like, I'm so sorry, and then she said something like, and now I got to wait till your kids out of the hospital, and then I didn't hear the rest. I just, I was like, we loved him so much, and I hung up the phone, I did not talk about social media, and I didn't even know what was going on yet. Okay, so then, that was it.

• 58:55Speaker 07

  In the hospital, then the telling, folks, I commented on that because somebody had called her a murderer, okay? And she went, she's not a murderer, so she wouldn't have her phone at that point, because the police have still had it, okay? So, um, I jumped on, and I was like, you know, she's not a murderer, she's more sad than her than most of these people commenting. She's been trying to get in touch with you. But at that point, it was just of the accident. So I commented on Ruby, not because of the modeling opportunity. I don't even, who cares about that? I don't want them to refer to her as being a murderer. Okay? And I don't even know how that comment you've got on the phone because the police still had her device. And she could not access her phone or social media.

• 59:39Speaker 07

  That's why I did it. And I told them, asking if they could shut down social media because people are calling her a murderer and making death threats and organizing groups to, you know, take her out when she got out of the hospital and stuff. So I didn't even want her for it. I don't care about what, I don't care about social media. I just wanted them to stop calling her a murderer. So when she did come to, and she did come out of surgery, with multiple surgeries, that she wouldn't see all these people calling her a murderer, because she would never, ever, ever murder a loved one in her life. Okay? Halloween, for three months after the accident, she would only wear his clothes. She would only eat the snacks he ate. She would only listen to the music he wrote.

• 1:00:25Speaker 07

  Okay? She was laying there for three months. She cried, so she cried with Dexter with photos and things that he liked, and this flower that lights up that he got her because he wanted it to be fresh and alive forever. It's like a little beauty and beast flower. Okay, she's got this line of Dexter. So she was crying for three months. So her friends, yes, that she wanted to go out to her to her, to Halloween, and it was a O U. And she didn't even want to go. She said, I don't know, should I go? She couldn't even walk yet, barely. So I told her, I said, baby, please go. It's Halloween. You've been laying for three months crying, only listening to his music. Please go and have just a moment of fun, a moment of fun. So we told her to go. My husband drove her. I brought her back home.

• 1:01:10Speaker 07

  And she just needed a second of fun from losing her whole world, her whole world. So it was us. We told her to go. And that concert she went to with Don's cousin, Abby, they picked her up. They brought her there. That was done, because Don and Abby all decided to go to this concert together while they were in the hospital. That was for them. Everything she did after the accident was either in honor of him, to be close to him, or just to be by him any way that she can. She's like devastated and he was the air that she breathes will be and they went with his cousin. We spent all kinds of time with him in the accident. Um, what was the other

• 1:01:55Speaker 07

  thing? I'm hearing an awful lot about your daughter. I'm not hearing very much. At all. They all, they all loved each other. They all spent every day together. You know what I mean? I don't, I don't. And isn't that part of the problem, Mrs. Sharrell? Sorry? Isn't that part of the problem that they all trusted each other? Isn't that part of? It's not a problem at all. It's a problem with how they all ended up in the car together and two women ended up dead. I understand. I understand what it feels like. I'm saying that it was a tragic accident. Well, we're gonna have to disagree on that. Right. And I respect your position, but you disagree with me. I understand. But anyway, that's what I just wanted to address those. We told her to go to those things and then she did go and went down to the family. So look at that.

• 1:02:39Speaker 07

  Don't look at it like, look at not look on their religion. I just can't hear, please. This is, that, those things are not relevant. Not at all. Not at all. No, I agree. If you would, if you have a moment, all you would need is five minutes of a conversation to go out with her, to learn who she is. Just then you just need five minutes to learn who she is and what she's capable of not doing and doing, and you would see for yourself.

• 1:03:03Annie Elise?

  The freaking audacity. I mean, I don't even know where to start, but let's break this down. First of all, that was the most insincere apology made to the victims' families that she could have possibly come up with. Second, why the hell was she referring to Davion as a new friend? I'm glad the judge called her out on this and said, well, does that make his death less bad? Instead of a statement on behalf of Mackenzie, I believe she made these things 100 times more worse for her. Her entire little speech was trying to argue what the prosecution just said about her, instead of, uh, I don't know, saying just about anything else. It is truly unbelievable. Mackenzie spoke and begged the judge for mercy.

• 1:03:50Speaker 07

  Oh, God, and Davion. So deeply sorry. I hope one day you can see how it never let me have it. Or joy of purpose. I wish I could remember what happened. I'm just so sorry. I'm heartbroken. I love Dom and Davion. We were all friends, and Dom was my soulmate. I wish I could take all your pain away. And I'm so sorry. And to my family. Thank you for the support and all the love you guys give. Thank you for bringing me. I love them all so much.

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• 1:05:02Annie Elise?

  When it came time for sentencing, the judge did not mince words. And the judge absolutely slammed Mackenzie.

• 1:05:10Speaker 07

  Today is the sentencing of the defendant for the purposeful and intentional murders of Davion Flanagan and Dominic Rousseau. And in a way, it's the second time their families are gathered again to grieve. It's also a day when Mackenzie's family will grieve for the future of their daughter.

• 1:05:28Speaker 07

  All three of these families and the friends of these families are suffering. And all of their lives have been irrevocably changed because of the actions of the defendant.

• 1:05:39Speaker 07

  The unintended and collateral consequences of a selfish, intentional, and cruel decision.

• 1:05:46Speaker 02

  Bye, Mackenzie will ripple forever in time. It's literally changed history because it's ended two lives. Two young men are dead. Their deaths were horrible, terrifying and tragic. I will say again, if any reasonable person reviews Exhibit 802, there can be no doubt in your mind what happened this night. There can be no doubt of the absolute terror of the two people in that car. The defendant controlled all the events. She chose the day.

• 1:06:28Speaker 02

  Specifically, she chose a day just before her 18th birthday. She chose to drive the car, the time to drive the car. She chose an obscure, previously scouted route through an industrial parkway. She chose the target to hit and the victims. She chose the means and the method to follow through. And she planned and purposely executed the events of July 31, 2022. The review of the evidence supports the factual findings. The forensic testimony, the testimony of the first responders, the testimony of the emergency room doctors who treated the defendant, the testimony of the coroner's medical examiner, testimony of those who knew the victims and the defendant, and the testimony of the BMV

• 1:07:13Speaker 02

  official who provided evidence that not only did the defendant deny any medical condition when applying for her license, which her mother cosigned and attested to, but also that just after the accident, Mackenzie renewed her driver's license and again denied any medical condition. In fact, the defendant was so concerned about driving that, as the state mentioned during the investigation, she asked if they could just suspend

• 1:07:40Speaker 07

  under license for 10 years. It is hard to fathom how a person could be concerned about their driving privileges, having just been responsible for the deaths of two people. There was no medical condition that caused this as an accident. There was no mechanical failure of the car. The record is clear on the facts and the evidence. Her mother's uncorroborated statements without any medical testimony or records is not persuasive. It is also important to remember that even if Mackenzie intended to also die in this crash, that is irrelevant. A failed suicide attempt is not a defense to murder.

• 1:08:21Speaker 07

  And even in a murder-suicide attempt, when a perpetrator executing the plan survives, the other death or deaths are still murder. There's only one person who's responsible for the pain of everyone in this room. And that person is you, Mackenzie. Nobody else is responsible. This isn't the fault of Dominic's family, or Davion's family, or your family. And I know that each of you have asked your questions to yourselves, "What if? What if I had done this or that?" The truth of it is, none of us can control the intentions of another. And when there is a purposeful intent to harm or kill someone, it is the perpetrator alone who bears the responsibility for the choice and the consequences

• 1:09:05Speaker 07

  and the harm that follows. The difficulty for sentencing today, honestly, is whether or not I believe you should get consecutive sentences. I'm troubled that should I give you a concurrent sentence, that people will believe that somehow I'm being disrespectful to one of the victims. And on the other hand, I have to weigh the punishment. There's a very good likelihood, Mackenzie, that you will spend the rest of your life in prison. That won't be up to me. That will be up to the parole board, and that will be up to you, to a great extent.

• 1:09:46Annie Elise?

  Mackenzie was sentenced 15 years to life, meaning she will be At least 34 years old during the first time that she is eligible for parole. And unless Mackenzie shows true change, takes accountability for her actions, or does some serious self-reflection to realize the devastation that she caused to her victims' families, she will be lucky if she gets out the first time she's up for parole. So that now leads us into some major updates in this case. After her trial, Mackenzie got a new legal team, and they were doing everything in their power to prove that Mackenzie was innocent. They claimed that she had a medical episode that occurred at or around the time of the car accident, what they're calling, quote, "the incident."

• 1:10:30Annie Elise?

  And they're saying that that medical episode caused her to ultimately lose consciousness, which then resulted in the crash. They also claimed that key evidence in the case had been missed during her trial, evidence that they say proved that Dominic was actually the one threatening Mackenzie and not the other way around. Now, this proof that they had, it was text messages from Mackenzie's phone. And one of the text messages is from July 17, 2022. It was sent at 12:45 PM, so just afternoon, and it said, quote, "Can you come get Dom? He just grabbed my steering wheel on the highway, trying to spin out my car and hurt me." End quote.

• 1:11:12Annie Elise?

  Then, that same day, just a few hours later, at 4:27 PM, Dom texted Mackenzie, saying, quote, "I'm sorry." To which she responded, "That is not enough to fix it this time." So with these messages, her new legal team is saying, "No, no, no, no, look. He is the one who put her life at risk in the past. He is the one who would antagonize her. We have a history here, we have a pattern." Which, to be honest, I think there was probably toxicity in both directions in this relationship. In October of 2024, Mackenzie's defense team then filed its post-conviction relief petition, otherwise known as a PCR. And in this, they requested a new trial. But get this, you can't just file those things whenever you and your defense team are, you know,

• 1:11:57Annie Elise?

  feeling up to it. It's something that has to be done in a time. And Mackenzie's defense team, well, they were one day past the deadline that is mandated by Ohio law. So Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, the same judge who found her guilty during her trial, denied this petition. Which, look, I can understand the frustration with that. Technically, yes, you gotta follow the rules. If it's mandated by state law, there's a deadline. I also can see the argument where people will say, it was only one day late, like, you know, don't be so rigid. Let it go in, all of these things. But then, I think when you do that, you have to make allowances for two days late. Or three days late. I don't know. So I understand the frustration here, but I also understand why the decision was made.

• 1:12:40Annie Elise?

  So then Mackenzie's parents broke their silence. Now, up until this point, they were not doing interviews or any public appearances whatsoever. Now, why they finally decided to, who really knows? Maybe it was a Hail Mary, maybe it was trying to humanize the situation. It's really unclear. And I want to play some of it for you. Because if nothing else, I feel like it's fair to say, this family sure has the audacity. Okay? Now, again, if you are listening to the audio version of this, it will be clear, but there will be captions and video on the YouTube version.

• 1:13:12Speaker 03

  I struggle with this because how can I feel bad that these two boys died? And feel grief with these families and then be absolutely overjoyed that my kid is alive? Show me one piece of evidence, one, that says she did this on purpose. Show it to me. Here it is. That's it. Then she's right where she belongs and she's guilty of it. But there isn't any. There's no evidence what was going on in that car, other than the information they gleaned from the black box information. And these poor families think she did it intentionally, and she didn't.

• 1:13:45Speaker 02

  And there's like, and they don't know. There's information they didn't see. There's information they didn't have. There's information we didn't see or have. Should she be in prison for murder?

• 1:13:55Speaker 03

  No, absolutely not.

• 1:13:56Speaker 02

  Should she be in prison for aggravated vehicular homicide?

• 1:13:59Speaker 03

  I don't, I don't, I don't know about the aggravated part because I don't think you can still say why it was going on in the car. Should she be, should she have been charged with reckless vehicular homicide, two counts? Absolutely. Absolutely.

• 1:14:10Speaker 02

  If it was medical? What kind of hopes, what kind of expectations do you have for Mackenzie's future? That the truth will set her free. That's what I need to hear.

• 1:14:20Annie Elise?

  Have happened. The truth that there was no intent that that part, the truth will set her free. So when I first saw this interview, my jaw was on the floor. Honestly, I don't even really know why. I mean, Mackenzie's mom had proved to us before that she just rambles and makes excuses for her daughter. So I don't know why I expected her to change or for there to be a different tone to this conversation or what. But it did somehow still surprise me. And I think if I were Mackenzie, I'm just, you know, putting myself in her shoes for a moment. I'd be telling my mom, you know, zip it, stop talking, go into hiding. I don't need you speaking on my behalf anymore because at this point, if she keeps it up, she may ruin any chance of Mackenzie ever getting out on parole.

• 1:15:02Annie Elise?

  And while we're on the topic of the whole Shirilla family, we also have to go over another thing. I never had too much hope that Mackenzie would show actual remorse. I think she's entitled. I think she thinks that the rules don't apply to her. And I just never expected to see genuine remorse from her. Because to me, Mackenzie has already proved that she has always seen herself as the victim and that she probably always will think that way. And in the summer of 2025, there were some jail calls between Mackenzie and her mother that were released. One of the calls was from August of 2023, and it was about a court hearing that Mackenzie had been through. And instead of just describing this call to you, I'm going to play you some clips again

• 1:15:43Annie Elise?

  because I feel like it is much better hearing things through their mouths and how they deliver the statements. So take a listen.

• 1:15:52Speaker 02

  How do you think I did? Okay?

• 1:15:53Speaker 07

  Yeah, that prosecutor was pissing me off, though. I don't know what he's like.

• 1:15:56Speaker 02

  I know, I'm like.

• 1:15:58Speaker 07

  I was getting so pissed off. Like, I wanted to, like, get up and be like, shut the fuck up and, like, tell him it's like so bad. He was pissing me off. He was so rude to you.

• 1:16:05Speaker 02

  I was running for anything. We've got nothing to hide. You could ask me anything you want.

• 1:16:08Speaker 07

  Like butter bread and cookies.

• 1:16:11Speaker 02

  Yeah. Yeah, I'm excited to see how that you. Please have somebody get that to work for you.

• 1:16:16Speaker 07

  I know, I'm going to.

• 1:16:19Speaker 07

  This is just irritating as fuck.

• 1:16:21Speaker 02

  Yeah. Yeah, I can handle it.

• 1:16:23Speaker 07

  Like, I don't like how I can't come out of my room. Why the fuck am I on a seven-day hold? That just pisses me off.

• 1:16:28Speaker 02

  It's just part of the procedure. There's nothing you can do about that.

• 1:16:30Speaker 07

  And I'm so scared about, like, me and I lost the love of my life and a good friend. And now I have to deal with this grief the rest of my life and deal with, like, being scared to drive and stuff like that. Just like.

• 1:16:43Speaker 02

  I know.

• 1:16:46Speaker 02

  I know honey, there's nothing I can do about that so...

• 1:16:48Speaker 07

  Can you just pay my bond and get me out of here please?

• 1:16:52Speaker 07

  Like go to a bail bondsman and see if they can give you the ten percent?

• 1:16:54Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 1:16:55Speaker 07

  God, why aren't you listening?

• 1:16:57Speaker 02

  Um...

• 1:16:57Speaker 07

  I'm gonna hang up.

• 1:16:58Speaker 02

  I am listening, I was just thinking of somebody.

• 1:16:59Speaker 07

  I don't care.

• 1:17:00Speaker 02

  When you were talking.

• 1:17:02Speaker 02

  I don't know how much an appeal is. Okay, so can we just wait until Monday? Okay?

• 1:17:10Speaker 07

  Yeah, let's just wait until Monday when I can just probably, I'm probably, they're probably gonna take my bond away on Monday.

• 1:17:15Speaker 02

  That's what I mean, so let's just wait. We'll see.

• 1:17:18Speaker 07

  What do you mean, that's what you mean, they're probably gonna say there's no more bond. On Monday.

• 1:17:23Speaker 02

  No, I, we don't know if that's true or not.

• 1:17:27Speaker 02

  I don't know what the situation fucks up, because you're just gonna have to wait.

• 1:17:30Speaker 07

  This is just wrong, what the fuck they're doing is like, it's so wrong and they're just trying to...

• 1:17:33Speaker 02

  I know. I know.

• 1:17:38Speaker 07

  Yes, I'm getting very irritated, like, and I need to get the fuck out of jail, because they're just trying to fuck me over, bad as fuck.

• 1:17:44Annie Elise?

  Mackenzie also brought up her medical condition, claiming that it had now gotten worse ever since being in jail, and that now she was having even worse episodes than she ever had before.

• 1:17:55Speaker 07

  First of all, when I got diagnosed, nobody ever told me that, could, like, anything about driving.

• 1:18:00Speaker 02

  Put that on the license, exactly, no...

• 1:18:02Speaker 07

  That was never said, ever.

• 1:18:04Speaker 02

  Uh-uh, nope, and if they, if we do have to, then we will.

• 1:18:08Speaker 07

  Yes, like, I don't care, like, why would we lie and just not do that?

• 1:18:11Speaker 02

  Yeah, never.

• 1:18:12Speaker 07

  If I, if I knew that would, could affect my driving, I probably would never drive, like...

• 1:18:17Speaker 02

  Well, no, no, people, no, people are allowed to drive with that, so don't say that.

• 1:18:21Speaker 07

  And, ever since I got in here, it's been bad again, like, I don't know what it is, like, like I blacked out the other day and like, it was so weird, it was like not normal, like, it wasn't like bad how it usually is, but it was also like not like good. I don't know how to explain it, it was like the first time I ever had a blackout like that, like, it was like weird as fuck, I don't know how to explain it.

• 1:18:40Speaker 02

  Well, just make sure you're eating, okay?

• 1:18:43Annie Elise?

  When you get your, if you can do your commissary, make sure you get some chips. Now, like I said, those calls were back in 2023. So who really knows whether she was exaggerating those blackouts, exaggerating the symptoms, just trying to look better for her trial? Who knows? But it does seem to me at least like she still is standing by the idea that she had some sort of medical condition. And I'm really curious to know what you think about that, though, because when this case first exploded, it felt like, honestly, the overwhelming majority of people believed that Mackenzie was guilty, that this was intentional, entitlement, audacity, all those words, right? No question. But now with some of these text messages coming out,

• 1:19:25Annie Elise?

  and Mackenzie and her medical condition claims, do you feel the same? Do you feel like there's room for, you know, questioning that and that maybe it's not as black and white as people thought? Do you think that those text messages are enough to potentially change the outcome of this case? And do you believe that there's a world in which some other scenario occurred and that's what caused the crash? That it wasn't Mackenzie's doing, whether it was one of the passengers grabbing the wheel or some sort of genuine medical episode that triggered it? I don't know. Let me know in the comments. Like I said at the beginning of this episode, I still firmly believe what I believe about this case. Yes, I don't think that those text messages are great, but again, I think it just shows toxicity from both sides.

• 1:20:09Annie Elise?

  I still think that even if it was a medical episode, I would imagine that there would be a level of remorse. Even if when I've gotten into a car crash in the past and if like I had someone in the car and I just rear end somebody, you're remorseful, even if it's an accident, you know? And so even if it was this thing that she had no control over, where's the remorse? And the accountability with that to say like, I'm devastated. I can't believe this happened. Like my illness, I need help. I don't know. It's just not quite landing for me. But maybe I'm rigid in my views. Who the hell knows? So curious to know what you guys think about this case. Maybe I will also throw a poll up on Spotify just so that we can gauge what everybody's thinking. But take a quick second, if you're watching this.

• 1:20:53Annie Elise?

  On YouTube, leave a comment that says, I think this was intentional, or I think this was an accident and we can gauge the responses. And for all of my podcast listeners, if you're listening to this on Spotify, you can vote on the poll. But if you're listening on Apple, leave a review for the podcast and let me know in the section where you can write a review. Let me know what you think about this case. So thank you so much for listening. Let me know too, if you watched the Netflix documentary, The Crash and what your thoughts are now after seeing that as well. But I always like to come on here and cover some of the documentaries that I'm familiar with already with the case that Netflix covers because there's only so much information you can squeeze into 90 minutes or even like three 45 minute episodes. And I feel like sometimes

• 1:21:35Annie Elise?

  a lot of the minutia, you know, the details get lost within it. And so that's why I'm here to give you the deep dives, to give you all of the information that maybe isn't shown because it can't be squeezed into a 60 minute episode. So, so again, if you're brand new and this is the first episode of mine you've heard and you appreciate the case coverage and you feel like it's your style, your vibe, make sure that if you're listening on the podcast, you press the follow button so that you don't miss future episodes. And if you're watching this on YouTube, press the subscribe button so that you don't miss future videos. All right, everybody. Thank you again for tuning in today. And until the next one, be nice, don't kill people, just be a good human, and drive the speed limit. All right. Thank you. Bye.

• 1:22:28Speaker 05

  Hey Richmond, Mark Smith, Midas Richmond, 2026. We have been doing what we do for 29 years. Total Car Care, Total Community Care. In 2026, we are donating $365,000, $1,000 a day to the nonprofits we've historically supported. Gooch and Cares, Shalom Farms, St. Joseph's Villa, Ask, the Colonial Heights Food Pantry, everybody we've helped over the years. These are important A big impact in our society right now. Total car care, total community care. That is Midas of Richmond. One thing casual fans don't understand is how good pro wrestling is. Think you know wrestling? Join us on the busted open podcast every single day. The biggest stories, the biggest debates, no filters.

• 1:23:12Speaker 05

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