Mackenzie Shirilla’s name has returned to the national spotlight following the release of Netflix’s documentary The Crash, which revisits the deadly July 2022 collision that killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and her friend Davion Flanagan. Now 21 and serving two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio, Shirilla has continued to maintain that she never intended to kill the two young men inside her Toyota Camry.
Her conviction and her arrest months after the crash have thrust the case back into public discussion thanks to the documentary, which premiered on May 15, 2026. Here is a breakdown of what happened, when Shirilla was arrested and how the case has evolved since.
Mackenzie Shirilla’s Fatal Crash in Strongsville, Ohio
The crash that killed Russo, 20, and Flanagan, 19, occurred on July 31, 2022, in Strongsville, Ohio. Shirilla was driving her Toyota Camry at nearly 100 mph before the vehicle slammed into a brick building. Russo and Flanagan were killed at the scene. Shirilla, who was 17 at the time, was the only person to survive the wreck and sustained severe injuries.
Investigators later determined that the crash was not an accident. Authorities concluded that Shirilla had purposefully driven into the wall and intentionally killed Russo and Flanagan, a finding that would shape the murder charges filed against her months later. Cannabis was detected in her system at the time of the incident.
When Was Mackenzie Shirilla Arrested?
Shirilla was arrested in connection with the fatal crash on November 4, 2022 — more than three months after Russo and Flanagan were killed. The Strongsville Police Department took her into custody around 2:45 p.m.
Less than an hour after the arrest, her father, Steven Shirilla, arrived at the police station and launched into a heated confrontation with officers. Bodycam footage obtained by People captured Steven spending roughly three minutes berating officers and insisting that he be allowed to speak with his daughter before police questioned her.
“I need to speak to my daughter because you guys aren’t allowed to speak to her at all,” Steven told officers. “That’s from the lawyer, he does not want you speaking to her at all.”
When an officer pointed out that Mackenzie was 18 and could legally speak for herself, Steven shot back, “Yeah, but she’s a dumb 18-year-old.” He also criticized police for arresting her on a weekend and in public rather than calling him to bring her in, and at one point accused officers of having a “creeper out on the front lawn watching” his home, though it was unclear what he meant.
Officers ultimately denied his demands to see Mackenzie, telling him that she was a legal adult and was not permitted to speak with anyone. They also explained that she would need to invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to communicate with anyone at that point. Before leaving, Steven yelled, “She’s not allowed to speak to you guys, I’m telling you that. Don’t ask her any questions.”
Mackenzie Shirilla’s Conviction and Sentencing
Mackenzie was convicted in 2023 during a bench trial. She was found guilty of 12 felony charges: four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of drug possession and one count of possessing criminal tools.
A judge sentenced her to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life in prison. Mackenzie is not eligible for parole until October 2037. She is currently held at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, where she has continued to insist she did not mean to kill Russo or Flanagan and has said she cannot remember the crash.
Steve Shirilla’s Defense of Mackenzie Shirilla
Steve — referred to as both Steve and Steven in court and police records — has remained one of his daughter’s most public defenders. During the May 27, 2026, episode of the True Crime This Week podcast hosted by James Renner, Steve detailed his theory that the crash could not have been intentional.
“I’ve asked her, ‘Did you do this on purpose?’ And she goes, ‘No,’” Steve said. “I would think if my daughter was that mad, that mad at that boy [Russo] to want to kill him that way, Davion would have never been in the car. This makes no sense.”
He continued, “Something happened in that car. No one’s ever going to know. She’s innocent of the charges they put upon her.”
Steve also appeared in The Crash, where he addressed his daughter’s marijuana use, a focal point of the documentary. “I don’t have a problem with her smoking dope,” he said. “If you’re going to smoke a drug, that’s the one I believe you should take.” His comments led to him being placed on leave from his art and digital media teaching position at Cleveland’s Mary Queen of Peace School.
Mackenzie Shirilla’s Life Behind Bars
Mackenzie has spent her incarceration adjusting to prison routines and, more recently, taking on a job. A prison spokesperson confirmed to Us Weekly on June 11, 2026, that she is now working as a food service worker at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Inmates in similar positions can make up to $24 per month.
The job assignment came nearly two weeks after a recorded phone call between Mackenzie and her mother, Natalie Shirilla, surfaced on June 1. On the call, obtained by TMZ, Mackenzie complained about boredom and limited access to her commissary. “How am I going to make this one book stretch?” she asked, saying she did not want to read “the same book over and over again.”
She also vented about how slowly time passed. “Like it’s only 3:30, how is it only 3:30?” she said. “For real I did not even know it was 3:30 I thought it was like 5. It’s 3:30.” She added, “Like literally there is nothing for me to do in my room, nothing.”
Records obtained by Us Weekly show Mackenzie has also faced multiple disciplinary actions while incarcerated. Among the alleged incidents was a 2025 NSFW video call during which she allegedly showed her breasts to a visitor who flashed “a dildo sticking out of her pants twice.” She was also reportedly cited in 2024 for possessing altered clothing and four “nude magazine pictures.”
During another recent call with her mother, Mackenzie discussed potential post-prison plans should she ever be released early. “I’mma be a life coach and stuff,” she told Natalie, according to a May 30, 2026, TMZ report. “I’m just going to be everything. I’mma do everything.”
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
