Crime
Ohio teen convicted of murdering boyfriend after intentionally crashing car at 100 mph
"This is the type of evidence you can never unsee," said the judge. "She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The mission was death."
August 18, 2023 7:59am
Updated: August 18, 2023 7:59am
An Ohio teenager was convicted on Monday after intentionally crashing her car while driving at 100 mph to kill her boyfriend and his friend, authorities said.
"Her actions were controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional, and purposeful. This was not reckless driving. This was murder," Cuyahoga County Judge Nancy Margaret Russo said after the trial.
Nineteen-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla was driving her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and his friend, Davion Flanagan, 19, at around 5:30 a.m. after they had all smoked marijuana in July 2022. The car crashed at high speeds into the corner of the Plidco Building in Strongsville.
A passer-by spotted the mangled car and alerted 911. Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene. Shirilla was left trapped and unconscious inside the car. She was transported to a nearby hospital, where she underwent several surgeries.
Judge Russo said that the most significant piece of evidence that this was a calculated murder was surveillance footage that shows the the 19-year-old driving normally, but then suddenly accelerated on Alameda Drive to drive her Toyota Camry into the wall of a commercial building.
"This is the type of evidence you can never unsee," Russo said. "She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The mission was death."
"She morphs from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she makes her way down the street," Russo continued.
Russo said that a few days before the crash, Shirilla took the same route to plot the murder.
Shirilla was found guilty of four counts of murder and other charges for the death of Russo and Flanagan. Her conviction carries a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
"There is no doubt that this happened because of the relationship with Dominic and the defendant’s intent was clearly to end that, and she took everybody that was in the car with her," said Prosecutor Michael O’Malley.
