A Netflix documentary about the 2022 case involving Mackenzie Shirilla has surged to the top spot on the platform, and some legal commentators warn the material shown on screen could later be raised when she comes up for parole.
Shirilla was 17 when she was accused of fatally crashing a car carrying her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan. Prosecutors said the vehicle hit a brick wall at around 100 mph, killing both passengers.
She was ultimately convicted on 12 counts, including murder, and received a sentence of 15 years to life. Under the terms of that sentence, she cannot seek parole until 2037.
Instead of a jury trial, Shirilla elected to be tried by a judge in a bench trial, meaning a single judge decided the verdict.
She has continued to say she does not remember the collision. However, investigators relied heavily on vehicle data examined by an expert, which prosecutors argued pointed to intentional driving rather than an unavoidable accident.
Legal analyst Misty Mera suggested that, years from now, the documentary itself could become part of the broader picture considered by the parole board.
“There are all sorts of different factors that come into play, statements and petitions can be sent to the parole board to take into consideration. So everything we saw in this documentary could be a central part of the parole process.”
The crash happened early on July 31, 2022, after a high school graduation get-together in Strongsville, Ohio. Shirilla was driving Russo and Flanagan when the car struck a brick building. Shirilla survived and was flown to hospital with significant injuries.
Authorities later said surveillance video showed what they believed was controlled steering immediately before the impact, followed by a long stretch of travel at extreme speed.
“There’s approximately 5 seconds of pre-crash data. For the entire 5 seconds, the accelerator pedal was at 100%.”
Investigators also said the vehicle data did not show braking input, and a forensic inspection did not identify mechanical failure.
In court, prosecutors argued the crash followed escalating conflict between Shirilla and Russo. Assistant Prosecutor Tim Troup said the couple had an “incredibly toxic and failing relationship,” and the state pointed to messages and accounts describing intense arguments.
Prosecutors also said Russo had attempted to end the relationship multiple times in the weeks before the crash, and alleged Shirilla had made a threatening statement shortly beforehand that later became central to the state’s theory of intent.
“prior calculation.”
One of Russo’s friends described a phone call in which Russo allegedly expressed fear that Shirilla would crash the car while he was inside.
“She says she’ll crash his car right now,”
Shirilla was arrested in November 2022. After a four-day trial, she was found guilty. At sentencing, the judge spoke bluntly about the conduct at issue.
She had “chosen a course of death and destruction that day.”
In the Netflix film, Shirilla and her parents give their first on-camera account of the case. She repeats that she has “no recollection” of the crash and says she feels deep remorse for the victims, while her parents insist it was not intentional.
But the documentary also includes statements from Kate Crowder, described as a former prison mate, who disputes the on-camera portrayal of Shirilla’s remorse.
“Mackenzie Shirilla did not walk around that prison yard with an ounce of remorse. All she cared about was doing her makeup, walking the yard with her one or two friends.”
Crowder also alleges Shirilla did not show visible grief while incarcerated.
“never cried the entire time I saw her in prison. Not one tear. So for her to sit in that documentary and say that she thought about it every day was not true.”
Shirilla has already lost an initial appeal. Her parole hearing is currently set for September 2037.
Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend Dominic Russo get into an argument. A friend overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”
Shirilla is driving Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, from Russo’s home to a friend’s house. At around 5.30am, she crashes the car into a Plidco Building in Strongsville, Ohio, travelling at 100mph without braking. Police arrive on the scene 45 minutes later. Russo and Flanagan are pronounced dead and Shirilla is transported to MetroHealth Medical Center.
In the aftermath, the community held a vigil attended by around 200 people. Shirilla remained hospitalised in critical condition, and a detective later claimed she was speaking in a strange way during a hospital visit.
The documentary also references a Halloween costume worn by Shirilla that the victims’ family found upsetting.
“Dressing up as corpses three months after she killed two people, it just sickened us to the very core.”
In addition to the crash-related counts, Shirilla also faced other allegations, including accusations tied to a break-in at the Columbia Church of God in Columbia Station days earlier, plus trafficking and possession charges.
At trial, her defence argued she may have passed out due to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The prosecution disputed this, and the claim was not supported in court by medical records or expert testimony confirming the diagnosis.
Shirilla was convicted on all counts. During proceedings, the judge used harsh language, and the court concluded the crash was intentional and premeditated.
She is serving two concurrent 15-years-to-life sentences, and later efforts for relief were unsuccessful. She remains in custody at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
Her parents have continued to maintain that she did not intend to kill anyone, with her father challenging critics to point to proof of intent.
“Show me one piece of evidence – one – that says she did this on purpose. Show it to me, then she’s right where she belongs and she’s guilty of it. But there isn’t any.”
Her mother has also claimed there are text messages suggesting Russo was ‘trying to end her life’.
The documentary The Crash later premiered, featuring Shirilla again denying she acted deliberately and continuing to claim memory loss while citing POTS as an explanation.
May 18 2026
Her father, Steve Shirilla, was placed on administrative leave from his role as an art and digital media teacher at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland following allegations of poor judgment. Viewers of the documentary criticised his remarks about Shirilla’s marijuana use, as well as his dismissal of claims that she told a classmate to end their life.
This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole.