Warning: This article includes references to suicide that some readers may find upsetting.
Texts reportedly sent by Mackenzie Shirilla to her late boyfriend Dominic Russo have resurfaced, years after she was convicted of killing the 20-year-old when her car hit a brick wall at around 100mph in 2022.
Shirilla, from Ohio, was 17 at the time of the crash. Prosecutors alleged she deliberately drove into a brick wall while Russo and their friend Davion Flanagan were passengers.
Russo, 20, and Flanagan, 19, died at the scene. Although some have argued the collision was an accident, Shirilla was convicted of their murders and given two concurrent life sentences.
During proceedings, the judge concluded the incident amounted to premeditated murder, citing the estimated speed of about 100mph.
Now, two years after her sentencing, TMZ has obtained a set of messages said to have been sent by Shirilla to Russo before the crash. In the texts, she appears highly distressed and at one point tells him she was “gonna kill someone”.
One message reads: ‘I just want to bang my head on the wall till I’m dead’, followed by another: ‘THIS IS WHY I J WANNA F***ING KMS’.
Other texts referenced in the report touch on a range of personal issues, including her saying she was not pregnant, discussing STD testing, mentioning health concerns linked to smoking, expressing dislike for her home environment, describing feeling depressed, and criticizing how Russo treated her.
Among the thread is also a text attributed to Russo, where he tells Shirilla he crashed his mom’s car.
The case is also the focus of a Netflix documentary, The Crash, which revisits the deaths and the trial. In the film, Shirilla speaks publicly about the situation for the first time since her conviction.
She continues to deny intentionally causing the crash, suggesting she may have lost consciousness before impact due to an underlying medical issue.
The documentary has prompted a strong reaction online, with viewers divided and some arguing key details were left out.
“Ok I’ll say it, I don’t think Mackenzie Shirilla did it on purpose,” one viewer wrote on X.
While another added: “She drove down the same road seven times in one day the week of the murders they fail to mention this in the Netflix documentary.”
Shirilla, now 21, is not eligible for parole until 2037, when she will be 33.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.