The father of a teenager sentenced to two life terms has been suspended from his teaching role after remarks he made in a Netflix documentary about the case.
Steve Shirilla, the father of Mackenzie Shirilla, appears in Netflix’s The Crash, which landed on the platform last week. Since the documentary’s release, he has been placed on administrative leave from Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland, where he is reported to have worked as an art and digital media teacher.
The film revisits the criminal case involving Mackenzie, stemming from a 2022 car crash that killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and a friend, Davion Flanagan.
Mackenzie was 17 when the crash occurred in Strongsville, Ohio. Prosecutors said she drove at about 100mph before the vehicle collided with a brick wall.
While investigators initially treated the incident as an accident, suspicions later shifted toward it being deliberate. In November 2022, she was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated vehicular assault.
In 2023, Mackenzie received two life sentences, with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
In the documentary, both Steve and Mackenzie’s mother faced criticism from some viewers, who argued the pair appeared insufficiently remorseful. The couple is also shown pushing back on claims from other students that Mackenzie had bullied peers.
At one point, Steve addressed his daughter’s marijuana use, saying: “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.”
Cleveland 19 News reports that families at Mary Queen of Peace School were notified of the situation in an email, which opened: “We are investigating allegations made on social media that one of our teachers has demonstrated poor judgement.”
The message stated that the teacher had been placed on administrative leave after the school became aware of the allegation, and that an investigation was underway. It also emphasized that “the safety, wellbeing, and trust of students” remained the school’s highest concern.
Later in the statement, the school said it was ‘limited’ in what it could share “during an active personnel investigation,” adding that further updates would be provided when possible.
“We appreciate your continued support of the Mary Queen of Peace School community,” they concluded.
Steve also confirmed to the outlet that he had been put on administrative leave. He said he was unhappy with how the documentary was edited, indicating there were additional comments he made that were not included.
He also reportedly reiterated his belief that his daughter is innocent and maintained that there is ‘more to the story’.