How BAD Parenting Turned Mackenzie Shirilla Into a Monster, with Samantha Benigno

Added: 2026-05-29

[00:00:00]I said I'm a little surprised that any parent would allow their 17-year-old daughter to live with a 20-year-old drug dealer. I mean, she was still in high school at the time. And so she leaves the house while she's 17 to live with her older boyfriend who's a drug dealer.

[00:00:14]Is that something that struck you as unusual?

[00:00:17]>> You know, when you I mean, her parents were buying her alcohol, they were giving her money for drugs, anything they could do to keep her from escalating. Like the police had been there because of her tantrums when she was a a sophomore in high school.

[00:00:32]Um you know, her tantrums were so extreme, she'd break stuff, I'm going to kill myself. Like she was so out of control, so reckless, uh so intense that I think her family just learned like give her whatever she wants, try to keep the peace. And they saw Dom as, you know, like he loved her. He really did try to take care of her. I don't think anybody understood the ins and outs of that relationship, but I'm sure the family was also just happy to not have her in their crosshairs day in and day out, right? To have her with somebody they trusted and, you know, didn't have to you know, didn't have to be worrying about her night and day. Having said that though, I'm not so sure she was living there. So, I know we've heard that, but based on the language, uh it seems like she had stayed there quite a bit, but that whether she was actually living there at the time is, you know, she wasn't actually technically living there. That's how I would say it.

[00:01:31]>> Interesting. So, she told so that, you know, she's had prison girlfriends and things like that. And she's told different inmates different things.

[00:01:38]She's told some that the crash happened cuz she was high on mushrooms. And then she told Cheyenne, her ex, that it was because of POTS. And we saw in the documentary her mom saying it was because of POTS, you know, this um nervous system disorder that causes dizziness, fatigue, um things like that.

[00:01:51]And apparently she was diagnosed with that. Do you think she really believed that it was about POTS, or do you think she even knows what she's talking about at this point?

[00:01:58]>> McKenzie?

[00:02:00]>> Yeah.

[00:02:00]>> No, McKenzie knows exactly. McKenzie knows what happened. Um, McKenzie >> she's trying to create this narrative though with pots like that she knows it's a lie? Yeah.

[00:02:09]>> Yes, yeah. Yeah, I mean in the very first moments, you know, they have this gypsy language that her and her mom will speak. Right? In the very first moments after the police show up to talk to her and they're speaking in this gypsy language and she says, "Can I just tell them I had a seizure?" Uh, you know, so that was from the jump what the plan was and they took it and ran with it. Um, you know, the way that amnesia works, it's not unusual to have amnesia from a crash, but you don't get amnesia in such a way where you remember everything up through to the turn and then everything immediately following the accident, but not the four seconds between the turn and hitting the wall, right? I mean, it's it's just it's it's silliness is what it is.

[00:02:58]>> Yeah, what do you think about that use of gibberish? What what's wrong with this family? I mean, and and has the family had any accountability, repercussion, responsibility? I mean, have they have they been in any trouble for being just delinquent parents here? I mean, what's going on with these folks?

[00:03:16]>> I think it's surprising to them. I really I mean, you know, mom is interesting. She's a fascinating character. Sometimes she just says things to McKenzie to try to appease her that she doesn't believe and again, this is from listening to hours and hours of their jail calls. Other times, you know, she does seem to feed into the narrative that, you know, it's not her fault. I mean, they still blame the accident to be very clear on the Russo family.

[00:03:40]It's all them. They they own the the the judicial system, you know, they were somehow secretly related to the judge.

[00:03:48]Uh, it's all a big conspiracy. I mean, this is the narrative that mom is sort of feeding Mackenzie. So, you know, this is that they I think mom is a little delusional herself is really hoping that she can start like a free Mackenzie movement.

[00:04:06]You know, I don't think they have anybody telling them the truth, frankly.

[00:04:09]>> Oh my gosh. Well, yeah, and there's you know, some of the jail calls have actually been released. I know we've got one we can play in a minute, sat nine, but you know, it's between Mackenzie and her mom and they were recorded and they're it's just it's kind of disturbing if we could play sat nine and then I'm really curious, you know, how you think that fits into all of this.

[00:04:26]>> So wait, peace all over the world on the state shows like national news?

[00:04:29]>> Okay, I got to tell you one more thing.

[00:04:31]>> What?

[00:04:32]>> It was published in England.

[00:04:35]>> What?

[00:04:36]>> Yeah.

[00:04:38]>> Isn't world news?

[00:04:40]>> [laughter] >> I think the Daily Mail just publishes it in all their publications, but yeah, the UK.

[00:04:48]>> It's on the Daily Mail?

[00:04:49]>> In the UK.

[00:04:51]>> Maybe Kim Kardashian will reach out herself.

[00:04:53]>> That's what I'm saying. I'm hoping.

[00:04:55]>> I would understand if they gave me like a normal charge, but like the charges that they gave me are like literally insane. Like it's not they're trying to make it seem something that it's not.

[00:05:04]Like it's not like I didn't do this on purpose. Like I got in a car accident.

[00:05:08]I'm a third victim. Like >> Oh, that's that's so that's so painful to hear that for the families who have to endure that. And I felt bad, you know, I know I talked about Don being a drug dealer, but you know, no one deserves that fate. That was just awful and his parents seem like good people unlike the Sherrells, his his father and the sister seem like good people and the most empathetic I thought were Davion's father. His his his parents his his father was so compelling and his sister unbelievable.

[00:05:40]Do you think that all this, the fact that we're so outraged on the outside by who she is and how how and how with lack of remorse she has. Do you think that that's going to prevent her from getting parole in 15 years?

[00:05:55]>> I think it depends on what happens along the way, right? I mean, the thing about this type of mental health, you know, problem is that she could get better. I mean, you know, if she had one strong positive influence in her life, you know, she could get better. The challenge is that mom, from what I can tell in these jail calls, really prevents her from ever changing or shifting the narrative. Like, they're just totally focused on trying to get her out. They're trying to get her out of prison.

[00:06:28]>> Yeah, not trying to get her through it or have her learn. I want to talk about that in the time we got left. We have a few minutes left, but apparently this this and we're not calling, you know, Dom names or anything like that. We're certainly not trying to disparage, but I think it's relevant to the facts of the case and to their relationship. It appears that Dom always had Mackenzie actually hold her drugs when she was a minor. We've got a sod on that sod 11 and then I want to talk to you about some of the other things that sort of go along with that.

[00:06:55]>> Yeah, like the only charge that like I think that they like I shouldn't even be charged with it though like cuz it was Dom, but like I understand I have to take that [ __ ] [ __ ] The [ __ ] drugs.

[00:07:06]>> Oh, yep.

[00:07:08]>> That's irritating as >> And he should have known better, too, and I that makes me mad. I'm mad at him for that.

[00:07:14]Telling you that you can't get in trouble for just to hold everything.

[00:07:16]>> He always told me that he always had me hold everything.

[00:07:19]>> I know. That's cuz you were a minor.

[00:07:22]>> Mhm. So, yeah, there's multiple texts also that have surfaced that apparently her parents, Mackenzie's parents, were well aware and they weren't apparently concerned with this drug use, her alcohol use. I mean, if you looked at her social media, you could see it. So, she's 17, she's living with an adult male, and if we do the math right, when they They dating cuz they've been dating for 4 years, She would have been 13 and he would have been 16. Mhm. So, how do you think that that situation was allowed to develop with the Shrillas knowing that their minor daughter was engaged in all these activities? I mean, dangerous activities with apparently no pushback at all. Um you know, this is just this is insane to me. I mean, how do you think that factored into all of this um you know, everything that's happened?

[00:08:06]You know, when they tried, you know, so for example, there was an incident where they tried to ground McKenzie when she was a sophomore and the police wound up at their house because she was breaking things and screaming and you can't do this to me. I mean, just a complete you know, tantrum. Uh you know, you you add suicidal uh threats, that ends any debate pretty fast. They just wanted to try to get her through it. Um to try to appease her. You know, you can even hear it in these calls with mom. As soon as McKenzie escalates, she tries to say anything she can to like bring her an she calls it anxiety. Mom calls her tantrums anxiety down a notch. Um you know, and so what do you do in that situation? You know, as a professional, those are moments that you know you don't you don't feed that. I mean, you don't appease it because that's what will cause it to get reinforced and then grow.

[00:09:07]But they didn't get help. Um I think she was just really truly out of control. I mean, she was really a monster. And I hate to say that, right? As a mental health professional, especially, I don't like using that language, but she was really out of control. Fighting with neighbors, with teachers, with other students. Uh you know, just a maniac.