Huge records release in Mackenzie Shirilla case offers new details of life before, after conviction

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]A Netflix documentary is putting one of Northeast Ohio's most polarizing cases back in the spotlight. And now, newly released records are shedding light on Mackenzie Shirilla's life before and after her conviction. Hunter Bertram has been digging through the files. He joins us now in the studio with the latest.

[00:00:19]Hunter.

[00:00:20]>> Yeah, Lena. Since the documentary hit Netflix 2 weeks ago, authorities have been buried in requests for the records featured on screen as a growing wave of people retry the case in the court of public opinion. Now, some of those files are easily obtainable, including jail phone calls, police video, and nearly 93,000 text messages between Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, who she's convicted of killing.

[00:00:47]>> Mom.

[00:00:47]>> Hey. Hey.

[00:00:49]>> Oh my goodness.

[00:00:51]>> I know Kenzie doesn't These phone calls are recorded. We are not allowed to talk about anything.

[00:00:55]>> That, a jailhouse call between Mackenzie Shirilla and her mother after she was convicted of intentionally driving into a Strongsville building in 2022, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and friend, Davion Flanagan.

[00:01:09]>> Well, we need a new lawyer is what we need.

[00:01:11]>> We are No, not a new lawyer. We're going to file an appeal, okay?

[00:01:14]>> Shirilla now serving life with no chance of parole until 2037.

[00:01:19]Her defense has fought the conviction at every turn, but so far every court has let the verdict stand, including the Ohio Supreme Court, which refused to take up the case.

[00:01:29]>> I don't know if it matters or means anything, but we're just never going to stop, okay?

[00:01:37]>> That makes me feel better.

[00:01:38]>> Now, the case is back in the spotlight, and so is a mountain of newly released records after a massive dump by Strongsville police. Hours of video being pulled apart, jail calls replayed, and nearly 93,000 text messages between Dominic Russo and Shirilla that helped convict her now out in the open. In an interview following the documentary's release, >> Because we know if you get some positive publicity about issues in your case, it makes it easier to maybe get back into a court and have some review.

[00:02:13]>> Law professor Michael Benza shares how a case like this, now driving national attention, can shape what happens next in court.

[00:02:21]>> Yeah, I mean that's part of the power of the internet.

[00:02:23]>> Your story is everywhere.

[00:02:25]>> What does that mean?

[00:02:26]>> I think it's like on national news, it's everywhere.

[00:02:29]>> And now Shirilla's defense is back trying to get before the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing her post-conviction relief filing thrown out after being filed one day late should still count, pointing to a 2024 leap year calendar issue and when the transcript was filed.

[00:02:47]And no word yet if the court will take it up.

[00:02:50]>> And the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office posted to social media, likely responding to a wave of requests for comment on the new attempt to free Shirilla and new renewed public interest in that case, saying quote, "Prosecutor O'Malley believes without question Mackenzie Shirilla is guilty of murder.

[00:03:08]We are confident that any court that reviews this case will come to the same conclusion." End quote. Lena, this legal saga isn't going quiet anytime soon.

[00:03:17]>> No, it is not and we will follow it every step of the way. Hunter Bertram in the studio, thank you.