Mackenzie Shirilla's Father Says Her Lawyer "Did Nothing" for Her

[00:00:00]The allegation was, "Okay, you did it your way. 17year-old living outside the house with a 20-year-old.

[00:00:07]Unusual 20 uh 17year-old uh gets in trouble at school. Known as a bully. Uh you don't seem to care." Those are the suggestions about her.

[00:00:18]>> They sicken you. Why?

[00:00:20]>> Because it's not true. She She wasn't a bully. She's a She She wasn't a bully.

[00:00:26]She stuck up for herself. She stuck up for her friends. Period. That's it. She wasn't a bully. That's That is just lies. And it's just it's it's a lie. I I I can't even I It's It's frustrating to hear it because I can't prove it. And you can't ask her because she's sitting in jail.

[00:00:46]>> Um >> Well, look, she's welcome to come on whenever she wants.

[00:00:50]>> But it's it's just it's just not true.

[00:00:54]It's it's it's half of a story or part of a story or it's just it's just It's just not true. It's not completely true.

[00:01:01]>> Were you aware of the Were you aware of what was said in the documentary from the school experiences of how she was described by some people? And where do you think that came from?

[00:01:13]>> I I I can't explain it. Look, was was she an angel? No. Did she have a problem with authority sometimes? I I I believe when she felt she was being unjustly treated, she stood up for herself. That's that's the simple fact. And the documentary, anyways, that documentary, they weren't necessarily honest with us and what they were going to use and how they were going to portray us in that documentary.

[00:01:43]Um, some of my comments, which all my comments were true, everything I said I meant. Um, but they were part of a longer dialogue. they were part more of a you know it wasn't just I just didn't spew that statement you know >> I understand the reason that that statement came out okay >> well this is unedited it will air in full >> um just as it is which is why I wanted to explain um your your wife's voice just so people know um the documentary something that I keep hearing and I'll be honest it didn't register with me when I saw the documentary as you can see by what I'm wearing I I don't think that much about clothing. Uh, but you wore a t-shirt that said boom.

[00:02:25]>> I did a documentary about a car crash.

[00:02:28]>> No. Well, I wore a shirt that represented a a YouTuber >> called Crime called Drip Drop from Crime Circus. And this this guy or this person on this YouTuber was has been supporting my daughter right from almost from day one. Um he's he puts post up all the time saying that she's been mistreated and there was a lack of just there was an injustice involved and he puts all kind of stuff out there. He's been a advocate for her for the past three or three and a half years. Um so it was my way of saying thanks. It had nothing it had nothing nothing to do with the accident. Had nothing to do with the boy's death. It and if it's me being colorblind or insensitive that that's not what I was doing. I was trying to I wanted to shout out to this guy or this kid or this person saying thank you >> because this guy is he about a about what about a month a month about six months after the trial he posted four or five videos. They were interviews with the detective from Strongsville and the Flanigans and the and some of the some of the friends of Dominic's and and Dominic's mom and Dominic's brother and they were not in discovery. They were not in any of the discovery. They were not there. Okay. And all of a sudden we see these interviews and in the interviews all of them said that she has a problem passing out or problem she has some kind of passing out problem and the detective ignored it. And at some point, Dom's mother says to the detective, "No one's going to see this, right?" And the detective says, "No, I am not putting these in evidence." That in is on the crime circus. There's four or five vid four or five maybe six videos that were either leaked or leaked to him or or the detective put them in after the fact thinking nobody was going to look at him because the trial was over. So, >> but there was nothing there was also nothing offered by counsel in the defense case and chief about your daughter having pots in a dispositive way from a prior diagnosis.

[00:04:29]>> Yes. Yes.

[00:04:30]>> Which made it look like an article of convenience.

[00:04:32]>> I know. I know that. I I don't I don't know why Jim McDonald did that. I I have no idea. I don't know what his plan was.

[00:04:39]This this lawyer >> Well, is the answer, Steve, that he did it because there is no prior proof of her having pots.

[00:04:44]>> There there is prior proof. We have I I witnessed it. My wife witnessed this.

[00:04:48]She's got med the medical documents we gave him had it in there. Um the people in those five interviews said something.

[00:04:55]>> Did you give him any documents from a medical or clinician? Yes.

[00:05:00]>> Who that said >> she is diagnosed with POTS?

[00:05:03]>> Yes. Yes. Yes. And the police >> from after or from before?

[00:05:09]>> Before dur during the bindover. We we the Jim McDonald gave us gave us the access to all the discovery the the the discovery portals for Kaga County and I my wife my mother-in-law my sister sister-in-laws we all went through that stuff night and day and we found we and so we had it and and the interviews that were leaked on Crime Circus weren't in there. Um we gave him all kind of files.

[00:05:36]The detective only got her medical records from the day of the accident forward. He never went and got the from back behind. So, >> and you're saying that medical records from before the date of the incident?

[00:05:47]>> Absolutely.

[00:05:48]>> And can you help us understand in what context did a doctor or any clinician ever diagnose your daughter with POTS, which for the audience is again a blood pressure related um heart related tacic cardia which can cause dizziness.

[00:06:04]>> It's in it's in Yeah, it's um >> it's in the detective's notes too. he knew about it. Um posterior osteo orthostatic teard >> tacocardia tacocardia which is uh >> what it means is that uh those are fancy Greek words for that when you're in a standing position uh and go from sitting or vice versa.

[00:06:29]>> It's not it's not just a standing thing.

[00:06:30]It's just >> when there's a movement when there's a movement in posture orthostatic means a change from being straight. Mhm.

[00:06:38]>> Your blood pressure can go up or down and give you dizziness.

[00:06:42]>> So, there are two questions.

[00:06:43]>> You're saying one, the answer to the first one is yes, people knew she had it before this.

[00:06:49]>> Which raises the question, then why was she allowed to drive?

[00:06:53]>> It's you can drive with it. It's it's it's like epilepsy. You you're there's not a she was she was she was doing things to kind of control it when things happen. Um water, salt pills. So she but that's what was going on. She was never we were never told no doctor says she can't drive. It's not a it wasn't it wasn't an issue even though the prosecution turned it into something.

[00:07:18]>> Well the prosecution didn't deal with it because that's not part of their case that this happened because of pots because they didn't want it to be an accident.

[00:07:30]>> Their case is it was intentional. But it wasn't.

[00:07:34]>> Now, when you say that with such conviction, is that because your daughter has ever explained to you or your wife that something happened in the car?

[00:07:45]>> No, she does not remember. That has been her story from day one. There's just there's no memory of it. And and and I'm tell I'm telling you, I know my daughter does not like pain. She would never ever hurt herself intentionally. It's it's just not it. I know my daughter. I I've known that kid all her life. I know when my daughter lies. I I I I just know my daughter. Do you know your children? I mean, can you tell when your children are telling lies or aren't being honest with you? Look, >> I'd like to think so.

[00:08:15]>> Okay. Well, that's how I am. I I believe my daughter >> is painfully honest. And she's Yeah, my wife just said she's painfully honest.

[00:08:22]My >> wife has she ever passed out before and had no recollection of anything that happened?

[00:08:28]>> Passed out and didn't remember? No.

[00:08:30]passed out and been in an accident at least one time. Okay. I I can't I can't speak for her memory loss. I I I wasn't >> She was driving once and had an episode and had a car accident.

[00:08:42]>> No, no, no, no, no.

[00:08:43]>> Oh, >> she'd been driving. She had only been driving for a year at this point.

[00:08:46]>> Okay. I'm I'm sorry. I misunderstood you.

[00:08:48]>> Yeah, she's passed out. She's she's had a couple episodes here at the house. Um she has she's had them with her friends.

[00:08:54]Um and all her friends have said it happens at school. I mean, at at at Dom's house. I mean, so I mean, it it happens. And and I don't I I again, I do not know why Jim McDonald, her lawyer, didn't use it. I I don't I don't understand. I I'm dumbfounded why that lawyer chose not to do anything other than click his pen and sit at that desk.

[00:09:16]>> And when you talked to him and said, "Where's the pot stuff?" What did he say?

[00:09:20]>> He said he this is his words.

[00:09:22]>> It was at the end of the trial. I didn't even know he didn't turn it in.

[00:09:25]>> He didn't He didn't even turn in. He told us after one of the one of the trial, one of the dates that the judge is not buying it. That was his word. The judge is not buying it. That was his >> she has a diagnosis.

[00:09:38]>> That she has a diagnosis. That that that's that that was his that was his description to me. And if I would in my hindsight right now, if I had known, I would have fired him immediately. Okay.

[00:09:50]>> Yeah. We didn't know he didn't turn stuff into after the fact, you know. So, I mean, there's there's some things we didn't know. I mean, are are we bad parents? No. Are are we uninformed parents of a child that was on trial for murder? Yeah. What >> What does that mean?

[00:10:05]>> Yeah, she had one day. She had one day for defense. He He did one day and he didn't do much during her trial. I mean, it just it just wasn't there. I mean, I don't I don't know what he was thinking.

[00:10:13]I I He in my opinion, this man should never be allowed in a courtroom again. I mean, he's he's a it's just unfortunate that he did nothing for her.

[00:10:26]I mean, that's that's my opinion. That's my that's my opinion. 2020 after this fact, what did he do? You know, so I mean, he did nothing for her. If there is a legitimate basis for prior knowledge and existence of a diagnosis of POTS, uh that should have been in the evidence and that's something that you guys should make sure is in the appeal because obviously the judge had judge every reasonable basis not to buy it because she didn't have it in front of her in a way that seemed to be demonstrated before the fact.

[00:10:59]>> That is in her postconviction appeals now. It's in it's in the post, >> right? No, I know that because I' I've read the pleadings. But the other thing that the lawyer left on the table, so to speak, is the intoxication. No alcohol.

[00:11:12]Okay. THC. Yes. Limit. Tough to know.

[00:11:17]They messed with the sample. They didn't preserve it. But we all know it was in her system. It wasn't argued as diminished capacity.

[00:11:24]>> That is absolutely true.

[00:11:26]>> The idea of why she was taking so much drugs. This is what you get hammered for in the documentary where you are like, "Yeah, I know she smoked a lot of weed.

[00:11:35]I was okay with it." Uh, do you still feel that way?

[00:11:38]>> I knew she I knew I knew she was smoking weed. I didn't I didn't I didn't know I didn't know she was making videos and in the car. That's the stuff I found out after the