Mackenzie Shirilla case: Timeline & conviction in Ohio double murder crash | Backscroll

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Even if you haven't had a chance to check out the new Netflix documentary, The Crash, you've probably seen some of the reactions on social media, right?

[00:00:09]People are absolutely ripping the doc star McKenzie Sharilla for her behavior after causing the deadly high-speed crash that killed her boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic Russo, and his friend, 19-year-old Dave Flanigan. Now, McKenzie, who was just 17 when she drove that car into a brick wall, was found guilty of murder in 2022 after police revealed the accelerator on her 2018 Toyota Camry was at 100% in the seconds before the crash. And some viewers are saying that McKenzie's remorse in the dock was all just for show.

[00:00:45]>> I'm not saying I'm innocent. I was a driver of a tragedy, but I'm not a murderer.

[00:00:54]>> Now, as proof, they're pointing to a Tik Tok video that she posted months after the crash in which she dressed up like a corpse on Halloween. And that's on top of all the videos she put up showing alleged reckless driving and drug use.

[00:01:06]But McKenzie and her parents have maintained she's innocent, that the crash was caused by McKenzie's POTS diagnosis. spots being a blood pressure disorder that can cause dizziness and fatigue, particularly when someone goes from lying down to standing up. And speaking of Mackenzie's parents, they've been caught up in this whole backlash, too, because McKenzie's mom, Natalie Shrill, has drawn fire for her arguably bizarre victim impact statement where she said that her daughter needed quote a second of fun after the accident. And new video of Natalie speaking to McKenzie in her new home at the Ohio Reformatory for Women back in 2023. It's raising even more questions about the family because the argument is is they're talking in like some kind of coded strange gibberish language. Take a listen.

[00:01:49]>> Yes. Please tell them I don't want to be on protective custody. Please tell them that.

[00:02:01]>> I I am I'm not I know you haven't. I'm talking about in general overall.

[00:02:10]Yeah. So, is the McKenzie Sharilla Millions watched in that Netflix doc actually putting on an act? I'll tell you what, Cat Crowder sure thinks so.

[00:02:17]She served six months with McKenzie in that women's prison, and she says the girl she knew behind bars is nothing like the remorseful inmate seen in the dock. Joining me now is social media influencer Cat Crowder. Thank you so much for taking the time. Why do you believe that?

[00:02:31]>> Um, thank you for having me. I when McKenzie first walked out in the documentary, my jaw was dropped because that was not the person that I saw in prison when I was with her. Um, she walked around in a very light demeanor, if that makes sense. So, lots of laughing, lots of giggling, you know, makeup done every day. It was never this dark, smug, tough girl act that was in this video trying to portray some sort of remorse. I never, you know, I don't know what somebody's thinking. I don't know what's going on in her head, but from my observations, there was never any, you know, behaviors that looked like somebody who was remorseful.

[00:03:13]>> Did she ever talk about the crash? Did she ever talk about the victims in the case?

[00:03:18]um not directly to me, but I've spoke to a few women um since me being released and you know going on about her case and they've came out and said that they had conversations with her and she informed them that it was not due to pots. It was due to her being high. You know, there's a few different stories that she's had.

[00:03:44]Um, one was that she had no idea, you know, she didn't remember amnesia. So, um, there's a few things that she circulated.

[00:03:52]>> Did you ever see, talking about POTS, did you ever see any of those symptoms when you were with her, when you were around her?

[00:03:58]>> Not once. She seems like a very healthy young girl. I mean, she was constantly on the yard. There were even times where we were in the middle of a heat wave and she was laying out with baby oil tanning in 100° weather. She was very active, always walking. I never saw her got blood like get blood pressure checks routine or emergency. I never saw her go to take any sort of medication. She seemed very healthy to me.

[00:04:25]>> What did she talk about? Like what did she say then if she was, you know, kind of like happy and optimistic.

[00:04:30]>> Um, again, I wouldn't consider myself somebody who was friends with her. So, our conversations were very limited. I mean, we had two and it was about things that she was making jewelry. She was making jewelry, customizing shoes for people, um, hats, but the people that were close to her that I have spoken to, you know, she was just kind of thinking she was in high school, she was not focused on the fact that, you know, she murdered two people. Um, and >> well there in one of your posts you mentioned that McKenzie used to have hickeys on her neck. What's going on there? How do you >> Yeah. So, it's kind of normal. I don't want to say normal, but common for some of the women in there to form relationships, like intimate relationships. And towards the end of my sentence before I was about to be released, I saw McKenzie walking the track on the yard and she did have large hickeys. And it's come out since then that she's had multiple girlfriends since being incarcerated doing who knows what. So I'm that just had to result from another one of those.

[00:05:48]>> Was she a mean girl in the prison?

[00:05:52]Um, I do say that she wanted to be like Regina George. I mean, just the way that she did her makeup, the way that she I mean, it was like she was going out um to a club or something or going she thought she was going to be famous or photographed. She would wear her clothes altered so they would be form fitting.

[00:06:14]And she would make fun of people who had less than she did because she was well taken care of in side prison. she is taken care of.

[00:06:22]>> What do you What do you think about all the reaction that she's getting, you know, in the wake of this documentary?

[00:06:29]>> I mean, like I said in my video, I think that the documentary was filmed in a way to make her and her family look a certain way and not in her favor. And I do think it's crazy, you know, because she strives to be famous even before getting in trouble. Um, before all of this, she wanted to be an influencer and all of the things. And it's almost like she's kind of achieved that, but in a different manner of being infamous.

[00:06:58]>> Well, that's that's for sure. Look, it's so hard to judge, you know, what somebody's acting like in prison, if they're putting on an act because who they're around or, you know, you're seeing the real McKenzie. It's just very odd. So, Cat Crowder, thank you so much for sharing your observations with us about this. It's really an important story and I appreciate you coming on.

[00:07:16]>> Yeah, thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

[00:07:17]>> You got it. These text messages are very difficult to look at and read. I I am wondering, is this what you expected? I mean, do they help explain more of her relationship? Does it help explain more of McKenzie Sharilla or does it still leave unanswered questions for you?

[00:07:35]>> I thought she was a psychotic, cold-blooded murderer, and I think these text messages just confirm that. Like, she does not appear to be in a healthy state of mind. I think she seems very erratic. I think, you know, from some of the behavior we've seen with the body cam footage, with the students that have gone to school with her that have now started to speak out, um I think this is very in line with the toxic relationship we've seen between the two.

[00:08:00]>> And Donna, you know, in that vein, there's a new report from People magazine. It's about this jail call where McKenzie Shrill allegedly discussed all the media attention around her case and how she wanted Kim Kardashian to be her lawyer. I mean, you listened to it. What did you hear? What did it tell? What did it tell you about it?

[00:08:18]>> It's almost shocking to listen to because they're giddy. The mom is talking to the daughter and saying you you won't believe it. The UK is know they know about our case. Daily Mail is reading about it and I think that Kim Kardashian I think um I think McKenzie says maybe Kim Kardashian will take this on because they actually not only think that this is so exciting that they're becoming famous for this but also they see themselves as innocent. Kim Kardashian, you know, attaches herself to innocent uh victims who are in jail. She sees herself as innocent and like wrongly jailed still after all of this. But Kim Kardashian has passed that that came out today. Kim Kardashian came out and said, "I am passing on that."

[00:09:03]>> And I wonder, I got to tell you, Zach, I wonder if it's the documentary, right?

[00:09:06]Because it's a it's a mix, right? I I'll tell you, I spoke to somebody who watched it, and as they were watching it, the first 20 minutes, they were like, "Oh my gosh, I I I think she didn't mean to do this. I think, you know, she was wrongfully charged." by the end of it and particularly after the last part where you know that her lawyer is like sitting in on the conversation that she does in prison, they had a totally different perspective on it.

[00:09:26]Like where do you think this documentary is shaping the discourse cuz I know that there's a lot of people out there who believe Mackenzie Sharilla is innocent.

[00:09:34]I mean I'm waiting for that compelling evidence or you know narrative outside of what her parents are trying to pedal in the media to convince me. Um I saw like the body cam footage of the mom getting the news. I saw a lot of that even before I watched the Netflix documentary as it was gaining hype.

[00:09:50]Before I even tuned in, I started digging into this case and even dug a lot further than Netflix. And I just think that the case is really overwhelming against her. The fact that they're still trying to I mean, I appreciate the parents delusion in in believing their daughter and wanting to fight for her innocence. But I don't think Kim Kardashian or anybody can save her at this point. I think the evidence is pretty overwhelming in my opinion.

[00:10:12]>> Donna, what's your take on it? Right.

[00:10:13]Because McKenzie uh in this documentary was talking about pot. She was talking about she feels remorseful. She said there was no intent. She wanted to be very clear on no intent and uh you know a lot of it was about her behavior after the crash and that she dressed up like a skeleton. You know she was going to concerts and her mother I think at one point had said look she was just trying to have fun afterwards trying to have a normal life. Um how do you see it?

[00:10:37]>> I find her to be despicable. Uh this is my own personal opinion. I find her to be so unlikable. I actually I watched it with my husband and we both said like I don't think we've I hate to say it but hated a person on a on a documentary a true crime documentary as much as her and her parents. the way that they handled this from top to bottom. And I don't feel there is a a small I think the only reason that there are a couple people that question her guilt and maybe think that they're in her she's innocent is because why would she put herself through this? Why would she crash a car with her in it rather than commit a crime to just murder her boyfriend or whatever? That is the only thing. But I think her mind clearly she was an erratic crazy thinking person. She I don't think she was thinking straight and I don't think she did think straight.

[00:11:28]>> Look, I I I can't get into her mind, but I think there's a fair argument she didn't think she would would survive this. I mean I mean I think that's fair to say if you look at those messages and you think about what you know she found was found guilty of. Uh look, it's just another disturbing layer to an already disturbing case. But uh Zach and Donna, thank you so much for taking the time to explain a little bit more about it and put it into context for us. It's good to see you both.

[00:11:50]>> So, you know, every parent gets nervous when their teen starts driving. I know my mom did. It's a constant worry about them making it home safely and not harming anyone else on the road. But nothing could prepare a parent for what a teen did behind the wheel in Ohio.

[00:12:03]19-year-old McKenzie Sharilla is being called hell on wheels. She's accused of driving her car at 100 miles an hour into a brick building to intentionally kill her boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic Russo and his friend, 19-year-old Davian Flanigan. Those are the names of the the the two boys there. Surveillance video caught the terrifying moment on video.

[00:12:25]We have to warn you, obviously, this is very disturbing.

[00:12:43]And it's just horrific. It sounds almost like a missile going down the street.

[00:12:46]The crash happened around 5:30 in the morning on July 31st, uh, 2022. When police arrived, they found the car with severe damage in full airbag deployments. Russo and Flanigan were dead on the scene, but Sharilla somehow survived at Cherila's trial in in this uh area where this happened. It's it's Kayakoga County. Sharilla claimed the crash was accidental, but evidence showed that the accelerator pedal was being pushed down at 100% capacity, and prosecutors say Sherilla may have planned a murder suicide. There were videos showing she threatened Russo when her own phone showed uh that she visited the site of the crash a few days prior.

[00:13:27]And at that trial, Sharilla sobbed as the judge read the verdict.

[00:13:34]>> McKenzie decided death was the ultimate goal that day and she alone made that decision for Dominic and Devon. She morphs from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels. Her actions were controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional, and purposeful.

[00:13:52]This was not reckless driving. This was murder. McKenzie Sherilla, who you see there, she was found guilty on all 12 counts. Four of murder, four of felonious assault, two of aggravated vehicular homicide, one of drug possession, and one of possessing criminal tools. She will face her sentencing on Monday. And I want to bring in the prosecuting attorneys on this case, Allison McGrath and Tim Tim Trout, uh, who both uh, got this conviction. Thank you for being with us tonight. Tim, I want to start with you.

[00:14:20]I mean, this is really a brutal case. I mean, you think about that crash. Um, it's it's hard to wrap your mind around.

[00:14:28]How how were you able to prove that she did it intentionally?

[00:14:33]>> Uh, so I think it started with the video evidence that we had. We had a video of the actual impact of the crash. We had a video about 59 seconds before that uh the impact video that you're showing that showed the defendant driving in a slow and controlled manner using her turn signal. And then there's another video about a quarter of a mile away from the crash. Uh at that point she was already going 98 miles per hour. she had uh made up her mind and was was on a course that she never turned back from.

[00:15:07]>> Allison, were you all able to uncover anything to determine whether she had been planning this out ahead of time?

[00:15:16]So, we had um played some audio um evidence that we had received from the victim uh Dominic Russo's family that involved a cell phone that Dominic had used um a week or two prior before this incident to record um a very heated, tumultuous argument between himself and McKenzie. Um, these recordings were left on the cell phone, we believe, um, and recorded by Dominic.

[00:15:50]>> All right, joining me now is criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Peter Frankle. Uh, Peter, thanks for being here with us. I want to get your take on the sentence here. Uh, your thoughts.

[00:16:01]>> Thanks, Brooke. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. So, these are some of the most difficult cases that we come across in the criminal justice system. I mean, you have a 17-year-old who uses horrific judgment and ends in obviously a tragedy here. Um, I think what's interesting is that the the defense attorney decided to go with a non-jury trial for some reason. I'd love to understand what the thinking was behind that, but essentially um the only benefit that he potentially got from it was saving some time in the trying of this case. The judge found her guilty of the counts of murder and has now put her in a situation where the minimum that she can sentence uh Miss Trill to is 15 years to life. And that's what she's going to get. The only question is, is she going to get those sentences concurrently, meaning running together for the two deaths, or consecutively, one on top of the other? And my guess is she's going to get them concurrently.

[00:17:05]Yeah, definitely a gamble on the part of the defense there. Um, the father of Sharilla's boyfriend though, who was killed in the crash, says he doesn't want her to get a life sentence. How much of that do you think the judge will take into consideration when making the sentencing?

[00:17:23]>> So, I that sort of thing can be a very significant factor in um a judge's decision with respect to what sentence to give. There's going to be a very comprehensive pre-sensing report that's submitted by the defense that's going to go into her background, her age. You know, we know that uh the adult brain is not fully formed until at least 25 years old, her family background, her school, her time in jail, what she's done, if she's been productive, whether she's expressed remorse, and and also very importantly, the uh feelings of the victim's family. So, if the victim's families have expressed to the court that they want this defendant to receive a sentence on the lower side of the guidelines, I I think there's a likelihood that that is what um she's going to get.

[00:18:14]>> But even like you mentioned, the lower side of the guidelines is still 15 years.

[00:18:20]Well, Brooke, that's the problem here because the judge had the ability to convict her of a reckless homicide, which would have given her the flexibility to give a non-life sentence, but the judge was convinced that this was intentional murder. Um, they had evidence from the the black box which showed that she didn't try to to stop at any time. She was on the accelerator the whole time. And the judge found this conduct to be obviously reprehensible and for that reason found her guilty of the intentional murder, but when she did that, she backed herself into a corner with a life sentence. So typically in Ohio, 15 to life is the minimum. That's what she's going to get. She likely won't be parrolled the first time that she sees the board. So she's probably going to see at least 20 years behind bars.

[00:19:11]>> Yeah, a difficult case all around. A lot to watch here. Peter Frankle, thanks for joining us. Appreciate your insight on this one.

[00:19:18]>> Thanks for having me, Brooke.

[00:19:20]>> An Ohio teen has been sentenced to two life sentences for intentionally crashing her car into a brick wall, killing her boyfriend and another teen, who were her passengers. Mackenzie Sharillo was found guilty of four counts of murder. She was 17 at the time of this fatal crash. But the now 19-year-old will serve a minimum of 15 years in prison for two concurrent life sentences. Prosecutors calling the crash an intentional act, saying she deliberately accelerated her car to 100 mph. This is surveillance video. And never showed signs of slowing down before she slammed into that brick wall.

[00:19:59]Prosecutors say it was to end her relationship with her boyfriend. Today, Sharella apologized to the families.

[00:20:09]>> The families of God, I'm so deeply sorry. I hope one day you can see I would never let this happen or do it on purpose. I wish I could remember what happened. I'm just so sorry. I'm heartbroken.

[00:20:25]>> All right. Senior national correspondent Brian has been following this story from the beginning. Brian, truly a tragic story all the way around. Uh the details here are quite gruesome. Did the defense give any kind of motive in this? Because again, she was inside of that car.

[00:20:41]>> Yeah, she she was driving the car. Um and first of all, the sentencing is a little confusing because you keep hearing two life sentences, but it's a minimum of 15 years. So, there is a very good chance that this girl could get out of prison uh in 15 years. And when you look at the video, you ask how how they know that it was intentional. that second piece of surveillance video where you see her speeding by at the end she makes a very deliberate right turn and you can see it in the video. She's on the main road and then she goes onto the sidewalk right there. Boom. That right turn at the end. They say that was a very very deliberate move and proved the point that she did this on purpose because she wanted to kill her boyfriend and because she wanted to kill her boyfriend's friend. Uh I spoke with the prosecutor uh Friday night ahead of the sentencing. Uh listen to what they said.

[00:21:33]>> We had a video of the actual impact of the crash. We had a video about 59 seconds before that uh the impact video that you're showing that showed the defendant driving in a slow and controlled manner using her turn signal.

[00:21:51]And then there's another video about a quarter of a mile away from the crash.

[00:21:55]Uh at that point she was already going 98 miles per hour. She had uh made up her mind and was was on a course that she never turned back from.

[00:22:05]>> So again, you look at those videos, Nicole, she uses the turn signal. She's totally in control. She looks like any other driver on the road road and then bam, she makes the turn, goes up to almost 100 miles hour, slams right into that wall. Uh and that is why they say they know that this was intentional. And Brian, as as I was doing some reading on this, allegedly she had made threats before this crash. Separate incident uh also though threatening uh to crash her car. Someone allegedly had heard her make that threat.

[00:22:34]>> Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Yep. Yep. That also played into this um which is one of the reasons she she was convicted. I mean uh this went to trial and you saw her crying today during the sentencing.

[00:22:44]She cried throughout the trial also. I mean, she's been very, very emotional throughout the whole thing, but at the end of the day, there was enough evidence to show that this was not an accident.

[00:22:53]>> And Brian, before we let you go, it sounds like at least one family member of one of the victims did not want to see her sentenced to life.

[00:23:00]>> Yeah, that's true. Um Dominic Rouso, Dominic's dad, um has gone on the record and said that he did not want a life sentence. He didn't feel like that would bring back his son. Um in the end, uh uh it's not going to be a life sentence.

[00:23:14]Again, it's a 15-year minimum. So, while you hear life sentence, it's very, very possible uh she'll be getting out in about 15 years.

[00:23:21]>> All right, Brian Anton breaking all of that down for us. Brian, thank you. Um podcasting that I know. GG, I'm so glad you're here. Can you help me kind of navigate through this father of the victim of the boyfriend saying she shouldn't spend life in prison? Cuz I look at all that and I think, yeah, she should. Well, I tell you, to find forgiveness in your heart when your your child was killed like that is is just beyond something I think I could do. And it speaks volumes about his character.

[00:23:49]And maybe he just feels that that adds to the tragedy of it that this girl at 19 is not going to be free for at least 15 years and likely longer. She's going to be in probably for the rest of her life. So, I thought that it was an amazing gesture that he is thinking about her and her well-being and saying that it would be tragic if she were to spend her life behind bars. But, I mean, you know, when you choose to do what she did, the the punishment is not going to be easy.

[00:24:17]34 um she'll be 34 years old when she gets her first crack at parole. And we all know how that works. It's not a guarantee, right? Okay, you could be a model inmate, but those family members, they show up and they get a say. And it's not, you know, just ask the Manson killers. That was really tough for all of them, but one, but you know, this is such a fascinating issue that 15 years to life. I'm still curious about 15 years because this was premeditated.

[00:24:47]They gave plenty of evidence to show this was planned. She scouted. She hit the gas hard. This wasn't oops, we're drunk and I didn't know. I mean, that's a it's bad, but it's not the same as premeditation. I'm a little surprised that that's the guideline and that's what she's going to get. She'll get a crack at freedom in 15 years.

[00:25:05]>> Yeah. And that that kind of blew my mind, honestly. I mean, we're we're talking about two young lives that were taken.

[00:25:11]>> Thank you for watching. Go to newsnatow.com to find NewsNation on your television provider. And don't forget to click the red subscribe button below to get more of NewsNation's fact-driven, unbiased coverage.