CLEVELAND, OHIO: A judge ruled Monday, August 14, that an Ohio teen intentionally crashed her car into a brick wall on a cul-de-sac while going up to 100 miles per hour, claiming the lives of her boyfriend and another young man.
“She had a mission, and she executed it with precision,” Judge Nancy Margaret Russo said of the defendant Mackenzie Shirilla, according to Cleveland.com. “The decision was death.” The 19-year-old now faces several charges including, murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, and felonious assault.
Who is Mackenzie Shirilla?
Mackenzie Shirilla is found guilty of multiple counts of murder and faces 17 years in prison in the deaths of Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 19, last July. Her friends testified that Shirilla, Russo, and Flanagan had spent the night at a friend’s house, where they smoked marijuana.
Shrilla's conviction comes with an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance at parole until she spends the next 15 years in prison. Judge Russo of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court heard the four-day trial without the presence of any jury. The defendant will be sentenced on Monday, August 21.
How did Shirilla react during the verdict?
Shirilla broke down into tears while the judge gave her verdict. A sheriff’s deputy placed Shirilla in handcuffs. Her supporters also sobbed during the hearing and shouted that they loved her when she was taken out of the courtroom.
Following the verdict, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley told reporters that that video of the final seconds before the crash from another business in the park played a pivotal part in the office’s decision to charge Shirilla with murder and prosecute her as an adult.
“When you drive for four or five seconds with the pedal all the way down until you hit 100 mph into a building, we felt the charge was appropriate,” O’Malley said.
When did the fatal crash take place?
On July 31 last year, the crash took place at around 5.30 am at a 250,000-square-foot building in Strongsville’s Progress Drive Business Park. According to surveillance video and data from the car’s computer system, Shirilla turned slowly onto Alameda Drive from Pearl Road and then floored her 2018 Toyota Camry down the three-quarter-mile street until it reached 100 mph.
Shrilla survived the crash but both Russo and Flanagan died. Nearly 45 minutes later, a passerby spotted the crash and dialed the police. The firefighters helped her get out of the car as she was trapped in the driver’s seat with one of her fuzzy Prada slippers stuck to the accelerator.
The judge also noted that the final seconds were key to her verdict. “She morphs from responsible driver to literal hell on wheels,” she said.
Shirilla was not charged with driving under the influence
Strongsville police and Cuyahoga County prosecutors did not charge her with driving under the influence, even though Shirilla had THC in her blood above the legal limit under Ohio law. They, instead, chose to pursue murder charges.
The Ohio teen allegedly drove near the business park a few days before the crash, evidence from her cellphone showed.
What did Mackenzie Shirilla say about the accident?
Shirilla expressed “grief, guilt and shame” about the accident, noted doctors while she recovered in the hospital after the crash. Prosecutors used those statements as evidence that Shirilla had a “consciousness of guilt.” Jim McDonnell, Shrilla's attorney said it was natural for drivers in fatal crashes to feel bad but that does not make them murderers.
He also claimed that prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Shirilla crashed on purpose and didn’t just lose control of her car while driving recklessly like many teens.
