Important proof Mackenzie Shirilla’s murder of boyfriend was intentional not included in Netflix doc
Netflix’s documentary The Crash closely examines the case of Mackenzie Shirilla, even featuring the first ever interview with her from behind bars.
Mackenzie was arrested in November of 2022, later being found guilty of two charges of murder after she drove her car at 100 mph into a wall, killing her two passengers Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan.
Dominic was her long-term boyfriend, and the Netflix documentary paints a damning picture of their relationship as ‘toxic’, with the prosecution for the case stating that she intentionally killed him to end their relationship.
In her interview in the documentary Mackenzie denies this, saying there was ‘no intent’ to kill Davion and Dominic and claiming the most likely cause is that she had a medical incident linked to POTS.
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The documentary includes a great deal of the proof that saw her convicted of murder, including the ‘black box’ from inside the car which showed that she had floored the accelerator at 100% without ever hitting the breaks.
One key piece of evidence was left out of the documentary though which makes it hard to argue that the crash was unintentional.
Mackenzie’s route the morning of the crash was pointed to in court as a key factor proving her intent
In the documentary it is shown that, in turning onto the road where the crash took place, Mackenzie took great care with her turn. It also stresses that, days prior, Mackenzie’s digital footprint shows that she visited the site of the crash.
What isn’t shown however is the route she took which was obscure, and further proved her guilt.
In court documents released following Mackenzie’s unsuccessful appeal against her guilty conviction, it was noted that she ‘made the decision to drive a car, to drive an obscure route, a route she visited a few days before, and a route not routinely taken by her.’
The crash took place on the ‘Progress Drive industrial area’ in Strongsville. Local drivers on Reddit have noted that it is frequently used late at night as a cut-through road. The prosecution’s case, however, was that the obscurity of the area, the fact that she visited it days prior, and the timing of the crash early in the morning combined to prove that it was intentional.
The court documents continued, saying: “It is noted that Shirilla chose to drive early in the morning, when few people would be around to witness the accident or provide help. It concluded that Shirilla intentionally pressed the pedal to the floor, taking the car to nearly 100 mph and aiming the car at the brick wall.
“The court stated that it could only be speculated whether she intended to kill herself. But it concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Shirilla acted purposefully and intentionally to kill Russo and Flanagan; her actions were ‘controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional, and purposeful.’”
Has there been any backlash after The Crash released on Netflix?
Two different participants close to Mackenzie have spoken out in the days since the documentary’s release, with her dad Steve Shirilla having been suspended from his job as a teacher.
Steve was suspended after allegations of ‘poor judgement’ on social media, specifically aimed at him saying in the Netflix doc that he had no problem with her smoking marijuana.
He told TMZ however that this was edited out of context, saying: “That is part of a longer answer... I can't remember what the question was because the documentary people had interviewed us for two days straight and then came back and did more interviews so there was a lot of questions answered.
"My answer wasn't in support of marijuana, it wasn't saying, I'm smoking marijuana. What I was saying was, who am I to say who can smoke and who can't smoke. I never allowed my daughter to smoke marijuana."
Mackenzie’s friend Rosie Graham has also spoken out after receiving backlash for her comments which suggested she didn’t believe the crash was intentional. Graham, who is also a TikToker, also hit out at Netflix over editing of her eight hour interview, saying: “My interview lasted over eight hours, and I had no control over what portions would ultimately make the final cut. At no point was my intention to pick sides, defend anyone, or make light of the seriousness of the case.
“I was simply answering the questions I was asked based on my own experiences, knowledge, and what I personally witnessed.”
The Crash is available to stream now on Netflix.
Topics: Netflix, Mackenzie Shirilla, True Crime, TV and Film, Documentaries
Michael Slavin