Teen driver found guilty of killing boyfriend calls him her ‘soulmate’
Mackenzie Shirilla drove over 100 miles per hour into the side of a building in Ohio, killing her boyfriend and another friend.
The teenage driver who was found guilty of killing her boyfriend and friend by driving over 100 miles per hour into a building sobbed in court as she was handed a 15-year prison sentence.
Mackenzie Shirilla, 19, was found guilty of murder last week for the deadly crash on July 31, 2022.
The crash killed the other two passengers in the car – Shirilla’s boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 19.
Shirilla was found guilty last week after a bench trial by Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, who is not related to the victim.
At an emotional hearing on Monday, both Shirilla and the families of the victims made statements before her sentencing.
‘To the families of Dom and Davion – I’m so deeply sorry,’ Shirilla said while fighting back tears and sobbing. ‘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.’
She continued: ‘I loved Dom and Damion, we were all friends and Dom was my soulmate. I wish I could take all you pain away. I’m so sorry.’
However, the families of the victims asked the judge to impose a harsh sentence on Shirilla, who has maintained she does not remember the moments leading up to the fatal crash.
‘I am devastated by the loss of Davion. The world lost a truly special man,’ his mother Jamie Flanagan said. ‘His life was precious. He was so much more than cargo.’
According to his mother, Davion was in the foster care system before him and his younger sisters were all adopted by the same family.
‘After Davion passed away, a lot of trauma and past pain has come into my life,’ Davion’s younger sister Davyne Flanagan told the court.
‘Davion was not just a big brother to me, but a role model in many ways,’ his sister said while wearing a pin displaying Davion’s portrait. ‘He was the person I trusted the most, because he made me feel safe.’
Before his death, Davion was planning to go to barber school and was dreaming of one day opening his own shop. ‘We will never get to see the amazing man that he was sure to become,’ Jamie Flanagan said.
Both members of the family addressed Shirilla in their statements, and commented on her lack of remorse.
‘I pray daily for strength and perseverance for myself and for my family,’ Jamie Flanagan said. ‘I also pray that Mackenzie will find true remorse in her heart, and true repentance.’
‘I would like you to give Mackenzie the longest possible sentence,’ Davyne Flanagan said. ‘I’ve known her for about three years, and she has always taken the easy way out. She will be eligible for parole, while my brother will be gone forever.’
Christine Russo, Dominic’s mother, thanked the local police and prosecutors for ‘seeking the truth behind this crash.’
‘This was not a car accident. The evidence and science proved that Mackenzie Shirilla murdered my son, Dominic, as well as Davion.’
She also addressed her son’s convicted murderer directly: ‘Mackenzie, you’re going to prison because you did this. Be thankful that you are still alive and have a future, whatever that may be.’
Angelo Russo, Dominic’s older brother, called Shirilla ‘the most selfish person I know.’
‘Mackenzie killed Dom over the thought of losing him, and she made Davion collateral damage,’ Angelo said.
Judge Russo agreed with the families of the victims, and focused on Shirilla’s choices leading up to the collision.
‘The unintended and collateral consequences of a selfish, intentional, and cruel decision by Mackenzie will ripple forever in time,’ Russo said.
She continued: ‘The defendant controlled all of the events. She chose the day. Specifically, she chose the day just before 18th birthday. She chose to drive the car, the time to drive the car, she chose an obscure, previously scouted route through an industrial parkway. She chose the target to hit, and the victims. She chose the means and the method to follow through.’
She also noted that Shirilla asked investigators how long they would be suspending her driver’s license.
‘It is hard to fathom how a person could be concerned about their driving privileges, having just been responsible for the deaths of two people.’
Judge Russo eventually sentenced Shirilla to two 15-year prison sentences, which she allowed her to serve concurrently.
‘There’s a very good likelihood Mackenzie that you will spend the rest of your life in prison. That won’t be up to me – that will be up to the parole board and that will be up to you, to a great extent,’ Russo said.
‘I do believe Mackenzie won’t be out in 15 years.’
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