Teenager bagged two life sentences for deadly auto crash

An Ohio teenager on Monday received two life sentences in the July 2022 murders of her boyfriend and another man.

Mackenzie Shirilla, of Strongsville, was found guilty earlier this month on 12 total counts, including charges of murder, aggravated vehicular homicide and drug possession for a July 2022 crash that killed her boyfriend, 20-year-old Dominic Russo, and their friend, 19-year-old Davion Flanagan.

She will be eligible for parole after 15 years. Additionally, her driver’s license will be suspended for life.

“I’m so deeply sorry,” Shirilla said in a brief statement on Monday. “I would never let this happen or do it on purpose. We are all friends and Dom was my soulmate. I wish I could take all your pain away. I’m so sorry.”

Cuyahoga County prosecutors proved Shirilla intentionally caused the early July 31, 2022, crash, and that evidence showed the then-17-year-old slammed on the gas, speeding along a dead-end street in a Strongsville business park, purposely slamming into a brick wall, killing Russo and Flanagan.

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At her sentencing Monday, prosecutors said Shirilla soon after the high-speed crash asked if authorities “could just suspend her license for 10 years” — perspective they said showed Shirilla’s “shocking lack of remorse” following their deaths.

During Shirilla’s weeks-long hospitalization following the crash, investigators were told she and her mother were seeking employment with a Los Angeles-based modeling agency, prosecutors said.

Then, months after the crash and before she was formally charged, Shirilla could be seen on social media posts celebrating Halloween, and attending a concert in Cleveland’s Flats district.

Dominic’s mother Christine said it was like she “lost three children” in the crash — but that her son is always on her mind.

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Shirilla’s mother Natalie on Monday told the court she urged her daughter to go out for Halloween after the deadly crash, pushing her to afford herself some enjoyment in spite of the tragedy.

Natalie begged the judge for leniency and concurrent sentencing, claiming the crash was a “tragic accident” — one of which her daughter has no memory.

“I just want to say to the families that I’m broken, sad and lost,” she said.

“It’s hard to fathom how someone could be concerned over their driving privileges having just caused the deaths of two people,” Judge Russo said.

In giving her guilty verdicts on all 12 counts, Judge Russo earlier this month referenced video evidence of the vehicle being driven by Shirilla speeding down the street, reaching up to 100 mph just before the crash.