C&P Newswire
Mackenzie Shirilla, the Ohio woman convicted of intentionally causing a high-speed car crash that killed two passengers, has lost another legal battle this week as her second appeal was denied.
On Thursday, Cuyahoga County Judge Nancy Margaret Russo dismissed Shirilla’s latest appeal attempt, citing it was filed too late for the court to consider. “As the filing by defendant was untimely, this court is without jurisdiction to consider the merits/arguments of any of the pleadings,” the judge wrote in the docket.
This ruling comes just days after the Ohio Supreme Court declined to take up Shirilla’s case, leaving in place her conviction and 15-years-to-life prison sentence. Shirilla, now 20, was found guilty in August 2023 on 12 charges including murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, and drug-related offenses.
The case stems from a devastating 2022 crash in Strongsville, Ohio, where investigators say Shirilla, then 17, accelerated her Toyota Camry to 100 mph down a dead-end road and deliberately crashed into a brick wall. The violent collision killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, who were passengers in the vehicle.
Investigators uncovered damning surveillance footage of the moments leading up to the crash and cited it as critical evidence during the trial. Authorities also found psilocybin mushrooms and a digital scale in the wreckage, raising further questions about Shirilla’s actions that night.
Despite her defense arguing a lack of evidence and alleged court errors, the Eighth District Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in September 2024, stating there was no merit to the claims.
In response to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement Wednesday saying, “We are pleased with the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision to decline jurisdiction to hear Mackenzie Shirilla’s appeal.”
With the latest ruling, Shirilla remains behind bars, serving two concurrent life sentences with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
