Mackenzie Shirilla's mum claims killer is 'stuck in a nightmare' and has never seen footage in fresh interview

The mother of Mackenzie Shirilla claims the murderer has never seen footage of the car crash that led to the deaths of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan.

Mackenzie Shirilla is serving two concurrent sentences of 15 years for the killing of her boyfriend Dominic, 20, and their friend Davion, 19, in a deliberate car crash in 2022.

She drove the car at 100mph without braking into a wall, killing both passengers, but survived herself and was convicted in August, 2023.

Shirilla has attempted to appeal the case three times, all of which have been denied, and she isn't expected to be eligible for parole until 2037.

Now her mother, Natalie Shirilla, has given insight into her daughter's mental state as she serves her sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.

Mackenzie Shirilla is 'trapped in a nightmare she has no memory of'

Speaking on the Crime Time podcast, Natalie claimed that Shirilla does not remember the fatal crash.

"It's almost like she's trapped in a nightmare that she has no memory of,” she said of the incident that was subject to the Netflix documentary The Crash.

Natalie also revealed her daughter has never seen the footage of the accident.

Mackenzie Shirilla (Netflix)

“She's never seen the evidence," she added. "She's never seen the discovery. She's never seen anything.

“She's almost trapped in a nightmare that she has. All she knows is that the boyfriend that she loved with her whole, whole heart is gone and Davion is gone and she was the driver in a car accident, and has no memory of it.”

Shirilla has maintained her innocence during her incarceration, arguing in appeals that she may have 'suffered from a pre-existing medical condition that could have caused her to black out while driving."

After the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear her latest appeal on Tuesday June 23, Dominic’s sister, Christine Russo, responded with a post on Instagram.

Sharing a screenshot of the rejected appeal, Christine wrote: “Appeal denied. #sorrynotsorry you are STILL a murderer. Not surprised at all.”

Mackenzie Shirilla timeline

17 July 2022 - Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend Dominic Russo get into an argument. A friend allegedly overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”

31 July 2022 - Shirilla is driving Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, from Russo’s home to a friend’s house. At around 5.30am, she crashes the car into a Plidco Building in Strongsville, Ohio, travelling at 100mph without braking. Police arrive on the scene 45 minutes later. Russo and Flanagan are pronounced dead and Shirilla is transported to MetroHealth Medical Center.

August 2022 - 200 people attend a vigil for Russo and Flanagan. Shirilla remains in critical condition. When a detective visits her in hospital, she is said to be speaking a ‘unique language’ similar to pig Latin.

October 2022 - Shirilla attends a Halloween party wearing fancy dress which resembles a corpse, which Davion’s father considers in very poor taste. He says in Netflix’s The Crash: “Dressing up as corpses three months after she killed two people, it just sickened us to the very core.”

4 November 2022 - Shirilla is arrested and faces 18 charges, including two counts of aggravated murder. She also faces charges for allegedly breaking into the Columbia Church of God in Columbia Station days before the crash, along with drug possession charges.

7 August 2023 - Shirilla’s trial begins. Her defence team argue she may have passed out at the time of the crash due to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), but no medical records or expert testimony confirms the diagnosis.

14 August 2023 - Shirilla is found guilty on all counts. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo calls her ‘hell on wheels’, and the court concludes she intentionally crashed the car in a premeditated act.

23 August 2023 - Shirilla is sentenced to two concurrent 15 years to life sentences. Her legal team later lose an appeal and relief petition. She remains incarcerated in the Ohio Reformatory for Women.

22 May 2025 - Shirilla’s parents insist that she’s innocent. Her father Steve tells WKYC: “Show me one piece of evidence - one - that says she did this on purpose. Show it to me, then she's right where she belongs and she's guilty of it. But there isn't any.” Her mother Natalie claims there are texts in which Shirilla says Russo was ‘trying to end her life’.

15 May 2026 - Netflix’s The Crash premieres. In it, Shirilla insists she is ‘not a murderer’ and has no memory of the crash, continuing to blame POTS.

18 May 2026 - Steve Shirilla is placed on administrative leave from his job as an art and digital media teacher at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland following allegations he had ‘demonstrated poor judgement’. Viewers of Netflix’s documentary objected to his attitude towards Shirilla’s marijuana use and his dismissal of claims she told a classmate to end their life.

September 2037 - This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole.