The murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan occurred on July 31, 2022, when Mackenzie Shirilla intentionally crashed her vehicle into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio. Both Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene, while Shirilla was seriously injured and taken to the hospital.
๐ค Background of the Individuals
Mackenzie Shirilla was raised by her parents, Natalie and Steve Shirilla, in Strongsville, Ohio. At the time of the crash, Shirilla was a 17-year-old recent graduate of Strongsville High School. During her studies, Shirilla had met her boyfriend, Dominic Russo (20 years old), who had also graduated from the school by the time of the incident.
Russo dated Shirilla for 4 years, starting when Mackenzie was only 13 and he was 16. According to Russo’s brother, Shirilla and Russo had frequent conflicts and had broken up and reunited multiple times. The pair started living together in 2021, while Mackenzie was still underage.
๐ฑ Social Media and Behavior
Classmates of Shirilla said she was a fan of Regina George, a cruel and domineering character from the movie Mean Girls, and liked to imitate her. Shirilla had an account on TikTok where she posted videos of her lifestyle and clothing. The account had a large number of followers, as well as several companies sending samples of clothing and products for review.
Shirilla reportedly enjoyed living in the Russo residence, spending time with Russo’s family, and driving her car through areas of Strongsville. Shirilla and Russo had a mutual friend, Davion Flanagan, who was 19 years old at the time of the incident.
โฐ Timeline of the Crash
On July 30, 2022, Shirilla, Russo and Flanagan attended several events hours before the crash. At approximately 10:15 p.m., they attended a graduation party held at the house of Kelly Vraja, one of Shirilla’s friends. The trio spent less than an hour there before driving to the house of their friend Paul Burlinghaus at 11 p.m., where they listened to music and smoked marijuana.
At 5:34 am, a CCTV camera captured Shirilla’s car, which was a 2018 Toyota Camry, slowly turning right from Pearl Road into Progress Drive. One minute later, a second camera captured the car speeding with lights on at the end of Progress Drive crossing the T-split with Alameda Drive into the Plidco building. The car was traveling at over 100 miles per hour when it crashed.
๐ Aftermath and Investigation
First responders arrived at the scene 45 minutes after the crash to find Russo, Flanagan and Shirilla unconscious, with Shirilla’s foot still pressing the accelerator pedal. Shirilla was taken to a nearby hospital while Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene. Police found psilocybin mushrooms and a digital scale in Shirilla’s possession.
Police initially thought the crash was an accident or possibly happened due to tampering with the vehicle. An auto expert said the vehicle was in perfect working condition before the crash. Shirilla was interrogated and claimed she blacked out during the crash and had no memories of the incident.
โ๏ธ Legal Proceedings
By November 4, 2022, the police had gathered enough evidence to arrest Shirilla shortly after her discharge from the hospital. She was charged with 17 crimes including two counts of aggravated murder, and one count of drug trafficking. On August 14, 2023, Shirilla was found guilty by Cuyahoga County Court on charges of felonious assault, murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, drug possession, and criminal tools possession.
On August 21, 2023, the sentencing phase of the trial began. Shirilla was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 15 years. She received two life in prison terms, one for murdering Russo and another for killing Flanagan, to be served concurrently. The judge also permanently suspended her driver’s license.
๐บ Media Coverage
Various companies and streaming services made documentaries about the incident. The case was featured in a podcast titled Hell on Wheels on YouTube, Court TV made a documentary about the murders on YouTube, and several videos detailing the case were also uploaded to the platform. Another documentary titled The Crash streamed on Netflix on May 15, 2026, created by media company Raw owned by All3Media.
| Date | Event | Location | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 31, 2022 | Car crash | Strongsville, Ohio | Car hit brick wall at over 100 mph |
| November 4, 2022 | Arrest | Hospital | Charged with 17 crimes |
| August 14, 2023 | Conviction | Cuyahoga County Court | Found guilty on 12 felony charges |
| August 21, 2023 | Sentencing | Cuyahoga County Court | Life in prison, parole possible after 15 years |