Law&Crime Sidebar - ‘Hell On Wheels’: The Ohio Teen Who Killed Her Boyfriend and Friend in a Deadly 100mph Crash

Episode Date: August 22, 2023

Ohio teen Mackenzie Shirilla was convicted of murdering her boyfriend and friend in a deadly high-speed crash in 2022. Prosecutors said she was on a “mission of death” when she turned into “hell on wheels,” slamming the gas pedal to the floor and reaching speeds of nearly 100 mph before crashing into a brick wall, killing 20-year-old Dominic Russo and his 19-year-old friend Davion Flanagan. Shirilla was handed two prison sentences of 15 years to life behind bars. The Law&Crime Network’s Angenette Levy breaks down the full story.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:Save 10% on your entire POM Pepper Spray order by using code LAWCRIME10 at https://bit.ly/3rkw6gnLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergWriting & Video Editing - Michael DeiningerGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa Bein & Kiera BronsonSUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieThey Walk Among AmericaDevil In The DormThe Disturbing TruthSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. 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. I'm just so sorry. I'm heartrogan. I love Dominivian. Mackenzie Sherilla begs for mercy and forgiveness after she's convicted of murdering her boyfriend and their friend by plowing her car into a building. We have the entire story of the deaths of Dominic Russo and Davian Flanagan and the sentencing

of Mackenzie Sherilla. Dominion were robbed of their futures, her hopes, and their dreams. And the harsh words from the judge for the now convicted murderer. There's only one person who's responsible for the pain of everyone in this room. That person is you, McKenzie. Nobody else is responsible. Introducing the next generation of pepper spray. Meet Palm, a new maximum strength self-defense product with a patented modular design,

revolutionizing the self-defense industry. Whether you're carrying the unit on your keys, snapping the unit on your backpack, your keychain, or carrying the unit in your pocket. Palm is the perfect everyday carry-exam. everyday carry accessory. Palms' patented flip-top safety prevents any accidental misfire and its maximum strength formula provides you with the necessary range and capacity to bring peace of mind to you and your loved ones. Quality, safety, performance, peace of mind. Learn more at palmpeper spray.com. Welcome to Law and Crime's Sidebar podcast. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Mackenzie Sherilla is

19 years old, and it's very possible she could spend the rest of her life in prison. Most young women her age are thinking about college or getting a job. But the judge in her criminal case said her choices in July of last year have led instead to her being labeled a convicted felon. It was July 31st, 2022, when prosecutors say McKenzie Sherilla put her foot on the gas in her car and plowed it into a building intentionally. She was driving 100 miles per hour. The impact killed her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davian Flanagan. surveillance video captured Sherilla's car speeding down the road in Strongsville, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Sherilla opted for a bench trial in Cuyahoga County in front of Judge Nancy Margaret Rousseau,

who has a reputation as being a very tough judge. Judge Rousseau found Sherilla guilty of two counts of murder and called Sherilla Hell on Wheels. Davian Flanagan's mother, Jamie, addressed the court. She said her son did not have a click of friends and instead, he was a friend to all. She said he dreamed of opening a barber shop of his own, and she also described how she adopted Davian and his sisters. My son Davion is and always will be so much more than partner. He was precious. He was an amazing soul with a heart of gold. Davion and my kids have had more than their fair share of heartbreak, of hardship, and of loss. Davian was adopted. with his sisters from foster care.

They're biological siblings. We are honored to be chosen or to have been chosen to be their parents. They're forever family. I am devastated by the loss of Debian. The world lost a truly special man. My girls lost their best friend, their protector, the one and only trusted family

that has been by their side. from J-1. This alone, or he alone, understands the pain and loss that they have gone through and was always there for them. Davian Flanagan's sister then spoke to the court. I don't want this pain for anyone else. I don't want people to have to go through this. As an 18-year-old, I hate the fact that he was gone because someone decided to take his life. Not that Davidon is gone, I feel stuck. feel as if I can't move forward. I feel lost. He was the one who picked me up when I fell. He was my best friend and the only person that had stayed with me since I was born. I would like me to give him to the longest possible sentence. I've known her for about three years and actually

she's always taking the easy way out. Christine Russo is Dominic Russo's mother. She also addressed the judge. No one wanted this to be a murder. Or to punish McKenzie and Charilla for this accident. This was not a car accident. The evidence on sign has proved that McKenzie Sherilla murdered my son, Dominic, as well as Dadian. There's no fix put him in this case as the Shirillos would like to require me. I want to thank Strawsville Police Department. in the state of Ohio, for seeking the truth behind this crash. Thanks to them, we all know what happened in that car that day. What we don't know is why. I wish I could change this every day. I lost three children in that crash. And it goes by each day that I don't think about my son,

because Westadia, my house forever broke. Then Christine Russo told Judge Russo, no relations, there, what McKenzie's mother said to her following the crash. July 31st, 2022, called McKinsey's mother hysterical with the loss of my son and maybe I think he was in the hospital and the first statement said to me was, oh, please don't listen to what everyone's saying on Facebook. Yeah. My son's dead. His friend is dead

I'm checking of yours and social media so it's important social media is made a game at the life of McKenzie and is making a game at this proper change tragedy it's kind of hard to imagine

someone being concerned about what's on social media when two kids have been killed and her daughter was seriously injured Angelo Russo was Dominic's older brother and he also spoke Nothing said or done here today can describe the loss or paralyzed after this tragedy. McKenzie's statement in the hospital to Detective the zoo,

can't you just take my license away for 10 years or something? That statement is Mackenzie's... That statement is Mackenzie Shurilla. The most selfish person I know, ironically, Dom is the most selfish person I know. McKenzie Sherilla murdered Dom and Davion in cold blood and had already moved on. Kenzie killed Dom over the thought of losing him, and she made Davion collateral damage. She was driving, going to concerts, and dressing up for Halloween, no thoughts of the families and lives that she had destroyed. The prosecutor showed messages that he says McKenzie Sherilla sent to a modeling agency in Los Angeles, while she was

She was still in the hospital recovering from the crash. Shortly after the crash, Strongville police were notified that they had received concerning emails from the community that the defendant and her mother were seeking employment with the Los Angeles modeling agency. Kenzie Sherilla said to Vitaly, thank you for the comment. I would love to work with you guys. I've been emailing you guys a lot. Such a great opportunity.

Thank you. a date? There is not a date on this, Your Honor. Based on the investigation, it was delivered to the police while the defendant was still in the Metro Health Hospital. He also showed a photo of her at a concert while in a wheelchair and played some of her posts from social media for the court. I'm not even cool. I'm just one of those girls that can do a lot of drugs and not die. And then the prosecutor showed videos from TikTok from Halloween of last year, right before Sharilla's arrest. All of this was, of course, to show that McKenzie Sharilla was more concerned with having

a modeling career and having fun than the passing of her boyfriend and his friend. Mackenzie's mother knows that it's very possible her daughter will go to prison for the rest of her natural life. But the judge has a decision to make. can make these sentences run consecutively, meaning that they run one after the other, or concurrently meaning that they run at the same time, and then that would make McKenzie eligible for parole after serving 15 years. So McKenzie's mother begged the judge for some type of mercy for her daughter. I just want to say to the families that I'm broken, sad, and lost, and my heart hurts

for everyone, okay? The email was a new friend, and Dom was the love of their life and he was part of our family, okay? And I'm so sorry that this had been the part broken. Okay? And then, Your Honor, this was a terrible tragic nightmare absent

to an effect that she has no memory of her and she will never emotionally or physically recover from it. She will not die to. And we're asking that you please not for the sentence, his consecutive, who's family, and we all love each other. That morning of the accident, she called, I got a phone call, that there was a car accident.

So we went to the hospital, and I didn't even know who was in the car. The name had nothing confirmed yet. And I was like, I'm going to cry. I missed him so much. We loved him so much. So I called down, like over and over getting praying, but he was going to answer the phone. And he didn't answer the phone. We loved him so much. I hung up the phone.

I did not talk about social media. I didn't even know what was going on yet. Then it was McKenzie Sherilla's turn to address the court. Her statement was fairly brief. The family of Domina, I'm so deeply sorry. 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. I'm just so sorry.

I'm heartbroken. I love Diamond Davia. We were all friends and down with my soul. I wish I could take all your pain away. And I'm so sorry. And to my family, thank you for the support and all the love you guys give. Thank you for fighting with me. I love you all so much. Judge Rousseau then sentenced McKenzie Sherilla and explained why she was giving the sentence that she was. Today is the sentencing of the defendant for the purposeful and intentional murders of Davy on Flanagan and Dominic Rousseau.

And in a way, it's a second time their families are gathered again to grieve. It's also a day when McKenzie's family will grieve for the future of their daughter. All three of these families and the friends of these families are suffering, and all of their lives have been irrevocably changed because of the actions of the defendant. The unintended and collateral consequences of a selfish, intentional, and cruel decision by McKenzie will ripple forever in time. It's literally changed history. because it's ended two lives.

Two young men are dead. Their deaths were horrible, terrifying and tragic. I will say again, if any reasonable person reviews, Exhibit 802, there can be no doubt in your mind what happened this night,

that even if McKenzie intended to also die in this crash, that is irrelevant, a failed suicide attempt is not a defense to murder. And even in a murder-suicide attempt, when a perpetrator executing the plan survives, the other death or deaths are still murder. There's a very good likelihood, McKenzie,

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. I understand that the pain in this room wants me to impose the harshest sentence. But I don't believe that would be the appropriate sentence because I do believe the McKenzie will not be out in 15 years.

So she's sentenced on count two, the murder of Davy on Flanagan, 15 years to life. She's sentenced on count one, the murder of Dominic Russo, 15 years to life, to be served concurrent to each other with credit for time served. Sharilla will be sent to the Ohio Department of Corrections and likely placed in the women's prison at Marysville. She'll go before the parole board after serving 15 years since Judge Russo opted to sentence her to those concurrent sentences. That's it for this edition of Law and Crimes Sidebar podcast. You can listen to and download Sidebar on Apple, Spotify, Google, and wherever else you get your podcast. And of course, you can always watch it on Law and Crimes YouTube channel.

remember to hit that subscribe button. I'm Ann Janette Levy, and we will see you next time.