Film & TV4 min(s) read
Published 09:27 21 May 2026 GMT
The shocking double-murder case involving Mackenzie Shirilla has resurfaced after Netflix’s documentary The Crash reignited public fascination, though viewers say several disturbing details were missing.
Shirilla was 17 when she drove her Toyota Camry into a brick building at roughly 100mph, with the devastating crash killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and friend Davion Flanagan, instantly.
During the trial, prosecutors argued the collision was deliberate, claiming Shirilla never attempted to brake or lift her foot off the accelerator before impact. Investigators also alleged she had previously threatened to crash the car during arguments with Russo.
Now 21 and serving a sentence of 15 years-to-life, Shirilla appeared publicly for the first time in the Netflix documentary, insisting that she was innocent and claiming she had a seizure moments before the crash.
However, many viewers reacted strongly to what they described as her “cold” and “emotionless” demeanor.
Other true-crime programs on Hulu and Apple TV explored darker elements of the investigation that were not included in Netflix’s version.
One of the most controversial moments came from police bodycam footage and jail recordings, where Shirilla and her mother appeared to speak in Pig Latin while she was being questioned after the crash.
Investigators believed the pair were attempting to communicate without officers understanding them, and the footage quickly became a talking point online. Social media users described the exchange as “creepy,” “disturbing,” and “deeply inappropriate” considering the circumstances.
The moment was featured in an episode of A&E’s Killer Cases titled Murder on Wheels.
Lead prosecutor Tim Troup recalled how detectives visited Shirilla in hospital following the crash and were surprised by how reluctant she and her parents were to cooperate.
“The detective, he did record maybe a few minutes just audio of her interacting with the detective and her mother,” Troup said.
Police can then be heard explaining they were investigating the crash as “an aggravated vehicular homicide times two.”
Shirilla interrupts to ask, “Can I say something to her real quick?” while referring to her mother.
According to Troup, she then began speaking in what sounded like gibberish.
“She speaks to her mother in a unique language. It’s a gibberish or a distortion of the English language,” he explained.
“It’s kind of like Pig Latin. ‘Can we tell the police I had a seizure? Can we tell the police something like that?’”
Troup also pointed to another comment investigators found suspicious.
“One of the first things that the girl said to the detective was instantly, ‘Can’t you just take my driver’s license away for 10 years?’ She’s feeling some kind of guilt here.
“So, that instantly starts making us think that this is not an accident.”
Another detail not included in the Netflix documentary involved GPS evidence presented during the trial. Prosecutors alleged Shirilla had driven the same isolated route only days before the fatal crash, arguing she may have been “dry-running” the location beforehand.
They claimed the repeated trip suggested “intentional conduct” rather than a tragic accident.
Some critics accused the documentary of focusing more heavily on TikTok clips and emotional family interviews while spending less time examining the evidence prosecutors used to argue intent.
That evidence was previously explored in Apple TV’s Under the Influence episode Mean Girl Murders.
Thousands of pages of text messages between Shirilla and Russo, later reviewed by The U.S. Sun, also painted a volatile picture of their relationship.
In one exchange, Shirilla became enraged during an argument with her family and repeatedly demanded Dominic pick her up before arriving at his house.
One message read: “I’m gonna kill someone. I’m mad as f*** rn. And I’m here.”
Another argument showed her furious after Russo failed to collect her.
“I’m going to flip out. Who does this sh**,” she wrote.
Later, she texted: “IM UNCLEANING UR ROOM,” before repeatedly sending “NO” while Russo accused her of smothering him.
The pair reportedly argued frequently after Russo cheated on her during their four-year relationship.
In another alarming exchange, Shirilla wrote: “I j want to bang my head on the wall till I’m dead.”
Russo replied: “Tbh this shit has happened so many times i just dont care anymore.”
Ahead of the Netflix release, it also emerged that Shirilla is continuing to fight her conviction after an earlier appeal was denied.
Her representatives told The US Sun: “Our office was not representing Mackenzie at the time the documentary was produced.
“At this point, we are focused on pursuing the appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court and investigating other potential legal remedies with the goal of securing a new trial.”
