US3 min(s) read
Published 10:42 29 May 2026 GMT
Mackenzie Shirilla's father has made a dramatic allegation about the influence of her late boyfriend Dominic Russo's family, claiming his surname played a major role in how his daughter's case was handled.
Speaking in a new interview, Steve Shirilla suggested there was political favoritism at work in the prosecution of his daughter, who was convicted in August 2023 of double murder over the deaths of Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 19.
Shirilla, who has continued to defend his daughter since her conviction, argued that the outcome would have been very different had Russo not been one of the victims in the fatal July 2022 crash.
In the interview, Steve made his feelings clear about what he believes happened behind the scenes.
"I think there's some collusion going on. I think it's a fix. I think it's a favor. That last name Russo in this town."
The interviewer then responded: "I was trying to explain that to somebody, having the last name 'Russo' in Cuyahoga County is like having the last name 'Kennedy' in Boston"
Steve replied: "There might be some truth to that. Like I said, this is a political family, and I apologize to the Flanagan family right now, if it was just Davion in the car, she wouldn't be in jail. It would have never left the juvenile court. This has to do with the boy's last name."
Mackenzie Shirilla, now 21, is serving two concurrent 15-years-to-life prison sentences after being convicted of double murder in connection with the deaths of Russo and Flanagan.
Prosecutors alleged that Shirilla intentionally drove her vehicle into a brick wall at nearly 100 mph in Strongsville, Ohio, in July 2022 after her relationship with Russo had reportedly become strained.
Her legal team has continued to challenge the conviction. In recent months, her attorneys filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing that "there is medical evidence" that she "suffered from a pre-existing medical condition that could have caused her to black out while driving."
According to the filing, her attorney at the time did not adequately investigate the medical evidence or seek expert testimony. The Ohio Supreme Court has not yet commented on whether it will consider the appeal.
The latest comments come shortly after Steve revealed he fears he could lose his teaching position following the release of the Netflix documentary The Crash.
Steve was placed on administrative leave from his role as an art and digital media teacher at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland, Ohio, after remarks he made in the documentary drew criticism.
Asked whether he was looking for a new job, Steve said he wasn't sure he would still have one.
“I'm guessing that I'm not going to,” he said on the podcast True Crime This Week. “My contract's up in June. So, I would hope that they'll pay me through June. They're doing some sort of investigation.”
Steve said he believed the investigation was linked to the documentary and described the school's response as an overreaction.
“You know, this could have been over in a conversation, you know?” Steve said. “That's got to be the biggest knee-jerk overreaction that you could ever imagine. I don't know why the school's not backing me up. That's not very Catholic. Where's the compassion, the love, the understanding that they put out to everybody?"
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