Mackenzie Shirilla’s final attempt to appeal murder conviction denied in new update
Ohio Supreme Court justices have rejected Mackenzie Shirilla's motion to reconsider their June denial of her appeal.
The ruling, obtained by PEOPLE, saw Supreme Court of Ohio Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy resolve: "It is ordered by the court that the motion for reconsideration in this case is denied."
It was filed earlier this week on 1 September, 2026 and marks the last time Shirilla can appeal her case at the state level.
The 22-year-old is currently serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of her boyfriend Dominic Russo and friend Davion Flanagan.
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On 31 July, 2022, Shirilla - aged 17 at the time - crashed her 2018 Toyota Camry at around 100mph into a building wall after a party in Ohio, US.
Russo, 20, and Flanagan, 19, died at the scene. Shirilla survived and was airlifted to hospital.
In November, 2022, Shirilla was charged with 12 counts, including aggravated vehicular homicide and murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life.
A series of text messages between Shirilla and Russo resurfaced following the release of Netflix documentary The Crash, which examined evidence prosecutors used to argue the collision was intentional.
Earlier this year, Shirilla asked an appeals court to review new evidence, claiming she had Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), which caused her to black out, News Nation Now reports.
However, the court rejected the filing as it was submitted one day after the statutory appeals deadline.
Shirilla's attorneys tried to argue this was as a result of it being a leap year and that causing confusion.
They then brought the denial before the Ohio Supreme Court.
The court said: "Realizing the enormity of her error, Shirilla argued on appeal that the 365-day clock did not start until the transcript of a probable cause hearing in the juvenile court was filed in the direct appeal on December 15, 2023 ... The Eighth District Court of Appeals unanimously, and correctly, rejected this argument."
In June, the justices declined to hear the case, ruling the deadline was clear.
However, in July, Shirilla filed a new petition in Ohio's Northern District federal court.
FOX8 reports the petition argued her constitutional rights to due process had been violated, accusing officials of improperly transferring her case from juvenile to adult court.
It also argues her attorneys were ineffective.
Tyla has contacted representatives of Shirilla for comment.
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.
23 June 2026
The Ohio Supreme Court declines to review Shirilla’s appeal case. Her lawyers missed the deadline for a post-conviction review by one day because 2024 was a leap year, and the court upheld an earlier decision that Shirilla’s conviction therefore could not be challenged.
6 July 2026
Shirilla’s attorneys file a motion asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider her appeal, arguing that the filing deadlines were confusing.
September 2037
This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole.
Topics: US News, Crime, True Crime
Poppy Bilderbeck