Mackenzie Shirilla's boyfriend sent her a haunting text month before fatal crash
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Chilling new messages have been revealed from from Dominic Russo to Mackenzie Shirilla just a month before he was killed in a car crash.
Shirilla was convicted in 2023 of deliberately slamming a Toyota Camry into a brick wall at around 100mph, killing 20‑year‑old boyfriend Dominic Russo and friend Davion Flanagan, 19.
She was charged with murder, which led her to facing Judge Nancy Russo, a judge who described the teenager as 'literal hell on wheels'.
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The crash took place in Strongsville in July 2022, with prosecutors arguing the act was intentional after Shirilla’s relationship with Russo began to fall apart.
Shirilla, 21, is serving two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life. She’s now appealing her conviction a second time.
Now, newly highlighted messages show the pair had split just weeks before the deadly wreck. Russo had decided to end the relationship, citing ongoing issues and threats, according to court records and reports.
In a text message sent a month before the crash, obtained by TMZ, Russo wrote: “Kenzie u know i love u but i don’t think we should be together at this point there isn't very much time on earth yaknow.”
The message, which Shirilla read on June 2, 2022, has since been described as chilling given what followed.
Russo continued in the message: “I dont want u to think im abandoning u… especially with the threats. We should just breakup so we can both find happiness somewhere else.”
Just weeks later, both Russo and Flanagan were dead.
Despite black box evidence showing there was no attempt to brake before the impact, and that Shirilla was pressing down on the accelerator, she later posted emotional tributes under Russo’s online obituary, writing about missing the laugh and smile and asking Russo to “please wait for me”. The posts were dated August 2022, around a month after the crash.
TMZ also found a slew of texts by Mackenzie sent to Russo earlier in their relationship
She appears emotional in her texts, telling Russo that she was 'gonna kill someone'.
"I just want to bang my head on the wall till I'm dead," she added, as well as "THIS IS WHY I J WANNA F***ING KMS."
Other messages recall Shirilla talking about not being pregnant, getting tested for STDs, having health issues from smoking, not liking her house, feeling depressed, and complaining about how Russo treats her.
Shirilla was arrested four months after the crash and was later sentenced to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life.
During sentencing, a judge said the crash was not an accident, describing the act as calculated and deliberate.
Since then, former inmates have spoken about Shirilla’s time in prison, claiming the nickname “Shirilla the Killa” circulated behind bars and that the convicted killer stood out for always appearing perfectly groomed.
Where is Mackenzie Shirilla now?
Shirilla is currently serving 15 years to life in prison at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
Shirilla and her legal team have attempted to appeal her conviction, but the 8th District Court of Appeals upheld the conviction.
“Mackenzie, going to prison because you did this, be thankful you’re still alive and have a future, whatever that may be,” Christine Russo, her boyfriend's mother, previously told the court.
“Dom and Davion were robbed of their futures, their hopes and their dreams. Mackenzie showed no mercy on Dominic, nor did she on Davion. Only God at this time can have mercy on her soul.”
Mackenzie Shirilla timeline
July 17 2022 - Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend Dominic Russo get into an argument. A friend overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”
July 31 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.”
November 4 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 trafficking and possession charges.
August 7 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.
August 14 2023 - Shirilla is found guilty on all counts. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo calls her ‘hell on wheels’, and the court concludes she intetionally crashed the car in a premeditated act.
August 23 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 Ohio Refamatory for Women.
May 22 2025 - Mackenzie’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’.
May 15 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.
May 18 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.
September 2037 - This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole
Topics: Mackenzie Shirilla, Crime, True crime, Ohio
Thomas Bamford