Mackenzie Shirilla drove 90 mph into a brick wall, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and his friend, Davion Flanagan on July 31, 2022.
Following the release of “The Crash” on Netflix, a hit true crime documentary based on a fatal car accident and the investigation surrounding it. People all over the world have been obsessed with Mackenzie Shirilla.
Was it her parent’s fault? Perhaps a medical condition? Was her amnesia medically diagnosed?
These were the questions people were asking on platforms such as Tiktok, Reddit and Youtube.
Many question whether Shirilla was guilty or if she truly lost her memory and had a medical incident. Others wonder if the crime was premeditated.
Susan Spolarich, Del Val’s Forensic Psychology teacher, explained what she believed Shirilla’s motive was.
“I think that after things didn’t go her way and after not getting what she wanted, I think she got frustrated,” Spolarich said.
Mackenzie and Dominic’s relationship was slowly ending, and Spolarich’s theory was that Mackenzie did not want to break up her relationship and was willing to do whatever it took to prevent the end.
Shirilla was struggling with thoughts of suicide at the thought of Russo leaving her. The strain that caused was beginning to take a toll on their relationship. Russo was hinting at leaving Shirilla and she was so afraid of him leaving that she was willing to end his life and her own to stay in the relationship. Flanagan was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both boys tried to stop her, but she succeeded in harming all passengers.
There was a plethora of controversy about the way Shirilla was brought up. Her parents were often called “enablers” due to the fact that they would let Shirilla do what she wanted without punishment.
In “The Crash,” Steve Shirilla believed his daughter when she told him she did not remember what happened at the scene of the crime. Molly Esposito, Del Val’s Crime and Literature teacher, has a contrasting opinion.
“I love teenagers — they’re hysterical and they’re awesome — but they’re liars,” Esposito said.
In Esposito’s eyes, there is no way to tell if Shirilla was telling the truth to her parents, so the argument that “she said so” is a weak one.
Other true crime nerds have been fascinated by Shirilla’s response. Everything from her halloween costume to her response to a tiktok comment shortly after this devastating accident was unsettling to many.
Shirilla was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. People wonder if this sentence will be enough for Shirilla to change.
“When she gets older, she’s gonna be a different person,” Natalie Petronko, a junior following the case, said.
The GoFundMe pages have been started for the families of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan.
While no one may ever find out what truly happened on that fateful morning, the theories of true crime experts and people at Del Val may be enough to spark opinions of what may have happened.
