Ohio Supreme Court denies Mackenzie Shirilla's latest appeal bid in double murder case
Mackenzie Shirilla, a 21‑year‑old from Strongsville, Ohio, has hit another legal roadblock after the Ohio Supreme Court declined to review a decision that rejected her latest appeal. The state’s highest court, on June 23, refused to take the case and a subsequent motion for reconsideration was denied by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy on Tuesday, leaving the lower court’s ruling that Shirilla’s post‑conviction petition was filed one day too late intact.
Shirilla was convicted in 2023 on four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide after a bench trial. The charges stem from a 2022 incident in which prosecutors say she deliberately drove her Toyota Camry into a brick building in Strongsville, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 19. Surveillance footage and the vehicle’s “black box” data showed the car traveling close to 100 mph and failing to brake before the collision.
Her legal team has argued that the crash was not intentional and that Shirilla suffered from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a condition that can cause sudden loss of consciousness. They claim the original trial counsel failed to investigate this medical issue thoroughly and that POTS could explain the lack of braking. The defense, however, maintains that the condition was only briefly mentioned at trial and that the evidence of intent was strong.
The post‑conviction petition was filed on October 24, 2024 – one day after the 365‑day deadline that Ohio law imposes for filing such petitions after the appellate court’s transcript is entered. The transcript, filed on October 24, 2023, set the filing cutoff for October 23, 2024. Shirilla’s attorneys argued that the clock should have started later, citing juvenile bind‑over transcripts and the fact that 2024 was a leap year. The appellate court rejected both arguments, holding that the statute refers to the “trial transcript” and that the law specifies a 365‑day period, not a full calendar year.
After the appellate court’s ruling, Shirilla’s lawyers petitioned the Ohio Supreme Court to review the case. The court declined to accept jurisdiction on June 23. The attorneys then asked the justices to reconsider that denial, but Chief Justice Kennedy denied the motion, stating simply that the court had “ordered the motion for reconsideration in this case is denied.”
The case has attracted renewed public attention following the release of Netflix’s “The Crash,” a docuseries that chronicles the 2022 incident. The series has prompted discussions about the legal arguments surrounding Shirilla’s conduct and the role of her alleged medical condition.
Shirilla’s convictions were upheld on direct appeal in 2024. Her attorneys continue to pursue post‑conviction relief, but the most recent court decisions emphasize procedural deadlines rather than the merits of the claims. As the legal process moves forward, the case remains a focal point for debates over intent, medical evidence, and the handling of post‑conviction challenges in Ohio.
