Dad's Defense: Could a Father's Doubts Reshape the Crash Narrative?

Steve Shirilla isn’t backing down. The father of Mackenzie Shirilla continues to challenge the conviction that sent his daughter away with 15 years to life, arguing there’s a logical flaw at the heart of the case nobody seems to want to examine.

Speaking on the True Crime This Week podcast with host James Renner on Wednesday, May 27, Steve laid out his core argument: if Mackenzie had truly intended to kill her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, she wouldn’t have brought their friend Davion Flanagan along for the ride. The math doesn’t work.“I’ve asked her,‘Did you do this on purpose?’And she goes,‘No,'”Steve said.“I would think if my daughter was that mad, that mad at that boy [Russo] to want to kill him that way, Davion would have never been in the car. This makes no sense.”

It’s a father’s logic, and it carries weight—though not necessarily in a courtroom. Mackenzie was convicted in 2023 on 12 felony charges, including murder, after driving her Toyota Camry at over 100 mph in Strongsville, Ohio, and intentionally hitting a brick wall. She was 17 at the time. Both Russo and Flanagan died. She survived. The incident became the subject of Netflix’s The Crash, which premiered on May 15, giving the case new visibility and bringing Steve’s defense into sharper focus.

What complicates Steve’s theory—and what the case has never fully resolved—is the question of what actually happened in that car. Mackenzie has maintained her innocence despite the conviction, claiming she cannot remember the incident. The presence of cannabis in her system at the time adds another layer of uncertainty. Steve even appeared in The Crash defending his daughter, though his comments about marijuana use later cost him: he was put on leave from his teaching position at Cleveland’s Mary Queen of Peace School after saying on camera that he didn’t have a problem with her smoking cannabis.

Meanwhile, prison records obtained by Us Weekly reveal that Mackenzie’s time behind bars hasn’t been smooth. She’s faced multiple disciplinary actions, including an incident in 2025 involving a NSFW video call, and possession of altered clothing and nude magazine pictures in 2024. The portrait that emerges is less of a remorseful inmate working toward rehabilitation and more of someone struggling to adjust to confinement.

Yet Steve’s core question lingers: What actually happened in that car? The official story says intentional murder. His version suggests something else—a tragedy, not a premeditated crime. Mackenzie isn’t eligible for parole until October 2037. Between now and then, that gap between conviction and doubt may only grow wider.