Mackenzie Shirilla, the now-21-year-old woman whose vehicular homicide case was featured in Netflix’s “The Crash,” is begging for help via her supporters after her latest legal setback.
“Mackenzie is trying to do better every day and holding on to hope,” her support team wrote Monday on Instagram while sharing a prison photo of Shirilla, who was convicted of murder for killing her boyfriend and his friend in 2022 in a deadly 100 mph crash.
“Her post conviction relief was denied due to a deadline technicality,” the post reads. “The decision has nothing to do with the contents of it, it was unable to even be reviewed.”
On the morning of July 31, 2022, Shirilla, then 17, was behind the wheel of her Toyota Camry with her boyfriend Dominic Russo, 20, and his friend Davion Flanagan, 19, driving at a controlled speed in Strongsville, Ohio, before turning and accelerating to 100 mph, according to prosecutors.
She drove directly through a business sign before crashing into a brick building, killing both of her passengers. Prosecutors said she did so intentionally.
An investigation found that Shirilla had pressed her right foot on the accelerator to its full extent and never applied pressure to the brake pedal before the impact.
Her car had no defects that would have contributed to the crash, according to the investigation. Psilocybin mushrooms were found on Shirilla.
Shirilla’s lawyers argued that she suffered from a blood pressure disorder called POTS, which causes momentary blackouts.
Shirilla was found guilty in 2023 on four counts of murder, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, and one count of drug possession. She was sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole after 15 years.
On Monday, Shirilla’s legal team filed a motion for reconsideration to the Ohio Supreme Court, despite justices already declining to take the case, NBC affiliate WKYC reports.
However, according to the update from Shirilla’s supporters, her “appellate lawyer missed a deadline by filing it one day late due to a leap year, which also makes HIM ineffective assistance of [counsel].”
“Keep sharing everything you can and Please sign and share this petition for a fair re-trial,” the post continued. “We ALL deserve fair representation and once you review her case you’ll agree she did not get that.”