Newly revealed text messages are showing just how toxic Mackenzie Shirilla’s relationship with her boyfriend was before she murdered him and his friend.
As you may know, the convicted killer is back in the spotlight again due to the new Netflix documentary, The Crash, in which she broke her silence while behind bars years after the fatal crash. Mackenzie drove her car into a brick wall on the way home from a party in Strongsville, Ohio, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and friend Davion Flanagan on July 31, 2022.
Although this sounds like nothing more than a tragic accident, investigators soon realized it was anything but! Police determined Mackenzie intentionally accelerated the car up to 100 mph and never hit the brakes before slamming into the wall. She was arrested and charged with four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of drug possession, and one count of possessing criminal tools. In 2023, she was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life in prison.
Mackenzie has maintained her innocence over the years, insisting she never intended to kill Dominic and Davion. In fact, she claims to have no memory of that night and blames her condition, POTS, which causes her to black out, on the crash.
However, detectives looked through roughly 93,000 texts between Mackenzie and Dominic between January 2020 and July 30, 2022 — the day before he and Davion died — and it paints a picture of a toxic relationship filled with threats and manipulation. According to The US Sun, Mackenzie sent texts to her boyfriend on January 25, 2022, that said:
“You realize I’m just gonna go get a sugar daddy and start selling feet pics and I’m gonna be doing just fine so this is really your last chance to hand write me an apology or fix this or we’re really done. I’m giving you 10 minutes starting now.”
Dominic didn’t seem to care at first, replying:
“Ok go get some fake love thats short lived.”
But he later asks:
“A suggar daddy? I don’t get how youve come to this. I rly do love u idc how tough or relationship is im commitment rn (sic).”
Mackenzie stood her ground, warning:
“I don’t see you typing a paragraph long apology right now like I’m serious you only have five minutes left till you’re single.”
The couple continued to argue over her having a sugar daddy months later. On March 5, 2022, she told Dominic:
“You’re going to show me you can be good and then I’m going to reflect how you treat me.”
To which he fired back:
“Yea u let a dude f**k your feet for money like 6 months ago. That should be even fr.”
Mackenzie didn’t deny it! She responded that they “were broken up. LMAOOOAOO.” Dominic then claims they weren’t together when he also “did s**t” before adding:
“I mean fr tho what i did was 3 years ago what u did was 6 months ago.”
Mackenzie, obviously fed up over the argument, responded:
“We were broken up and it was feetLMAOA once again THEN leave.”
Loved ones told investigators Mackenzie and Dominic dated on and off for four years before his death, and she had been angry after he cheated early in their relationship. Other texts reportedly showed she would try to control him and threaten to break up with him and harm him or herself.
Yikes…
More than a month before the fatal crash, the pair argued over her sex work again. Without naming names, Dominic wrote to Mackenzie on June 8, 2022:
“Yea I love u but last time u started hanging with her u literally let her sell your body to that random dude.”
Once again, Mackenzie insisted they weren’t together when it happened:
“We were broken up and it was just my feet do you think about it more than I think about it.”
He then replied:
“U ran off and became a prostitute.”
Mackenzie reportedly said she doesn’t think what she did was wrong but promised not to do it again if they are together. But he still wasn’t happy:
“U could never tell your family u were a prostitute.”
And Mackenzie still wasn’t backing down:
“Because it’s only my business and it’s not a prostitution.”
According to the texts, Dominic couldn’t let go of what she did. He told her on June 25, 2022:
“Kenzie there is always gonna be problems if u hanging with someone who got a dude to f**k your feet for money.”
It’s clear these two didn’t have the healthiest relationship. Oof. Per The US Sun, the texts come from a Strongsville Police Department report titled Outcome: Suspected Sex Offenses. It read:
“The purpose of the investigation into suspected sex offenses committed by Mackenzie was for the purpose of confirming or dispelling the possibility of Mackenzie having been victimized and forced into committing unwanted sex acts. Messages indicate that Mackenzie voluntarily engaged in suspected sex acts with other people likely in exchange for monetary value without being forced to commit those acts.”
What are your reactions to the texts, Perezcious readers? Tell us in the comments (below).
P.S. CLICK HERE to read one inmate’s experience with Shirilla behind bars!
[Image via Ohio Reformatory for Women, The Crash/Netflix]
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