Full video: Sentencing for Mackenzie Shirilla, found guilty of murder for fatal 2022 car crash

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: is everybody ready so let's go over just some general rules before we get started all phones are to be turned off members of the media may have their phones on but it must be turned to silent there will be no in and out of the courtroom once the proceedings begin you may if you do leave you will not be permitted today is an emotional and stressful day for three families and for the defendant and for those who care for day beyond dominic and mackenzie i expect everyone here to be respectful of everyone who's in the room if there is any disruptive behavior i will pause the proceedings and the deputies will escort you out the court's process will be as follows i will hear first from the state and the representatives of any of the victims the court will then hear from the defense and any representatives who wish to speak the defendant has a constitutional right not to speak she has exercised that right not to speak at trial and that right continues throughout this proceeding she will be afforded the opportunity to speak if she wishes but that's her choice following that portion the court will deliver the sentence i also want to advise the defendant that she has a right to an appeal and a transcript at state's expense and we will assign counsel to representing it counsel we have previously discussed and agreed to the following that the only counts for which the court will sentence today as a matter of law are counts one and two each of which is murder in violation of ohio revised code section 2903.02a count one being the murder of dominic russo count two being the murder murder of davion flanagan each of these counts are statutory sentences each is 15 years to life with parole eligibility after the base term is served and with parole strictly within the discretion and jurisdiction of the ohio parole board each of these counts stands separate and apart from each other and they be they can be run either concurrently or consecutively that is the only discretion permitted to the court in the sentencing today it is my understanding that we are also in agreement of the following mergers as to the guilty verdicts against the defendant related to the victim dominic russo that counts three five six and nine merge into count one as to the guilty verdicts against the defendant related to the victim davion flanagan the counts four seven eight and ten are merged into count two that the reagan tokes enhancement and post-release control are not applicable to either count one or two is that a correct statement that's accurate your honor correct yes your honor thank you i do wish to proceed on counts 11 and 12. it's my understanding on these two felonies of the fifth degree that both sides are waiving any argument is that correct yes your honor yes your honor and is she waving any statement on counts 11 and 12 as to those two counts yes all right the defendant says in counts 11 and 12 each of which is a felony of the fifth degree to seven months in prison on each count to be served concurrent to each other with credit for time served fines and costs are waived as to the driver's license suspension for counts nine and ten the aggravated vehicular homicides for driver's license is suspended for life i'm now prepared to hear from anybody who would like to speak good morning could you start your name and speak up and speak surely yes [00:04:30] jamie flanagan: your honor my name is jamie flanagan i am the mother of the victim davion flanagan i want to share a small part of what we lost on 721 i'm sorry 731 2022 my son davion is and always will be so much more than cargo he was precious he was an amazing soul with a heart of gold he gave to the world what he wanted most in his own life love the kind of love that would rescue a friend in the middle of the night no questions asked the kind that would protect others and honor them he made friends easily with his infectious smile he was a gifted athlete he had plans to go to barber school and open his own shop my son did not have a clique of friends but instead was a friend to all he would go out of his way to show love and kindness to others including those that were often cast aside by society the less fortunate the developmentally challenged the hurting and the unvalued devion made sure that everyone that crossed his path knew that he truly saw them that he valued them and that they were worth his time devion and my kids have had more than their fair share of heartbreak of hardship and of loss devion was adopted with his sisters from foster care their biological siblings we are honored to be chosen or to have been chosen to be their parents their forever family i am devastated by the loss of devion the world lost a truly special man my girls lost their best friend their protector the one and only trusted family that has been by their side from day one this alone or he alone understands the pain and loss that they have gone through and was always there for them this fact alone breaks my heart for my girls for my family so many dreams so many dreams shattered a future stolen we will never get to see the amazing man that he was surely to become he his life was precious like i said he was so much more than cargo i pray daily for strength and perseverance for myself and for my family i also pray that mackenzie will find true remorse in her heart and true repentance we thank all of those that work so hard to help us bring justice for our son we are forever thankful davion we miss you terribly but as christians we grieve with hope we will make sure your memory lives on and we ache for the day that we are united again in eternity thank you [00:08:01] Speaker 3: hello could you start with your name hi your honor my name is divine flanagan um davion was my older brother the passing of davion markel flanagan has been very difficult for me we have gone through everything together since day one davion was a big brother to me and my younger sister delia we all got adopted together in 2012. after davion passed away a lot of trauma and past pain has came into my life causing it to be difficult to heal from this trauma event or this traumatic event demon was not just a big brother to me but a role model in many ways he was a person i trusted the most because he made me feel safe he taught me the importance of cherishing each moment and enjoying life the memories we have are strong but losing him has shown me the value of life he has how god works in ways you can't understand but it's worth it in the end i don't want this pain for anyone else i don't want people to have to go through this as an eight year old i hate the fact that he has gone because someone decided to take his life now that davion is gone i feel stuck i feel as if i can't move forward i feel lost i was the he was the one who picked me up when i fell he was my best friend and the only person that has stayed with me since i was born i will i would like you to give mackenzie the longest possible sentence i've known her for about three years and as she she's always taken the easy way out you should you shouldn't be able to take the easy way out when it comes to murder it's completely unfair that no matter what sentence you give her she will be eligible for parole while my brother will be gone forever thank thank you your honor [00:10:10] Speaker 4: i'm christine russo i'm dominic's mother no one wanted this to be a murder or to punish mckenzie sharilla for this accident but this was not a car accident the evidence and science proved that mckenzie schrilla murdered my son dominic as well as davion there's no fix put in in this case as the schrillers would like to proclaim i want to thank strongsville police department and the state of ohio for seeking the truth behind this crash thanks to them we all know what happened in that car that day what we don't know is why i wish i could change this every day i lost three children in that crash not a minute goes by each day that i don't think about my son as well as davion my heart is forever broken the cries heard from the schrilla family and friends after the verdict are nothing more than a lack of remorse mckenzie syrilla had a choice dom and davion did not we are all left here to mourn but what dave tom inek and davion lost can never be remedied in any way or by any particular sentence july 31st 2022 i called mckenzie's mother hysterical with the loss of my son and davion i knew mckenzie was in the hospital and the first statement said to me was oh please don't listen to what everyone's saying on facebook yeah my son is dead his friend is dead and i'm checking on yours yet social media is what's important social media has made a game out of the life of mckenzie and is making a game out of this heart-wrenching tragedy no one can imagine the pain of losing a child unless they have lost one themselves the pain is forever more time does not heal this wound mckenzie going to prison because you did this be thankful that you're still alive and have a future whatever that may be dom and davion were robbed of their futures their hopes and their dreams mckenzie showed no mercy on dominic nor did she on davion only god at this time can have mercy on her soul thank you [00:13:34] Speaker 5: could you start with your name please yes should my name is there a microphone or anything my name is angelo russo i'm one of dominic's older brothers and i'm speaking today for myself and also on the behalf of our siblings and our friends sorry dom may have been young but he made the most of each day and had an impact on the lives of his friends and his family dom was a businessman an athlete a song producer and an entrepreneur dom was not only my brother he was also my best friend and the friends in this courtroom also say dom was their best friend many many of my brother's interesting goals were centered on learning more about himself and how he could become a better person he was always doing what he could to learn about others how he could understand a different situations different cultures and how he could better the community he read from various authors every day and even recommended to me countless books that have made me a better person and helped me understand the world better a few months before he passed he told me that he soon planned on joining a branch of the military admittingly i was against this but he felt the need to not only serve the community but also his country he gave me countless advice and he also helped with anything and everything nothing said or done here today can describe the loss or repair our lives after this tragedy kenzie's statement in the hospital to detective azu can't you just take my license away for 10 years or something that statement is mackenzie's that statement is mckenzie shirilla the most selfish person i know ironically dom was the most selfish person i know mckenzie shirilla murdered dom and davion in cold blood and had already moved on kenzie killed dom over the thought of losing him and she made davion collateral damage she was driving going to concerts and dressing up for halloween no thoughts of the families and lives that she had destroyed as i said dom read a book every day he started two companies he recorded his own music as well as recording music with myself and with friends dom helped anyone who ever needed a hand he was an inspiration to everyone who had the honor of meeting dominic we love you dom we love you davion and god bless the both of you thank you so much [00:16:44] Speaker 1: mr true before you speak have you marked the ex the letters as exhibits to be part of the record i have your honor and any objection from mr mcdonald no your honor and have you marked your letters i [00:16:58] Speaker 6: your honor there's very little that i can say uh after hearing from those who love dominic and davion um in regards to the impact that the defendant's conduct had on these families lives and we have received a series of letters that has been submitted on behalf of the defendant in in summarizing these they describe her as a good student and a loving and caring person um and that she could never do something like this and they continually despite the verdict refer to this as an accident and an unfortunate accident and tell you that she is also a victim and there are just a few things that i think is important for the court to consider in determining a sentence today um part of the evidence in this case and introduced in trial was evidence from the defendant's cell phone there were search warrants executed on her various social media accounts her school records her medical records things of this nature and i think that who she actually was is directly um contradictory to what is painted by the letters submitted on behalf of her her today do you know how to make the video play one moment now i'm sorry [00:19:28] Speaker 7: i'm not even cool i'm just one of those girls that can do a lot of drugs and not die [00:19:35] Speaker 8: i've got a figure like a pin i've got a figure like a doll don't care if you think i'm dumb i don't care at all can you best really if i want to be a dog i'm the girl you die for [00:19:51] Speaker 9: objection judge none of this is introduced in the trial [00:20:00] Speaker 6: shortly after the crash strongsville police were notified that they had received concerning emails from the community that the defendant and her mother were seeking employment with the los angeles modeling agency kenzie sherrilla said to batali thank you for the comment i would love to work with you guys i've been emailing you guys a lot such a great opportunity thank you is there a date there is not a date on this your honor based on the investigation um it was delivered to the police while uh the defendant was still in the metro health hospital so it was during that time period she was in the hospital for several weeks shortly after being released from the hospital the police were provided additional videos of the uh the defendant from her wheelchair as she attended a concert uh down in the flats and again your honor i'm introducing these to the court to show the shocking lack of remorse this was uh something that was being exhibited while the investigation was still going on before she was uh charged and arrested in november of last year and these were the sort of things that were coming to the police and the shocking lack of remorse coupled with the fact that the defendant uh was reported driving of an automobile and shortly after this event that she was seen in strongsville uh again driving a car in spite of the fact that as her mother testified she got dizzy sometimes from a condition that she had to take salt pills for um in spite of the fact that it was in fact her mother who provided her with the card that she used to take dominic and davion's life uh halloween of last year again still before being charged [00:21:49] Speaker 10: mckenzie shirella celebrated uh halloween with her friends [00:22:07] Speaker ?: jorge i just want to continue [00:22:22] Speaker 6: are these post these are on halloween of last year so these would be post crash just before she was charged in november uh we think the defendant has shown a shocking lack of remorse your honor um we think that she has has continually uh put forward that this was an accident in spite of the fact that the evidence is in direct contradiction your honor you were on progress drive uh you you saw the evidence that was displayed in court and your honor we think that you are the person who is uh in the best position to decide an appropriate sentence we have full confidence in uh the sentence that [00:23:13] Speaker 9: you'll give you a thank you mr mcdonald you know may have please the court i gotta ask you to allow mrs sure to address the court first okay that's fine [00:23:31] Speaker 11: can you start with your name my name is natalie shirilla um i just want to say am i allowed to address them at all sure i just want to say to the families that i'm broken sad and lost and my heart hurts for everyone okay davion was her new friend and dom was the love of her life and he was part of our family okay i'm just so sorry that this happened and we're heartbroken okay and then your honor this was a terrible tragic nightmare accident to have happened that she has no memory of and she will never emotionally or physically recover of it recover from it um she almost died too and we're asking that you please not run the sentence in this consecutive he was family and we all loved each other that morning of the accident she called i got a phone call that there was a car accident okay so we went to the hospital and i didn't even know who was in the car the names had not been confirmed yet and i was i'm gonna cry because i miss them so much we loved him so much so i called dom like over and over again praying that he was going to answer the phone and he didn't answer the phone so then i tried to call his mom and she didn't answer the phone either and i still didn't know who was in the car i didn't even know she was alive i didn't know what was happening so then we were in the waiting room and then his mom ended up did she did call me so i answered the phone and i was like oh my god like i don't even know who was in the car like what's happening was that dom and she said what do you mean my son is dead and i was like i'm so sorry and then she said something like and now i have to wait until your kid's out of the hospital and then i didn't hear the rest i just i was like we loved him so much and i hung up the phone i did not talk about social media i didn't even know what was going on yet okay so then that was it in the hospital that vitality post i commented on that because somebody had called her a murderer okay and she would she's not a murderer so she didn't even have her phone at that point because the police had still had it okay so um i jumped on and i was like you know she's not a murderer she's more sad than her than most of these people commenting um she's been trying to get in touch with you i mean at that point it was just an accident so i commented on her behalf not because of the modeling opportunity i don't even who cares about that i don't want them to refer to her as a murderer okay and i don't even know how that commented god on the phone because the police still had her device and she could not access her phone or social media that's why i did it and um i had called them asking if they could shut down social media because people were calling her a murderer and making death threats and organizing groups to you know take her out when she got out of the hospital and stuff so i didn't even want her phone i don't care about her phone i don't care about social media i just wanted them to stop calling her a murderer so that when she did come to and she did come out of surgery multiple surgeries that she wouldn't see all these people calling her a murder because she would never ever ever murder the love of her life okay the halloween for three months after the accident she would only wear his clothes she would only eat the snacks he ate she would only listen to the music he wrote okay she was laying in bed for three months crying there was a shrine of him next to her with photos and things that he liked and this flower that lights up that he got her because he wanted it to be fresh and alive forever it's like a little beauty and the beast flower okay she's got this shrine of him next to her so she was crying for three months so her friends asked if she wanted to go out trick-or-treating there's a halloween and it was an ou and she didn't even want to go she said i don't know should i could go she couldn't even walk yet barely so i told her i said baby please go it's halloween you've been laying for three months crying only listening to his music please go have just a moment of fun a moment of fun so we told her to go my husband drove her i brought her back home and she just needed a second of fun from losing her whole world her whole world so that was us we told her to go and that concert she went to with dom's cousin abby they picked her up they brought her there that was dom mackenzie and dom and abby all decided to go to this concert together while they were in the hospital that was four dom everything she did after the accident was either in honor of him to be close to him or just be by him any way that she can she's like devastated and tragic he was the air that she breathes okay and they went with his cousin we spent all kinds of time with him after the [00:28:19] Speaker 1: accident um what was the other thing i'm hearing an awful lot about your daughter i'm not hearing very much about the two [00:28:27] Speaker 11: dead people dominic okay i'm asking you for a leniency because this was a tragic action that she does not remember and davion we don't he's a new friend i'm so sorry does that mean his life is worthless no no no no no god no not at all they all they all loved each other they all spent every day together you know what [00:28:51] Speaker 1: i mean i don't i don't know too much for him sorry isn't that part of the problem that they all trusted [00:28:58] Speaker 11: each other isn't that part of it's not a problem at all it's it was wonderful how they all ended up in the car together and two women ended up dead i understand i understand what it looks like i'm i'm i'm saying that it was a tragic accident she would never i understand right and i respect your position i understand but anyway that's it i just wanted to address those we told her to go to those things and then she did go with dom's family so look at that don't look at it with the look at that look on that [00:29:27] Speaker 1: with different eyes if you can please this is that those things are not relevant not at all not at all [00:29:34] Speaker 11: not at all but she's a good if you would if you would have a moment all you would need is five minutes of a conversation to have with her to learn who she is just that you would just need five minutes to learn who she is and what she's capable of not doing and doing and you would see for yourself that's all i'm so sorry guys thank you i'm sorry i love you [00:30:04] Speaker 9: is there anyone else i would like mackenzie to address the court [00:30:07] Speaker 1: mackenzie you don't have to speak if you don't want to it's up to you okay you can stand if it's more comfortable whatever's better for you [00:30:16] Speaker 7: the families of dom and davia i'm so deeply sorry i hope one day you can see i would never let this happen or do it on purpose i wish i could remember what happened i'm just so sorry i'm heartbroken i love to happen davia we were all friends and down with my soul i wish i could take all your pain away and i'm so sorry and to my family thank you for the support and all the love you guys give thank you for fighting me i love you all so much [00:30:55] Speaker 9: if i could address the court your honor may it please the court first of all i'd like to extend my condolences to the russo and flanagan family i can't imagine how difficult this is it it's terrible people's acts have consequences and the consequences here are up to you you have a range of possibilities as it relates to a girl who was 17 at the time who was now 19 years old and has no criminal record and as you so correctly pointed out in the opening the decision when she gets out is up to the parole board and we know how the parole board operates and we know that everybody gets flopped at least once so a 15-year sentence becomes a 20-year sentence at minimum and it'll be up to this young lady here as to how she's going to conduct herself for the next 20 years or whatever the sentence would be that would be number one second of all i'd like to say thank you so much for allowing and taking the time to read those letters and i would like to concentrate on the letters from the people from juvenile court first of all miss smith and miss kent they have been the people who have monitored her progress since she was um entered the juvenile detention facility where she was for about nine months and i would like to commend them for writing these letters because ultimately or initially i tried to have them send a letter and the people at juvenile court wouldn't let them and so they sent these letters anyways and what do we see from their letters we actually see where both of them say that she expressed remorse during the time what the prosecutor played there was after the accident and way before she was ever incarcerated they also both say that they have observed her grow as a person that she's taken every single class possible both culinary and college that she's actually been a model inmate the letters say and that she has exhibited what they call the highest level of behavior they grade people one two three four the better your behavior the higher the number she has always received the highest number she's also been receptive to counseling and as miss kent said she has been making amends i'd ask you to pay special attention to the letter from kelly leitner that i think um talks about certain she cites certain things she did this miss leitner's asking you to consider that the brain is not fully developed until 25 years or eight or older her choices mackenzie's and actions are indicative of teenage invincibility while based upon your decision um you don't find that i find that there are i remember when i was young the dumbest things i ever did and i'd hate to be judged for those things um so really now i'm going to give you my observations because i understand what you talked with mackenzie's mother about acceptance of responsibility etc all i can tell you is that from the moment i met this young lady here she expressed sorrow and i would say during the course of this trial in the um initial emails and statements she said i'm sorry for what you did the prosecutor has said that she hasn't accepted responsibility well as you remember during the course of this trial our defense was that it was a reckless homicide that's taking responsibility for what she believes happened so i would respectfully disagree with that i've seen her express true remorse in the times that i met her in jail and i don't think it's self-serving and i'm going to say as an officer of the court that it's i feel very confident saying that she has expressed true remorse so ultimately another thing that you have to ask for is the likelihood of recidivism etc based upon all of those things i'd respectfully request that you run the sentences concurrently thank you [00:35:37] Speaker 1: today is the sensing of the defendant for the purposeful and intentional murders of davion flanagan and dominic rousseau and in a way it's a second time their families are gathered again to grieve it's also a day when mckenzie's family will grieve for the future of their daughter all three of these families and the friends of these families are suffering and all of their lives have been irrevocably changed because of the actions of the defendant the unintended and collateral consequences of a selfish intentional and cruel decision by mckenzie will ripple forever in time it's literally changed history because it's ended two lives two young men are dead their deaths were horrible terrifying and tragic i will say again if any reasonable person reviews exhibit 802 there could be no doubt in your mind what happened there can be no doubt of the absolute terror of the two people in that call the defendant controlled all the events she chose the day specifically she chose a day just before her 18th birthday she chose to drive the car the time to drive the car she chose an obscure previously scouted route through an industrial parkway she chose the target to hit and the victims she chose the means and the method to follow through and she planned and purposefully executed the events of july 31st 2022 the review of the evidence supports the factual findings the forensic testimony the testimony of the first responders the emergency room doctors who treated the defendant the testimony of the coroner's medical examiner the testimony of those who knew the victims and the defendant and the testimony of the bmv official who provided evidence that not only did the defendant deny any medical condition when applying for her license which her mother co-signed and attested to but also that just after the accident mckenzie renewed her driver's license and again denied any medical condition in fact the defendant was so concerned about driving that as the state mentioned during the investigation she asked if they could just suspend her license for 10 years it is hard to fathom how a person could be concerned about their driving privileges having just been responsible for the deaths of two people there was no medical condition that caused this as an accident there was no mechanical failure of the car the record is clear on the facts and the evidence her mother's uncorroborated statements without any medical testimony or records is not persuasive it is also important to remember that even if mckenzie intended to also die in this crash that is irrelevant a failed suicide attempt is not a defense to murder and even in a murder suicide attempt when the perpetrator executing the plan survives the other death or deaths are still murdered there's only one person who's responsible for the pain of everyone in this room and that person is you mckenzie nobody else is responsible this isn't the fault of dominic's family or davion's family or your family and i know that each of you have asked your questions to yourselves what if what if i had done this or that the truth of it is none of us can control the intentions of another and when there is a purposeful intent to harm or kill someone it is the perpetrator alone who bears the responsibility for the choice and the consequences and the harm that follows the difficulty for sentencing today honestly is whether or not i believe you should get consecutive sentences i'm troubled that should i give you a concurrent sentence that people will believe that somehow i'm being disrespectful to one of the victims and on the other hand i have to weigh the punishment there's a very good likelihood mckenzie that you will spend the rest of your life in prison that won't be up to me that will be up to the parole board and that will be up to you to a great extent i understand that the pain in this room wants me to impose the harshest sentence but i don't believe that would be the appropriate sentence because i do believe that mckenzie will not be out in 15 years so she's sentenced on count two the murder of davion flanagan 15 years to life she's sentenced on count one the murder of dominic russo 15 years to life to be served concurrent to each other with credit for time started i'll waive fines fees and costs and your appellate council will be assigned are there any questions from the state [00:40:57] Speaker 9: no your honor thank you any questions no your honor all right thank you [00:41:17] Speaker ?: so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so