Rotten Mango · Stephanie Soo · Transcript & summary by WhipScribe
It sets the family's corruption narrative directly against the jail-call recordings and the impact statements, and lets you hear how far apart the two versions of this case actually are.
Tap a chapter to open that moment in the transcript; the link to it is copied for you.
“I'm a third victim. There's evil working against me.” Mackenzie Shirilla · at 6:30 — open in the transcript →
“I'm hearing an awful lot about your daughter. I'm not hearing very much about the two dead people.” The judge · at 29:41 — open in the transcript →
This is the back half of the final part, covering the trial, the verdict and the recorded jail calls that went viral. The framing the Shirilla family has adopted in interviews is corruption: that the judge and the family of Dominic Russo, Mackenzie's boyfriend, are connected. The host takes that apart rather than repeating it. The judge and the Russos share a surname but are not related, and that has been established. Dom's mother Christine Russo did once work for the DA's office, but no longer does, and nothing links that to the trial. The one allegation the host says would genuinely matter — that interviews touching Mackenzie's POTS diagnosis were withheld in discovery — isn't the basis of the appeal and only surfaces in interviews. Her verdict on the POTS defense is that it was the defense's job to bring a medical expert; the opinions of the victim's relatives were never going to establish it.
The jail calls themselves are where the episode spends most of its time, and their consistent note is self-focus. Mackenzie asks her mother Natalie to contact a famous person to represent her, apparently Kim Kardashian, and to organize a protest. She speculates about how much money the judge made from the case and suggests looking for cash deposits, at which point Natalie reminds her the line is recorded. She wonders why she was kept alive if the outcome was prison, and lands on the idea that it is part of her story and material for a book she'll write. She pushes her mother to start a Facebook page; a page later exists, though the family says it isn't theirs. After the guilty verdict she says she is in shock — she had expected 85 years or life without parole and got 15 to life, served concurrently.
The victim-impact statements sit against all of that. Davion Flanagan was adopted with his two sisters out of foster care at eight and a half, was the team barber, tore his ACL in the third game of his senior season and lost the football scholarship he was chasing. His mother told the judge that he was 'so much more than cargo' and that he gave the world the love he most wanted himself. His sister Divine said she feels stuck, that he was the only person who had been with her since she was born. Christine Russo told the court she lost three children in the crash, and that the crying from the Shirilla side after the verdict was itself a lack of remorse. On a later jail call Mackenzie's response to those statements is that they were weird, and that she's worried about her belongings still at Dom's house.
Natalie Shirilla's plea before sentencing is the scene the hosts find hardest to defend: she uses her time to clear her own name over a social-media comment and a modeling post, explains that the family told Mackenzie to go to Halloween and the Kid Cudi concert, and is finally interrupted by the judge, who points out she is hearing a great deal about the daughter and very little about the two dead people. Since then the first appeal was rejected, a second was filed a day late with leap year offered as the explanation, and Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy declined to accept jurisdiction for the Ohio Supreme Court. The next real milestone is a parole hearing in 2037. The families are also pushing to update Ohio's Son of Sam law, which they say has not been extended to cover social media income.
Our own transcript of the public episode, with a timestamp about every 75 seconds. Tap a timestamp or the link button on a paragraph to copy a link that opens this page there.
0:00better being better boo welcome to the second half of part four in the first half of part four we went through a lot of the jail calls that have been going viral of 17 year old mackenzie shirilla talking to her parents while she's sitting in jail while she's sitting in prison awaiting trial for murder then being convicted it's just a mess she wants kim kardashian to represent her and set her free and in this half we're going to be going through the trial as well as Mackenzie Shavilla's reaction to the verdict in a phone call that she had with her mom. So with that being said, the Shavillas believe the judge overseeing Mackenzie's case is corrupt. At least that's what they've been alluding to nonstop. They believe that there's something going on between Don Russo's family and Judge Russo, which side note a few things, okay? They do share the same last name. Does not mean that they are related. They are not related. That has been proven. And another thing, Christine Russo, Dom's mother, did in fact work for the DA's office, but that again doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's not like she's currently working for the DA's office and there's nothing to prove any sort of nefarious connection that would have impacted the trial. The main things I keep hearing from the Shorillas is that the investigators didn't hand over some interviews during discovery which allegedly has Dom's mom and brother talking about Mackenzie's medical condition pots which I did hear in one interview Dom's mom says that
1:20Mackenzie started bringing it up after the crash and she felt like it was trying to plant seeds but let's say this is true maybe they're sitting there and being like oh yeah I saw her faint all the time I saw her pass out all the time right like just for hypotheticals let's say that's true even if they said that I don't know how that changes anything as it pertains to the trial like I said you can have POTS and drive safely you can have POTS and kill people in a car crash it was up to them to bring in a P a pots expert a medical expert to prove that she indeed did have some sort of accident relating to pots it's not up to dom's mom like it's not dom's mom's opinion so i just don't know where this correlation is but they're kind of alluding to like some sort of corruption behind the scenes aside from that i do think that if they really did not receive certain key things in discovery that were necessary to their defense, that would be a big, big problem. Like there are strict laws for discovery and that just doesn't seem to be the basis of their appeal, or at least not the main one. And it's just not something that they bring up all the time. It's just in interviews. I would imagine that's a huge thing and the second thing is they bring up frequently in interviews is that they believe that there's some sort of corruption or bribery happening in one interview the interviewer says to Mackenzie's dad Steve the interviewer says you
2:35know I was trying to explain that having the last name Russo in this county is like having the last name Kennedy in Boston I just don't know if that's like a really good comparison because the Kennedy like that is a globally known last name with a lot of power behind it, especially in the political world. But it's just kind of odd to which Steve looks really smug and he responds. There might be some truth to that. Like I said, this is a political family and I apologize to the Flanagan family right now if it was just davion in that car she wouldn't be in jail it would have never left the juvenile court this has to do with the boy's last name and the judge saying well i don't have a blood relationship look i'm not saying she has a blood relationship i'm saying she has relationship with the russo family and he you know even saying that in court if you're gonna believe like she doesn't have a relationship, you're fooling yourself. I'm not saying it's directly with Christine Russo, but you know, down the road here, but it's with somebody. Christine Russo was part of the prosecutor's office at one point. And I believe she's friends with Tim Troop. I think they were in the office together. Steve has asked, why do you think they went so hard against her? There's the part where maybe i'll get myself into trouble let's try to avoid i think there's some collusion going on i think it's a fix i think it's a favor the last name russo in this town i just and i understand that lots of conspiratorial things
3:57do end up being true and i think at face value the criminal justice system in america has a lot of deep flaws but the way they make it seem like she is a scientist curing cancer and we got to take her down like it's it's kind of this weird energy before the conviction Mackenzie is talking to her mom about how she feels about this whole thing and she says I understand that I'm gonna have to do some time I obviously would rather not I feel like I shouldn't do any, but that's how it's going to, you know, this is the situation. That is what will make the families happy. But murder, that's just horrible. Natalie agrees. Nope, nope, nope. So we're just going to go fight, fight, fight, fight. A gun's a blazing. Mackenzie tells her, I'm so for real. Contact who I told you to contact, like that famous person. I think she's talking about Kim Kardashian again. Oh, I know. I'm on it. Mackenzie thinks that they should organize some sort of event for her. But you can get like a protest going on and shit. Like, yeah, I'm dead ass serious, like a whole ass protest. Natalie tells her they will keep fighting, but I hope it doesn't go that route because that would be ridiculous Mackenzie says yes and honestly if the judge does that I'm just gonna know that she has some weird ass shit going on like bribery or something that's all I can think of I guess Mackenzie wants her mom to get
5:15someone famous maybe Kim Kardashian then organize some sort of protest in the off chance that the judge does find Mackenzie guilty of murder which she thinks is unfathomable unless there's some sort of corruption and in another call mackenzie wonders so clearly the judge just wants to speed this process up as fast as she can and get it out of her hand and like this is a very common thing judges do have a schedule they do want speedy trials right so like this is nothing new i wonder how much money she made from this the judge yeah that's what she says they need to look for like deposits or some shit or cash some weird shit they probably gave her the cash that like dom had kenzie we're not talking about anything remember i don't even know what you're talking about so just stop and again i think her mom is just saving for the fact that this is a recorded line and one call with a friend mckenzie is talking about she's gonna be on the news and the verdict is gonna come out which her friend says and like her friends are crazy too why are they so obsessed with you you've got in a fucking car accident I've gotten in like three of those it's probably because my boyfriend's last name is Russo and his family is just trying to do some weird shit. I don't know. Again, like boyfriend's last name is not Trump right now. Like it's, I did look into it. Okay. And there are lots of people with the
6:30name Russo. And there are lots of people in politics or in the legal field with the last name Russo. But also there's lots of Koreans with the last name Lee. Are they related to Samsung? Probably not. Are they bribing people in court? Probably not. They're probably just a regular person with the same last name. She says, like, I would understand if they gave me like a normal charge, but like the charges that they gave me are like literally insane. They're trying to make it seem like something that it's not. It's not like I didn't do this on purpose. I got in a car accident. I'm a third victim. There's evil working against me. And I'm like, why would I be saved to live like, like they brought me back to life just to put me in jail that just doesn't make any sense to me so then I try to think like damn maybe there's something like good for me that's planned maybe this is all part of my story and I'm gonna write my book when I get out of here and shit there's another phone call where during the trial like I said they were not very excited about media coverage as they are with the Kim Kardashian phone call. And Mackenzie is just ranting about like, why are people talking about me? And Natalie says, who knows? I mean, is the world that bored? Mackenzie says there's nothing important going on like hunger or something like that, which is also interesting. The whole, you know, is the world really that bored is an interesting take because it feels like it's coming from the perspective of
7:46why is the world so focused on Mackenzie when that's not the case? The world is focused on Dom and Davion being killed and it just happens to include Mackenzie purely because she's the one convicted or at least on trial at this point of killing them. It feels oddly self-centered. Natalie reassures her. But there's a lot of people that are like talking and they have your back in all the comment threads too so like that's kind of nice another phone call between Mackenzie and Natalie this is like soon after the verdict is announced the judge finds Mackenzie guilty and Mackenzie says I'm literally in shock that was the last thing I expected to happen this is probably the most emotional phone call and And she sounds like very distraught. This is just crazy. I don't understand how they could just be like, yeah, she wanted that to happen. No, like they're all zooming in on my face and shit. And then they're getting to like handcuffing me and shit. Mackenzie asks her mom, why would they keep me alive if they want me to be in jail? Because we don't know what your story is. Your story isn't done yet. It's just beginning, okay? We don't know yet. Who knows what the future holds for you? Who knows what the story is. Your story isn't done yet. It's just beginning. Okay. We don't know yet. Who knows what the future holds for you? Who knows what the reason is, but there is a reason. Okay. We just got to get through this journey and it might be a minute. And after time, you'll see what the reason is, but I promise you, you are a force to be reckoned with in this world and people need you and people will see you here, mama, you already done so much good in this world with so
9:04many people who knows what the future holds for you keep praying baby and just know that everything happens for a reason and who knows this may have saved you from something i don't know but that was just craziness but we've already begun fighting interestingly enough in one phone call steve jumps in and he and it seems like steve is out of these phone calls because he literally cannot hold his tongue, which is evident through his interviews. Right. But he does jump in and one and he says, I'm angry for you, baby. I'm just letting you know I'm angry. Every waking second that I'm thinking is about you. That is all I'm thinking about. I just want you to know I love you so much and I cannot believe you are being put through this. I hope karma comes back and bites everybody that's against you in the ass so hard that they will all disappear. If I had a magic wand, if I had a magic wand, I wouldn't go back. I would go back and I would help Davion first. I would just make everybody disappear. So I don't know if he's saying like he would help Davion first or if he would make everyone disappear. What does that mean? He says, I click my fingers and everybody would disappear. That's what I would do. That's how angry how angry i am they screwed you so bad he said he want to go back in time if he had a magic wand and he says i wouldn't go back and help davion first i wouldn't go back yeah that's what he says but he's also like very like doesn't make any sense
10:22i will make everyone disappear yeah so i think like he's like i hate everybody yeah i think maybe in the past he might have this is just me taking from this statement and trying to see what that means maybe he said in the past like i would go back and i would first help davion but they're very upset about davion's family's victim statements so maybe he's saying oh after this like now i'm so mad oh i wouldn't go back yeah i would just make everybody disappear it's interesting but mackenzie reiterates in a phone call with her mom no it's not but like this time it's like they're saying i did it on purpose so she's like upset that all the news is saying that she did it on purpose and they're making the whole world know that they think that i did it on purpose well when you know i'm found guilty of doing it on purpose when i fucking didn't do it on purpose i know i know i didn't even do it on accident it wasn't even anything i don't even fucking know what happened what does that mean if you didn't do it on purpose it would have had to have been an accident like i'm confused what do you mean you did nothing like how does that even make sense you're the one driving even if you suffered from a medical emergency, you would still, it would still be an accident. It just feels like a lack of self-reflection. Mackenzie encourages her mom to make some sort of free Mackenzie Facebook page, which Rosie told us that the Shrillas are not running, but there are extensive phone calls where Mackenzie keeps
11:40encouraging her mom to make a Facebook page about it. You should really make a Facebook page where it's like talking about how this is all wrong. Natalie informs her, Kenzie, stop talking on the phone right now about these things. You can't talk on the phone. We have to talk in person. And again, that's not me insinuating that they run the Facebook page. I have no idea who runs the Facebook page, but there was just a lot of conversations where Mackenzie tells Natalie to run a Facebook page and lo and behold, there is a Facebook page. It's so interesting. You know, when you you get charged what the judge is looking for is like remorse yeah you're sorry you see where you fucked up you want to be a better person now but everything they're doing and the parents are doing on top of it's only making this worse yeah this is never going to work out even in the long run because the parents are still babying her to enabling her that's what davion's parents said they say that if she even gets out in 15 however many years right if her parents keep doing this like nothing will change yeah and they're doing it it'll get worse and worse and worse natalie rants well i can't talk about anything on this stupid fucking phone call mckenzie says yeah because because bald headed bitch is listening. Hey, what's up? Like, fuck. She's talking about the prosecutor. Davion first joined the Flanigans when he was eight and a half years old. So Davion and his sisters were actually adopted by the Flanagan family.
12:59And the biggest thing that they remember is that he was just obsessed with football ever since he was a kid. Like he never had the opportunity to be involved in organized sports which of course Davion's mom Mrs. Flanagan is like football like out of all the sports why football right she's worried about him but she also just like wants him to experience what he wants to do and Davion's dad says Davion saw a lot in those eight and a half years before he came to us. I believe he was, in fact, like two years of it was in county care, which is really rough. He says he was exposed to a lot of things that no one should be exposed to at all, let alone a child. They say that, you know, he was even the team barber for the football coach and the football team. So he had his own equipment and he would always have them over much to their detriment they say because there's hair all over the place all the time and they think that senior year was really hard for Davion because he tore his ACL it was like third game of his senior season he wanted to go to football like scholarship for football for college and he loses the thing that he was so passionate about and I think there was a lot of discourse that I saw online that especially with when your childhood, the first initial years of childhood are extremely rough psychologically. A lot of people encourage putting those children into sports.
14:18Like I know in Korea, like martial arts is like a big thing as well because it helps to like, there's just a lot of research of how it helps the development especially when you know he has seen a lot that he shouldn't have to have seen as a kid and I think losing that was huge for him Davion's dad says I think if we're completely being honest it was probably the start of his downward spiral downward spiral being I think that he just had a very normal teenager rebellious streak. And Davion's parents say that they didn't like him smoking weed. They thought weed was a gateway drug but they can also see how he did get into weed because he had so much anxiety and it would just help with his anxiety and it finally felt like it was calming down a lot of the feelings that he might have had and you know he's been through so much more hardship than so many people his age and he's going through this normal very rebellious teenage phase of course there's going to be arguments and disagreements with his parents but it seemed like by all accounts what everybody has been saying and not just the family but friends of Davion that if anyone was going to get through it it was going to be Davion and
15:35the Flanigans. But Mackenzie took him. Just took him away from them. Davion's parents say Davion was always the one checking in on his sisters so him and his two sisters were adopted and divine Flanagan has been really vocal and she's done a lot of insightful interviews where she talks about the process that she had to go through with grief and mourning and probably is definitely still going through but she says you know there was a dm that she received from Mackenzie and this is like August 5th of 2022 this is like a few days after the crash Mackenzie writes like this is after killing Davion her brother hey you don't need to answer me I wouldn't expect you to I just want to say I'm sorry for everything I love you and Davion he was like a brother to me I hope you're all getting as positive calm energy because your family deserves it and I'm praying for you guys. What is that message after killing someone's brother? Davion's mom tells the judge, I want to share a small part of what we lost July 31st, 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 life, which was 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 gifted athlete my son
16:53did not have a clique of friends but instead he was a friend of all Davion 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 and typically I mean this sounds like something that a lot of mothers would say about their children but after going through this massive FOIA request on this file things are not edited to look beneficial to anyone even the victims I mean this really is like a spot-on description of Davion he had friends like everywhere and all of them are coming to the police trying to ask like how can we help here's what we found like we're investigating people are going out of their way to express how much of an impact that he had on them and I don't think they were doing that intentionally I think it was just like they couldn't help it because they're going through that grief Davion's mom continues Davion was adopted with his sisters from foster care they're biological siblings we were honored to be chosen to or to have you know been chosen to be their parents, their forever family. And I'm devastated by the loss of Davion. 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. 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 and my family. So many dreams shattered, a future stolen.
18:09We will never get to see the amazing man that he surely was to become. His life was precious, like I said. He was so much more than cargo. Davion's parents are very religious and I do think that there was a part included where Davion's mom is talking about religion and how Mackenzie should repent, right? Davion's sister, Divine, tells the judge in part, I don't want this pain for anyone else. I don't want people to have to go through this. As an 18-year-old, I hate the fact that he was 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. He was the only one who picked me up when I fell. He was my best friend and the only person that stayed with me since I was born. This is a recorded phone call of Mackenzie and Natalie talking about Davion's family's impact statements. Mackenzie says on the recorded jail line, and when Davion's mom said, I hope Kenzie can repent and weird ass shit. Like that was weird as fuck. Natalie says, I do feel bad for Divine, obviously. I do too. That's what Mackenzie says. But then they start talking about how Divine, so in Divine's impact statement, she's talking about how it feels like Mackenzie has no remorse. It feels like she doesn't care. And like, even before the jail calls, it's like she went out for Halloween. She went out to the Kid Cudi concert. Like it's very clear. She just does whatever she wants but they start talking about Divine and what she said
19:28and Mackenzie says Divine said something along the lines of Mackenzie always has the easy way out Mackenzie says you don't even know me so what the fuck do you mean easy way out I never even hung out with you ever I know honey I know what the fuck is the easy way out? I don't even understand what that means. Natalie rants, I love how everybody knows exactly what went on in this house at all times of the day. Our house? Yeah, because you know, they say you were never disciplined. There was never any consequences. There was no nothing you always had. What are they saying? Just stuff like that. I love it. Everybody knows exactly what goes on in this house all day just internet trolls they don't even know us it doesn't matter natalie rants about the internet trolls saying quote the internet trolls are evil and vile and anyone saying anything positive is going to be attacked there's no sense in doing that they're evil disgusting people in a separate call natalie says i wish i could talk to you in private there's some shit being posted online your mind will be blown there's sheep who believe everything that they read or hear on social media and then there's good people who know better that's why I hate the internet I hate social media ignorant people Natalie reassures Mackenzie people that know you know that this is bullshit people that don't know you are ignorant and they're talking out of their ass Christine Russo gives her impact statement to the judge and she says,
20:45no one wanted this to be a murder. No one wanted to punish Mackenzie Shorilla for this accident, but this was not a car accident. The evidence and science proved that Mackenzie Shorilla murdered my son Dominic as well as Davion. 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 Sherilla family and friends after the verdict are nothing more than a lack of remorse. Mackenzie Sherilla had a choice. Dom and Davion did not. Mackenzie is in the back of the courtroom and she's shaking her head while crying. We're all left here to mourn. Mackenzie is going to back of the courtroom and she's shaking her head while crying. We're all left here to mourn. Mackenzie is 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. Mackenzie showed no mercy on Dom, nor did she on Davion. Only God at this time can have mercy on her soul. Angelo, Dom's brother, tells the judge that Mackenzie is the most selfish person he knows, ironically dating Dom, his brother, who is the most selfless person he knows. Mackenzie Shurilla 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.
22:01She was driving, going to concerts, dressing up for Halloween. No thoughts of the feelings and lives that she had destroyed. Mackenzie rants in a jail call. I understand Davion's mom. Like, I know how they think because they don't know me. But it's like what Mrs. Russo and Angelo said. That was just crazy. Oh my gosh, Kenzie. Look, don't you think on it one second. Oh my God, I hate her mom. yeah mckenzie points out the real things that are of importance now i'm worried about my stuff because that's how they feel about me they definitely fucked up my stuff because remember she has stuff in dom's house why is angela such a fucking liar what the fuck kenzie they're just evil people baby i'm sorry don't think on it. Do not think on it anymore. Stop. I need you to stop okay? Move forward you hear mama? In another phone call Kenzie keeps asking her parents you need to get my stuff from Dom's house before they burn it or some shit. What are you gonna do with the stuff you're in prison? In another call Natalie feels like someone is finally on her side about something and she says oh speaking of that somebody was online saying how you know there was no parental supervision with you and stuff this was a party house and I just let people have all kinds of parties here and everything and finally the neighbor across the street she was like you guys don't know what you're talking
23:17about they're a wonderful family they're very nice and I live across the street there were never parties over there I don't know what you guys are talking about. Don't believe everything you hear. Yeah, well, you know, all those people are just talking out of their ass. But are they? Natalie Shirilla also pleads with the judge in court before sentencing. And she's like wearing a tank top. It's the craziest thing. Like everyone, Divine, everyone, like people that are kids. I mean, Divine, I don't know if she was 18 at that no i think she was younger than 18 at the time everyone showed up to court with like the decorum is there natalie's wearing a tank top and like i understand clothing can get expensive but if you're ever going to borrow a blazer go buy a blazer and then return it like today is the day yeah this is your daughter's yeah life she says my She says, my name is Natalie Shabilla. I just want to say, am I allowed to address them at all? And she kind of turns to Dom and Davion's families. I guess the judge gives her the okay. I just want to say to the families that I'm broken, sad and lost and my heart hurts for everyone, okay? She says, 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 I'm just so sorry that this happened and we're heartbroken okay and then
24:33your honor so it's almost like she's like okay check check said sorry to them okay okay did you hear me okay 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 from it. She almost died too. And we're asking that you please not run the sentences consecutive. So that was a huge thing. If it's 15 years consecutive, she would need 30 years before the option of parole. I believe she needed to have parole as an option because she was 17, even though she's tried as an adult. And she does like the prayer hands she's like this is why we ask you know do not run the sentences consecutive um she stopped saying okay after yeah addressing the family yeah dom was family and we all loved each other that morning of the accident um she called so now she's like using this time to clarify shit remember how dom's mom was like when i called she was so upset about facebook do you remember yeah yeah she called i got a call that there was a car accident so i went to the hospital and i didn't even know who's in the car the names had not been confirmed yet and I was like I'm gonna cry because I missed him so much uh we loved him so much so I called Dom over and over again praying that he was going
25:49to answer the phone and he didn't he didn't answer the phone so then I tried to call his mom and she didn't answer the phone either and still didn't know who was in the car I didn't even I didn't know if she was alive I didn't know what was happening so then when we were in the waiting room and then his mom ended up, she did call me. So I answered the phone and I was like, oh my God, 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 guess this is her trying to share her side of the hospital and then i didn't hear the rest i guess this is her trying to share her side of the story but like such a weird odd way to spend time talking to the judge she says we loved him so much 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 um what yeah she's trying to defend her own character right now like she's like i didn't say social media yeah and then she brings up the whole modeling post right that was like a day modeling post response yes in the hospital that's mind blowing yeah yeah i've never seen this happen before she's like trying to clear her name yeah usually when i her daughter's name no and usually when i say oh this was like the
27:05shittiest impact statement from a defendant's parent it's because it's short and generic like please have mercy on my kid right but this is like the shittiest of the shittiest i've ever seen in the hospital that vitality post um i commented on that because somebody called her a murderer and she's not a murderer she just got convicted of murder right so what she didn't even have her phone at that point because the police still had it okay i jumped on and i was like she's not a murderer she's more sad than her you know than most of the people commenting 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. Who cares about that? I just I don't want them to refer to her as a murderer. OK, I don't even know that comment got on the phone, you know, like because the police still had her device and she could not access her phone or social media. That's why I did it. 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 take her out when she got out of the hospital and stuff yeah natalie they'll just shut down social media to care of your daughter i'm sure google meta and oracle would absolutely lose it all for your daughter what better cause would there ever be natalie shirilla does not know how to read the room mackenzie is like crying she's so emotional during this she's like yes i don't know if she
28:25feels vindicated okay but there's two officers in frame and they also both look just like confused this is during like the live stream of the verdict and the sentencing they're looking like they're a mixture of bored and fucking confused and like what the fuck is this lady yapping about they're just like what natalie shirley, 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 murderer because she would never ever murder the love of her life. Okay? Halloween. Halloween. For three months after the accident 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 you know he wanted it to be fresh and alive forever it's like a little beautiful flower okay she's got this shrine of him next to her so she was crying for months. So her friends asked her if she wanted to go out to trick-or-treating or some Halloween. And it was at OU, Ohio University. And she didn't even want to go. She said, I don't know. Should I go? She couldn't even walk it. Barely. So I told her, I said, baby, please go. It's Halloween. You've been laying for three months, crying,
29:41only listening to his music. Please go have a moment of fun a moment of fun so we told her to go my husband drove her i brought her back home she just needed a second of fun from losing her whole world her whole world so this was us we told her to go and that concert uh she went to with dom's cousin the kid cuddy concert abby abby you know they picked her up they brought her there that was mckenzieenzie and Dom and Abby all decided to go to this concert together. And that was for Dom. Everything she did after the accident was either in honor of him to be close to him or just to be by him any way that she can. She's devastated and tragic. And he was the heir that she breathes. OK. And they went with his cousin. We spent all kinds of time with him after the accident. And what was the other thing? It was so shocking the judge interrupts her. I'm hearing an awful lot about your daughter. I'm not hearing very much about the two dead people. Dom, okay, I'm asking you for leniency because this was a tragic accident that she does not remember. And Davion, he's a new friend. I'm so sorry. What does that mean? His life is worthless? The judge asks. No, no, no, no, no.
30:57God, no. Not at all. They all loved each other. They all spent every day together. You know what I mean? I don't, I don't know too much. Isn't that part of the problem, Mrs. Shirella? Sorry? Isn't that part of the problem that they all trusted each other? It's not a problem at all. It's wonderful. How they all ended up in the car together until two of them ended up dead? I understand what it looks like I'm saying this was a tragic accident she would never we're gonna have to disagree on that I understand I understand but anyway um 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 on that with different eyes if you can please if you would have a moment all you need is five five minutes of conversation to have with her to learn who she is just you know you would just see five minutes yeah she's not capable of you know doing and you would see for yourself thank you that's all i'm so sorry guys thank you the fact that she didn't even care to prepare anything more in depth about dom
32:18and devion later mackenzie asks her mom in a recorded jail line why was the judge being so mean to you I don't know I don't care I was about to be like just stop talking to her because she clearly doesn't care she's like why are you talking about her so much and not the victims all the while Natalie is trying to motivate Mackenzie you are here for a reason you impact lives no matter where you go in such a positive way this is just another chapter so Mackenzie shares her statement during sentencing to the families of Dom and Davion 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 Dom and Davion we were all friends and Dom was my soulmate 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 with me i love you all so much i'm done which is i mean she was emotional during it but i don't think i think a lot of the emotion was just for herself because it's sentencing and this is a little bit different from the speech she was brainstorming with her mom on the phone on the recorded jail lines because in that one she says you can see i would never let this happen or do it on purpose i'm just heartbroken i wish i could take all your pain away long live the boys and to my family and support i thank you i thank you all
33:34for seeing the real under all these lies thank you for non-stop fighting for me and all the love and support i love you all so much i pray one day people won't see me as a monster they're making out me out to be thank you this was the first draft yeah make sense spend more time talking about her quote-unquote supporter yeah i it makes sense that her attorney would just delete like all of that okay i don't really think mackenzie understands the full scope of what's happened in one conversation from jail mackenzie says she's got some sort of message from someone named Benjamin Harper she's worried that this is Davion's neighbor and she tells her mom I'm nervous for him to message me they're about to send me some hate mail and shit Natalie tells her just block it no it's okay I'm gonna reply I'm gonna reply I want them to send messages like that like bitch I don't give a fuck I know what I did I know what I didn't do that wasn't on purpose the only thing that I'm guilty of is driving. But how do you know that if you don't remember what happened? Also, her lack of understanding reality is astonishing. In another phone call, she's talking to her mom about said sentencing. So this is right before sentencing. She's found guilty and she doesn't know how long she's going to be sentenced to. And she says, I'm about to say I don't even want to go to court type shit. Or should I just go to court? Natalie gently reminds her of her reality. Honey, i don't even want to go to court type shit or should i just go to court natalie gently reminds her of her reality honey you you don't have a choice what's the point of
34:50even having a court date they're already fucking me over what's the point of even going there's no point of even having court anymore just give me a fucking time and just tell me so we can appeal this shit she got sentenced to 15 years to life to be served concurrently which means she will be eligible for parole in 15 years though it seems highly unlikely even the judge says it's probably unlikely right but mckenzie says to her mom in a jail call but i'm surprised she only gave me like 15 i thought she was gonna give me like 85 years that's what i was expecting no i really did think it was going to be the death penalty or life in prison and no parole, but she gave me 15 years and I do get paroled. That's crazy as fuck. Davion's mom says, I'll be honest, we were taken aback when we found out that the sentences were to run concurrently. We were taken aback. She is essentially serving the same sentence that she would have if only one of the boys had been in the car it's very hard to stomach mckenzie's parents have stomachs of steel they're trying to take this case to the supreme court they did file an appeal so after your conviction you can file an appeal they filed an appeal it was rejected they filed a second appeal but they filed it one day late so it has to be within the 365 days but they filed it one day late and they has to be within the 365 days but they filed it one day late and they argued it was like confusing because of leap year and everyone's like um what the
36:12charilla state in interviews that they did not have a good defense which is pretty par for the course for appeals is to say that your attorneys did not represent you well enough that's pretty standard they state that they were bullied almost bullied into a bench trial instead of a jury trial steve says if this was a jury trial instead of a bench trial quote she would have never been convicted she'd be free today she'd be going on with her life but she'd be free that's the truth but to let you know her lawyer when asked her about a jury or a bench she asked for a jury and he talked her out of it and then he starts talking about the judge he says i mean that ego i don't know how she walks in and out of it. And then he starts talking about the judge. He says, I mean, that ego. I don't know how she walks in and out of the room with that kind of ego. It's unfortunate that a sitting judge of that long ruled that way and acted that way. Later, he argues, you get pulled over now in Strongsville speeding, it's attempted murder. That's the precedent they've set with this case. I'm just so shocked that they still have supporters. Yeah, I think the support comes from, I do think maybe the defense did do a good job and they didn't bring in a medical expert and they didn't rule out these world of possibilities. And I think when it's not ruled out, and I think because people come in with probably the same feeling I have, which is our criminal justice system is not the best. So maybe it's like but we can't because there are innocent people in jail so we have to give some sort of leeway
37:29and thought and I think they use that to their advantage because I just I'm lost yeah but when the trial was happening it seems like at some point they all agreed on a bench trial I mean they had to Mackenzie had to agree on it but even her parents in one jail call Natalie is saying oh and then one of my friends was like you made the right decision with choosing a bench trial and stuff and I'm like well it wasn't up to me you know what I mean but thank you and that made me start crying so whatever happened up to this point Kenzie is exactly that it's supposed to be we just have to trust and put our faith in it okay so it seems like you like a bench trial in another call mackenzie wordly asked her mom if she should have done a jury trial to which natalie says no no because there's still other people that are like i don't care that she did this and this and she should get the death penalty that person doesn't know you that's how some people are talking nope you made the right choice regardless um they tried to take it up to the supreme Court of Ohio, which they recently denied. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, Sharon Kennedy, refused to review McKenzie's case, writing in a decision that she declines to accept jurisdiction of the appeal. She could petition to the U.S. Supreme Court on a federal level, but anything on a federal level is even more tedious and even more of a lengthy process than on a state level. And it's just your odds of
38:46that are not worth the fees usually. Most likely her next big milestone is her first parole hearing that will be in 2037 and I know that Dom and Davion's families will most likely be attending and I think they will be attending with a fire-burning passion to keep her behind bars and I would think it would be a very long shot for her to be released on parole in 2037 which means if they reject her parole she has to wait anywhere between 1 to 10 years so like they tell you at your parole hearing if you're denied anywhere between 1 to 10 years but the fact that she's young would probably make it less than 10 it has to legally be less than 10, but it could be 10. It could be nine. I just don't see her changing like the way that the parents are acting too. Yeah. Cheyenne says, I don't know if she still does it now, but when I was in there, she was journaling every single day, date, time stamp. And she told me it was for a book when she gets out. She told me she had a modeling gig before she even came in. And she was like, I got offered a modeling gig before I came in. I'm going to write a book when I gets out. She told me she had a modeling gig before she even came in and she was like, I got offered a modeling gig before I came in. I'm going to write a book when I get out. I'm going to be a social media influencer telling my story and all that stuff. So this is why the families are trying to do Dom and Davion's Law because in Ohio, the Son of Sam's Law which protects the victim's families from the perpetrator profiting off their crimes,
40:02a lot of that in Ohio has not been updated to include social media. Oh. media right so i think it just includes a lot of the traditional ways of making money so i think they're trying to get those updated i mean this whole book thing yeah and she also says about mckenzie you know how in the netflix documentary she says i think about it every day and stuff like that i'm not gonna say she doesn't because I'm not in her head every day. But her actions, I don't think she does. Because since and she's like, since I've been gone, you know how I said juice was Jasmine's girlfriend. As soon as I left, she started doing stuff with juice. So Cheyenne's just like she's in there like just doing things like she doesn't. I don't think she's thinking about it every day. And that is where we are with the Mackenzie Shirela case I know that this was a very lengthy journey that I just took you on but I just wanted to be as thorough as possible and there was just so much in the FOIA that I felt like you know you do have to pay I forget how much it was but like most places you have to pay to get the FOIA and then to have the leniency of time to have people go through and like for me to sit there and read like I know that a lot of you guys are also working so it would have just been impossible so hopefully that is as thorough as we can get let me know your thoughts what do you think leave it in the comments and with that
41:21stay safe and I will see you in the next one





