Episode 274

Summary

Sword and Scale - Episode 274 Summary

Release Date: October 6, 2024
Host: Sword and Scale

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Introduction

In Season 11, Episode 274 of Sword and Scale, the podcast delves into a heart-wrenching true crime case from Strongsville, Ohio. This episode meticulously unpacks the tragic car crash that resulted in the deaths of two young individuals and the subsequent legal proceedings against the driver, 17-year-old Mackenzie Shrilla. Through a combination of raw audio, witness testimonies, and investigative insights, the episode paints a comprehensive picture of the events that unfolded on the fateful night of July 31, 2022.

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Background

Sword and Scale sets the stage by comparing the real-life tragedy to the fictional drama portrayed in HBO's Euphoria. The host emphasizes the stark reality of the case, highlighting how it's more horrifying than any scripted narrative.

Host Quote (00:53):
"This case is much more shocking and much more horrible than any story HBO could come up with."

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The Party

The incident traces back to a seemingly ordinary high school graduation weekend in Strongsville. Paul, the host of the party, describes the gathering as a typical house party with unsupervised teenagers.

Paul's Account (06:26):
"So it was already pretty late. I was pretty tired. Most of us were pretty tired. Kind of didn't really want to hang out that night, but my parents weren't home, so we were going to anyway."

Participants included friends Rosie, Nina, Landon, Kenzie Shrilla, Dominic Russo, and Davion Flanagan. The group engaged in typical party activities, including smoking weed, and discussed potentially taking psychedelics, though they ultimately decided against it.

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The Crash

Early the next morning, Mackenzie Shrilla, driving her black Toyota Camry, lost control of her vehicle shortly after leaving the party. The car violently collided with the Plidco Piping Company's building on Progress Drive, resulting in catastrophic damage.

Paramedic's Observation (17:05):
"We got a call about a car into a building. When we got here, the car was split in half and three people were trapped inside."

Emergency responders arrived at 5:30 AM, discovering Mackenzie severely injured and her passengers, Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan, deceased.

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Investigation

The investigation revealed alarming details:

• Speed and Control: The vehicle was traveling at approximately 90 mph, a factor contributing to the severe crash.

• Substance Use: Evidence showed the presence of marijuana, a scale, and shrooms in the car, indicating possible impairment.

• Surveillance Footage: Plidco's cameras captured the car's erratic movements, suggesting possible road rage or distracted driving.

• Life360 App Data: Friends provided location data showing the car's trajectory, pointing towards intentional deviation from the road.

Friend's Analysis (27:58):
"They are on the wrong side of the road... They stay on the wrong side of the road. So it kind of looks like road rage to me."

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Legal Proceedings

In November 2022, Mackenzie Shrilla faced multiple charges, including:

• Four Counts of Murder and Felonious Assault
• Two Counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide
• Drug Possession
• Possession of Criminal Tools

Opting for a bench trial, Mackenzie avoided a jury, hoping for a more favorable outcome. However, the judge remained unswayed by her defense, emphasizing the deliberate nature of her actions.

Judge's Closing Statement (66:14):
"She chose a course of death and destruction. Her mission was death."

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Sentencing

Mackenzie received simultaneous sentences of 15 years to life for each count of murder, reflecting the gravity of her actions and the irreversible loss inflicted upon Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan's families.

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Victim Impact Statements

The emotional toll on the victims' families was palpable. Dominic's sister, Devion Flanagan, expressed profound grief and the void left by her brother's untimely death.

Devion's Statement (72:51):
"Davion was a big brother to me... He was the person I trusted the most because he made me feel safe."

Mackenzie's mother also addressed the court, pleading for leniency and expressing sorrow, though her statements often centered around her own feelings rather than acknowledging the victims' pain.

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Aftermath and Public Reaction

The community of Strongsville was left in shock, grappling with the loss and the revelation of Mackenzie's alleged motives. Mackenzie's social media activity post-crash, including interactions with modeling companies and minimal expressions of remorse, fueled further scrutiny and debate over her intentions and character.

Host Commentary (63:37):
"Mackenzie and her family still claim her innocence to this day. Some people just never learn."

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Conclusion

Episode 274 of Sword and Scale underscores the devastating impact of reckless decisions and the far-reaching consequences they can have on multiple lives. Through detailed narration and the inclusion of poignant testimonies, the episode serves as a sobering reminder of the fragility of life and the profound effects of personal accountability.

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Notable Quotes:

• Brady (15:25):
  "It didn't seem like there was anything wrong with him, nothing crazy... He just felt like nobody was there for him again."

• Investigator (38:16):
  "This is a very difficult situation and you can put this on the record."

• Paramedic (68:26):
  "This trial is a culmination of decisions made by one person defendant."

• Judge (76:20):
  "Mackenzie alone made the decision to drive her car... The mission was death."

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Reflection:

This episode is a poignant exploration of tragedy, responsibility, and the quest for justice. It invites listeners to ponder the intricate web of relationships, motives, and the irreversible nature of certain choices.

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For more in-depth coverage and related content, visit swordandscale.com.

Transcript

[Automated System]

If you know your party's extension, press or say 1.

[Caller]

To leave a message in our company.

[Automated System]

Mailbox, press or say 2. Spoiler alert.

[Host]

It will be full representative.

[Automated System]

Would you speak to your mother in that tone?

[Brady]

Speak to a real human being.

[Host]

You shouldn't need to shout into the void to get your health insurance questions answered.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Pacific Source Health Plans. This is a real person.

[Paramedic]

How can I help you?

[Host]

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[Listener]

Listener discretion is advised.

[Brady]

Brady, we got at least two occupants in here. No one's moving. Oh, my God.

[Host]

Hello and welcome to season 11, episode 274 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real. Have you ever been unfortunate enough to have seen HBO's show Euphoria? No. Good on you. Well, if you haven't, let me, let me break it down for you. Unfortunately, it's relevant. It's relevant. Just follow along. Trust me. Euphoria is a show about a bunch of American high schoolers and all the drama in their lives, which, you know, is always a lot, so plenty of material. The show dives into each teen's dirty laundry, let's say, connecting them together along the way to create a shocking representation of American teenage Life in the 2000s. It's a show that seems to almost rely on shock value in an age where it's difficult to shock most people, even if they're sitting on an electric chair. It's meant to be an over dramatization, and viewers know that. What some people may not realize is that though it's shocking and hyperbolic. It seems to accurately represent many American teens these days. Just maybe the shockingly adult content in Euphoria is depicting reality art imitating life and vice versa. But forget about the cast of Euphoria for a sec, because we're going to replace them with some real life examples. Real life people. This case is much more shocking and much more horrible than any story HBO could come up with. And it takes place in a little place called Strongsville, Ohio. It was the summer of 2022. The feeling of freedom and newfound maturity was still fresh in the minds of all the new graduates of Strongsville High School. Ohio tends to only have a few good months of really nice warm weather out of the year. Otherwise, it's just a miserable place. You know the feeling of those hot, muggy summer nights. Yeah, Ohio doesn't get too many of those, not like Texas. During the very last weekend of July, the new graduates continued to take advantage of all the quote unquote grad parties their friends had invited them to. In other words, they were going to your average house party. The kind where no parents are around. The kind of Risky Business type shenanigans occur. I don't know why that movie stuck out with me so much as a kid. Probably because it was about dirty adult things. I don't know. For Paul, a new graduate, this weekend was the perfect time to host a party of his own. His parents were out of town, and though he says it wasn't a party per se, there were seven rowdy teens in the house all night with no supervision. That kind of sounds like a party to me.

[Paul]

So it was already pretty late. I was pretty tired. Most of us were pretty tired. Kind of didn't really want to hang out that night, but my parents weren't home, so we were going to anyway. And I had six people over. So in my opinion, that was not a party. There was no party activities going on because I don't have enough friends to throw a banger, I'm gonna be honest. So at around 11, Rosie, Nina and Landon show up together. They show up first because Rosie lives nearby, so she picked them up. So they showed up. And then Kenzie, Dom and Davion, they were late. They were late to come here. They came at around midnight, maybe some around that time because they were already at a grad party, but they were already there. They weren't there for long. I don't know what they did there, but they weren't there for long.

[Host]

Here's Landon, one of the kids who Arrived earlier in the night. He's talking about 19 year old Davion Flanagan, a boy who arrived closer to midnight alongside the other two kids, 20 year old Dominic Russo and 17 year old Mackenzie Shrilla.

[Automated System]

We weren't like the closest back in elementary, we weren't the closest, I'd say about middle school, that's when we got really, we got really close to middle school. And then high school year he decided to join football. So that brought us even closer. I think what made us the closest was Covid. Covid made us really. We would stay up all night, me, him, they would all stay up playing Modern Warfare all the time and just talk about school, talk about football, all that stuff. That's where, I guess that's where we got really, really close at. And that's when we started hanging out every day. I started treating him like a brother to me. He was one of my best friends.

[Host]

Landon was closer friends with Davion than the host of the party, Paul. Paul knew 17 year old Kenzie the best. She was the one that he had invited. But of course she knew she was welcome to bring along her boyfriend Dominic and their friend Davion who lived with them at the time.

[Paul]

So I started being, I started being actual friends with Kenzie senior year because we both did homecoming court together and I thought if I was going to win homecoming king, she'll win queen with me. We didn't win, so don't worry. But yeah, she just made me, she like made me actually confident in myself that year. So yeah, that's when we kind of became friends. I was never really friends with Dom but like she could bring her boyfriend anywhere, I don't mind. And then Davion, you probably know this, Davion lived with them so they could bring Davion. Everyone loves Davion.

[Automated System]

Like whenever he walked in the room, no matter if he was down or not, he was making you smile. He was. You loved the kid to death.

[Host]

19 year old Davion Flanagan was popular and well liked at home, though he was starting to have some issues. He and his sisters were adopted by the Flanagan family when they were young kids. And as teenagers tend to do when they reach a certain age, Davion started to butt heads with his parents.

[Automated System]

So he came to me one day and he was asking me, he was like hey, like could I stay at your house for a week? And I was like yeah, like no problem. I got a whole extra room for you, you don't worry about it. And when he came, he stayed there. Ended up saying he ended up signing. It was going to be a lot more long term and I knew he got kicked out. We would always be out, we'd always go out. I mean some rights would take my mom's car. I got caught for doing that one time. But we would take my mom's car, I would take my car, my dad's car. We'd go out and we just drive and just talk, talk about life, talk about his struggles, talk about my struggles. He was, he was a very, very, very mentally, mentally down person. He was down mentally bad. Like he, everything in his life he thought he was going against him. He, he just, he felt like that nobody was there for him again. No one had his back a lot of the times and he knew that I had his back forever. Like he knew it always have his backhand, but he just felt like. I can't remember what he would say about it but the, the adopt him being adopted, yeah, it was a big factor in it. He felt like he just didn't belong in the house. And I know Dom knows Davion. They know each other through parties like that. Kenzie and Davion have always been close. Like they know each other. I know they've known each other since like middle school. I knew before, like right before I found out they were living together, I knew that they were kind of hanging out, they were kind of talking together because another reason why they were cool is Dom had a studio in his house. Dom liked to make music and Davion love freestyle. Davion loved making music. That was his dream was to be a rapper. And so Davion would always go over to Dom's house to record in the studio. I know Proctor has a studio so they had all. Not like a studio. Like Proctor doesn't have a full studio. He just has like a little mic on a computer and stuff. But Dom actually has a whole room with a microphone and like stuff on the walls to keep the sound in house, all like the special programming and stuff. And so I knew they got really close off of that like trying to make music together and stuff like that. So I think, I think ultimately that's how Davion ended up staying at Dom is because Davion knew he would go over there and be able to use the studio whenever he wanted to and just be cool with Dom.

[Host]

20 year old Dominic Russo was a quote unquote businessman and rapper. I don't know what the fuck that means, but that's what he was. While his girlfriend, 17 year old Mackenzie Shrilla worked Long hard hours as a stay at home girlfriend when she wasn't posting content to further her Instagram modeling career. So really just a solid pair of entrepreneurs here.

[Paul]

They got at my house at around midnight. We chilled there for a while and then around like 1am I kind of was calling, I wanted to call it a night because my car broke down. Wasn't having much of a good night obviously. And right before I went to sleep, Kenzie said, you should go to sleep because I'm probably going to go to sleep too. So I was like, okay, that's not that bad. So then I go upstairs at around one, they're still up and they're still watching. I remember hearing south park playing really loudly and then I went downstairs again at 2, 3am to pee, sometime like that. And I saw that I saw Kenzie asleep on my couch in my front room.

[Automated System]

I remember walking in and that man was cuddling her. She was sleeping, her head was on his lap. She was wrapped up in this big fuzzy gray band blanket on the front couch in the front room. It's a big L shaped couch because I was sitting in the corner and Dave was sitting down by my legs. Kenzie was sitting here and Dom was sitting at the end here. And so she ended up sprawling out and he was sitting there cuddling on her head, patting her head, making sure she was sleeping good like me. And we're laughing all night. We, I know Paul, he wasn't around all night. He was upstairs, he wasn't even around all night. He, me and Davion were in the front room watching. It was a great white documentary about great white sharks in the front room. I know back in the back, all the girls were back there. I think they were watching High School Musical or something like that some because they're all screaming, laughing. But me and Davion were up there. I remember Kenzie got mad at me because I ate all of her popcorn. She walked away and I ate all of her popcorn.

[Host]

The teens smoked weed and apparently discussed doing shrooms that night, but decided against it. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Eventually people started to fall asleep and when Kenzie, Dominic and Davion awoke early in the morning, they gathered their things and left.

[Automated System]

Kenzie and Dom walked out together. Dom grabbed all her bags for her and Dom came and dabbed me up. Kenzie was like, hey, say bye to everyone because Rosie and Nina and them are sleeping in the back room. I was up in the front room still and she was like, hey, say bye to everyone for us. And we're like, okay, we will. And that's when Rosie came walking up, gave Kenzie a hug, gave Dom a hug, and was like, bye. I know.

[Investigator]

Why should they leave so early?

[Automated System]

They usually do that. Like, that's like a common thing with everyone. Like, I mean, how many times have we had people over our house? Like, it's just a common thing with us younger teenagers, I guess. Like, as soon as you get up, it's like you're gone. Like you were just leaving.

[Investigator]

Like 5:30 in the morning.

[Automated System]

Yeah, I get up, go to work.

[Brady]

At 5:00 in the morning.

[Host]

Really?

[Brady]

The couch is cleared.

[Host]

I'm like, man, they got.

[Automated System]

Wow. It's like we'll end up a little sleep. And then like, as soon as you wake up in that early morning, it's, I want to go back to my bed.

[Host]

So that is. That is common. One thing struck Landon as odd as the trio left. Davion said something not quite out of character for him, but something he didn't say very often.

[Automated System]

It didn't seem like there was anything wrong with him, nothing crazy. The only thing that really got me was when he left. He left. He was like, I love you. And I was like, I love you too. And that was the first time he said that to me since he lived with me. So that's what, like, that's what kind of threw me off. I was like, all right, I love you too. You know what I mean? Like, come here, give him a hug. And he walked out the door.

[Host]

They got into Mackenzie's black Toyota Camry and headed home. It wasn't 10 minutes after the trio left Paul's house that tragedy struck and it hit them with a swift vengeance. It was just after 5:30 in the morning. They drove for only a few minutes and found themselves on Progress Drive. And at the end of that road was a building called Plidco. P L I D, C O. It's a piping company. Instead of turning either right or left onto the road that paralleled the Plidco building, the Camry went straight, barreling through the company's large sign and into the corner of the massive brick structure. Davion was on his phone, responding to a Snapchat. Just moments before impact, the three kids sat there in the mangled car until the sun came up. With the help of the morning light, someone noticed the partially hidden wreck.

[Paramedic]

Southwest discussion.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Yes.

[Automated System]

Are you familiar where Progress coincides with Albion Road?

[Investigator]

There in Strongville.

[Host]

Yep.

[Investigator]

Yeah.

[Automated System]

Just across the street from Progress, the building.

[Investigator]

There's a car that smashed up against the building.

[Brady]

I didn't go up to it because.

[Automated System]

I was on my motorcycle. I didn't know if I'd get stuck. But they ran the curb. I can see the. They smashed the sign and hit the building. The car slashed.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Could you tell someone was in it?

[Automated System]

I didn't go up to it. I was on my motorcycle.

[Pacific Source Representative]

How long ago was this?

[Automated System]

Two minutes.

[Brady]

Radio. This car is splitting too. Radio, There's a occupant inside. Send us a squad now. We gotta bust the window out. Send us some more units.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Any more units of progress?

[Brady]

This is not a fresh accident either. She's been here for a while. Freddie, we got at least two occupants in here. No one's moving. Oh my God. Oh my God. Times three. Guys.

[Host]

Radio.

[Brady]

Three occupants. No one's conscious. No one's breathing. Oh my God. Dude. Who can hear my voice? Drivers. Radio. The driver is breathing, unconscious. Radio. They're going to be full extraction on all three. Come here. Call him the plate. Let him call it in. Holy man.

[Investigator]

Not good. Not good.

[Brady]

Let me see. Let me see your knife.

[Host]

Cut this thing out.

[Brady]

This is bad guys. We. She's alive. We got to get her out somehow. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Sarge, we're good to try to get her out. Oh, dude, I don't know if we can. She's breathing. She's breathing. Her head's wedged. Let's see if we can get some IDs guys.

[Host]

I don't feel anything.

[Brady]

She's breathing. I saw her stomach. Her stomach's. We got two that are gone. Should we. What about some more for reconstructionist?

[Investigator]

Yeah, we're gonna have to.

[Brady]

Holy smokes. It's the last thing you expect to see. Came help me find a track, guys. Come through here. Left the roadway behind your car.

[Pacific Source Representative]

I have a 17 year old female Mackenzie.

[Brady]

Going through the sign.

[Host]

Okay, that might be the driver.

[Brady]

She talking?

[Investigator]

Yeah.

[Brady]

Advice in real. She's talking a little bit. Advised fire to step it up. Driver, 17 year old female, still breathing. Wedged in there. Two are going to be deal with. They're all young, possibly teenagers. Oh, Jesus Christ. Life flight. Life flight has to come. We'll help set up a perimeter for it. Right. He'll guide us. Hold it open. We want the driver out. She's still breathing, fellas. It's the last thing I thought we'd.

[Investigator]

Be going up to, man.

[Brady]

It's the worst crash I've ever seen. I've done a bunch of whoppers.

[Host]

Mackenzie was barely conscious. Slumped over to her right. Because of the extensive damage to the car, the dashboard was crunched up and was trapping her. They didn't have identification for the other two just yet, but they did know that they need the help of the fire department and the Jaws of Life to remove all three from the crumpled hunk of metal.

[Brady]

Did you try to pack it to them.

[Host]

All right?

[Investigator]

Jesus Christ.

[Brady]

This is the worst I've ever seen. There's nothing we can do right now, guys, other than hope. Fire hurries up. I don't think the U.S. no, they're gone. They've been breeding out the ears.

[Host]

In case you couldn't understand that. The officer whose body cam footage we're listening to said, they're bleeding out of the ears. Before another officer replied, the driver has a chance. Just a few minutes later, fire trucks arrived with their hydraulic rescue equipment and they got to work right away.

[Brady]

What's your name, dear? Mackenzie. Okay, that's our driver.

[Host]

She said one of her friends is named Don. I don't know which one it was.

[Investigator]

Thanks.

[Brady]

No, don't tell her.

[Host]

I need to get IDs.

[Brady]

We need to get IDs in all of these people.

[Paramedic]

I can find.

[Brady]

Any wallet on him, fellas? Yes, I'm gonna grab it. Unless you guys want to grab it.

[Paramedic]

Happy 19 year old male. Val in this.

[Brady]

Okay, this is. This is Davion Flanagan. I'm assuming this is him with his ID on top of him.

[Host]

Dominic, who had been in the front passenger seat, passed away on impact. The right side of the car took most of the damage. Davion, who was originally sitting in the backseat, was found partially on the lap of Dominic. The Camry sat in a grassy area right next to the building they had sideswiped.

[Brady]

How to get it split in half from hitting the building here, it looks like this is where it split. And to be honest with you, when you're coming there, you could barely see it from the sign. You can't barely see it. And how the person just called and kept going, I'll never know. You know what I mean? Like, oh, that car looks really bad. Life flights here. I think she's here for her.

[Host]

It was still early in the morning, just after 6, as Alameda Drive descended into organized chaos. Paul and his friends were still sleeping off the party. Mackenzie, Dominic and Davion's parents were all asleep in their beds too, blissfully unaware of the terrible news they were about to receive. Early in the morning of July 31, 2022, 17 year old Mackenzie Shrilla, her boyfriend, 20 year old Dominic Russo and their friend, 19 year old Davion Flanagan headed home from a party. It was a short drive and they didn't make it very far before Plidco piping company's surveillance cameras caught footage of their vehicle barreling into their company sign and into the building itself. While paramedics waited with McKenzie and the ambulance for a life flight helicopter to land, another deputy called the coroner. After making a call and reporting the two fatalities, the officer told the paramedics not to say anything to Mackenzie about the status of her friends.

[Brady]

We got a call about a car into a building. When we got here, the car was split in half and three people were trapped inside. He put this back in his wallet. Sorry guys. Two, two are gone. One is being life flighted as we speak. This is going to be just a nightmare of a day for this whole apartment.

[Host]

Mackenzie was transported to the hospital and the families of all three kids were notified about the accident. Soon the news spread to the rest of the town, including all of Mackenzie's classmates. Several things then happened in relatively quick succession. The crash scene and the car itself were both investigated. Police found evidence on Dominic's cell phone. And some students came forward with evidence of their own from an app called Life 360. For those of you who have not heard of it, it's a family location sharing app. It's kind of like the find my phone app on your iPhone, but it's actually much more precise. It sends out a notification to your inner circle in case you need help or if your phone detects you've been in a car crash. Davion had this app on his phone and the friends in his circle sent photos of the data to police.

[Friend]

I don't know if you got like good screenshots of the Life360.

[Brady]

Yeah, we have those.

[Friend]

But if you zoom in like they were driving perfectly fine from Paul's house to the scene. So if you zoom in, zoom in and I can put this on like satellite auto, you can see them. So they're on the road, right? They're just driving casually and then it's like normal, like you're just driving normal and then you will start to see them swerving this way onto the grass and then now they're on the wrong side of the road. So if you're on the wrong side of the road, your first instinct is get on the right side of the road. They're not though. They stay on the wrong side of the road. So it kind of looks like road rage to me. And if you go down this road, it's bumpy. Like it's not like you're going 25, it's still bumpy. They go over this curb and they're on the curb. They get off the curb, they get start to straighten up, they're going better. And now they get on the grass, they go over this whole overpass on the grass even deeper, get off the grass, on the curb. Still driving on the curb, on the grass again on the grass. Stop signs right there, over here. And to me right here, if you looked at the tracks and you guys probably have pictures of them, it looks like the person in the front seat tried to turn the wheel because of the fact they were going to go.

[Host]

Straight into a wall.

[Investigator]

So what?

[Friend]

And it doesn't say she heartbroken once. It was 90 miles per hour down that whole road. The only time she heartbroken off of life360 is when the collision happened.

[Brady]

What, I mean, what do you guys think happened?

[Listener]

I think that I don't know if they're arguing or just carelessness. It might have just been. She was going fast, she could have tried. She's probably just being careless. I mean I know she had some like big. I don't know if it was on.

[Paul]

Her car, but I've seen like on.

[Listener]

Her Snapchat source like big ass, like fuzzy steering wheel cover. And who knows if she just tried to like whip it around the turn going super fast and it just didn't turn. But it probably like, I assume it.

[Automated System]

Was just a careless mistake and it.

[Listener]

Was just a preventable thing.

[Friend]

I mean I think that obviously the drug report is going to come back positive because they all smoke weed. So she was, she was just known for being that kind of girl in high school and as well out of high school.

[Brady]

And her issues.

[Friend]

Yeah, they called her baby cushion.

[Listener]

Yeah.

[Brady]

I would say just because she smoked so much weed.

[Friend]

She smokes weed and there's pictures on her Instagram, but I'm sure she took it down now. Yeah, her in cars smoking weed. So if you're thinking from that standpoint, I also think that if they were on psychedelics and they took a nap, that can also still be a factor because psychedelics is abruptly 6 to 12 hours. And I also think because of Kenzie's and Dominic's history that they were fighting because if Davion was on his phone at 5:35 before he died, I'm not even like 30 seconds. Why would he be responding about a view and not helping the car get back on track? Because if you knew something was up, I think Davion went on his phone to distract himself from the fighting. Although they were on drugs, they can also still be fighting with being on drugs.

[Host]

I don't know if they're like, fighting.

[Listener]

Like, no one will probably ever know.

[Friend]

If they're fighting, but, like, it could.

[Listener]

Have just been, like, careless mistake. I don't think Kenzie, even if she was like, at rogue rage, if she was arguing, I don't think her intention was to kill.

[Paul]

Kill two people no matter what.

[Listener]

So, I mean, I don't know.

[Brady]

I don't know.

[Friend]

She tried to kill her boyfriend or Damian, but I think she was road raging down the road. 100.

[Automated System]

Well, I found out they passed away. I called my friend EJ, freaking out, and I drove sped up to EJ's house. I was talking to him, and EJ's like, that's our football group. Like, that's like a deviance football group. And so, like, all those football dudes ended me in EJ's house are talking. So then I went back to Paul's house because that's a rose, you know them at. And I was talking to them. But then as I was, I went to drop my mom's car back off there. I picked up my truck and then I stopped at the memorial where they crashed at. And as soon as I got there, that's when Proctor is saying, like, Proctor, Joey, A bunch of these kids are saying, oh, they're fighting. Kenzie's crazy. Kenzie puts voodoo on him. They're fighting. All the time, they're fighting. I'm like, they weren't fighting. I don't know. Like, y'all just got this out of thin air. Like, they were not fighting. I could promise you that they weren't fighting.

[Investigator]

Okay?

[Host]

Police officers recovered weed, a scale, and some shrooms in the car. And there were rumors swirling that kids planned to take acid on the night of Paul's house party. But no mention of shrooms. The other partygoers had confirmed that they'd be smoking weed, as per usual. They even sent texts to Dominic and Mackenzie about the amounts each person wanted. These two had quite the reputation for being, as Paul later put it, evil Cosmo and Wanda, the eve of the crash.

[Investigator]

At 10:28pm she says she receives a text from one of the people at the party saying, so we want $40 worth of butt, and Bubba wants three and I want two and a half. Nina wants one and a half. Paul wants two and a half. So we're talking about Marijuana here. Okay. But if we go back earlier, okay. She talks about grams, bring enough shrooms for all of us. He's gonna take under a gram. A gram of what?

[Paul]

Yeah, we discussed that if we were going to do shrooms, but we did not end up doing them.

[Investigator]

Do you know if after you went to bed, they did acid shrooms?

[Paul]

I don't know. In that scary.

[Host]

Okay.

[Investigator]

And like I said, my concern, it's not accusing you of anything, it's just, well, did they do something and then they got on the road? Because as you've. You've already heard, it's on. You're on social media, Right? Okay. On the. The app that Tyler and some of the Davion's friends have shared with the families and with the public, we have her going 90. She might tell you stuff about her, maybe her relationship with Dom, maybe some of her struggles. And we're not trying to expose her secrets, but in that car that day, there were three people, two are dead. Who can't tell us. And so we. And she's not talking to us. Right. Her lawyer is not going to let her talk to the police. Fifth Amendment. That's your constitutional rights. You don't have to talk to the police. So she's not breaking the law by not talking. She's actually protecting herself. And so we have to piece everything together based on what the friends are saying.

[Host]

How many times have you talked to Kenzie since the exit?

[Paul]

I only got to see her once.

[Brady]

You got to see her once?

[Listener]

Yeah.

[Investigator]

What was she like?

[Paul]

Not happy in the hospital there?

[Investigator]

I mean, my take away from having visited her twice was she didn't seem to care too much that she killed her boyfriend. Another guy. Do you get the same feelings?

[Paul]

When I walked in, she was broken. She was absolutely devastated. And she wouldn't shut up about that. Like, she would only talk about that. So that really concerns me that she would be very different.

[Brady]

It could have been that we were law enforcement. You're her friend, so she, you know, she was kind of nervous to talk to us, you know, so that makes sense.

[Host]

Except it didn't make sense once. Police had enough pieces of the puzzle to see the bigger picture. They were beginning to think that they were dealing with an out of control teen who had no sense of accountability or remorse and not someone whose vehicle innocently malfunctioned. The officers talked about their own experience with McKenzie and how it conflicted so much with Paul's experience. And we can only assume this is one of the occasions those officers are talking about so by law, I have to give you.

[Investigator]

This is your phone. So here, back to you.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Thank you so much.

[Automated System]

Okay.

[Investigator]

Now, this is a search warrant. The judge, Cuyahoga County Judge Russo, signed it.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Can we pause for a minute?

[Listener]

You had.

[Pacific Source Representative]

You had search activity, downloaded the data, everything. Now, nobody's looking at it.

[Investigator]

Nobody's looking, but we mirrored the phone. We're gonna look through the phone.

[Host]

Right?

[Investigator]

But everything she does now, she's on her own, okay? All we care about is free. Right now, I'm not concerned what she does. She's free to do whatever she wants, but by law, this is the receipt of what we did, which is a download of the data. And this is the search warrant. Now, the search warrant lists the crime we're investigating as an aggravated vehicular homicide times two. Okay? Because two people were killed in a car crash, it does not mean I'm gonna make this very clear. We're not charging you with aggravated vehicular homicide. So right now, I'm not going to interview her. She's obviously not in a good place to be interviewed. She has an attorney. Once she's released, I gave you my contact info. Have your lawyer give me a call or give me your contact, your lawyer's contact info, and then I'll call him. And if he wants her to cooperate, that's his decision. If he doesn't want her to cooperate, that's his decision. I do want you to know that a lot of people are coming to us and reporting things, and so usually. Usually the most accurate information we're going to get from her. So whether or not she chooses to cooperate on advice of counsel, that's up to her. I'm not going to coerce her. What are people coming in and saying? I cannot tell you that. That's the investigation. That's why. Because we don't. We have to put everything together. But this is a copy of the search warrant with the affidavit and everything that the judge looked at. Okay. I'm going to take my paperwork back. Do you have any questions for me at this. I have one. Were they able to post video? I know you.

[Brady]

Off the building across the street?

[Automated System]

I. I.

[Investigator]

Again, I cannot comment on the investigation, but we. We have some evidence.

[Caller]

People going through my Snapchat, too, Like, opening stuff.

[Investigator]

We did not. We just mirrored your phone.

[Host]

I see, like, two of, like, three of them open.

[Investigator]

We. We did not. But either way, even if we did, we have a search warrant. So we're gonna look at the car tomorrow. We're gonna download the black box from the car. So we know if there was any type of error, we're gonna have osp. They're sending a reconstruction trooper to look at it and download the material. We also got a search warrant for that as well. This is a very difficult situation and you can put this on the record. I am not here to try to interview your daughter and get some incriminating info. I'm not.

[Pacific Source Representative]

I know.

[Investigator]

At this point, point we are investigating. I am. I want to protect her constitutional rights. So it's very, very important that your lawyer gets in contact with me or I get in contact with him so we can say, hey, sir, are you going to let her cooperate or not? If he says we're not saying anything, then we have to build our case based on everything else or we know.

[Host]

If anybody's pressing charges, we're.

[Investigator]

If anybody presses charges, it's the county. It's not the families.

[Host]

There's.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Can I say something to her room? Yes. Jesus, T. Who's the lisai season?

[Paramedic]

You can't.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Yeah, like, can I just like. Like take my whole license away for.

[Host]

Like 10 years or something like that?

[Caller]

Like, I don't even.

[Brady]

I do.

[Investigator]

I do have a lawyer talk to her. My daughter was living with Dom at his house. Well, spend most of her time. Most of her time there. I believe her purse is over it.

[Automated System]

Her purse is with us.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Yeah.

[Investigator]

Is it? What's your purse?

[Host]

It's Christian Dior. Okay.

[Investigator]

Not the Michael Kors.

[Host]

If you were really confused just now and not sure if you're hearing English at the end there, that's because Mackenzie turned to her mother to speak some variation of pig Latin before asking the officer if she could just, you know, have her license revoked for 10 years or something. But just wait, it gets worse.

[Investigator]

We got sent to this call. Here's what we find out. Here's, you know, the evidence we have, whether it's for her or against her. We just give them everything. Everything that I have, every piece of paper that I write on. He will get all of it. I see my notes, my reports, all the other officers reports, body cams, everything.

[Host]

Okay?

[Automated System]

And then the count there videos.

[Pacific Source Representative]

There's the.

[Host]

They had body cameras on when they.

[Investigator]

Oh, every single officer bring a body.

[Brady]

Not at this point.

[Host]

Why can't I see it?

[Investigator]

Not right now.

[Brady]

Because it's not going to be proven.

[Investigator]

This is right now. This is all evidence. Everything's evidence.

[Pacific Source Representative]

This is just after it's evidence. Am I able to see after the.

[Investigator]

Evidence, after this is all over? You'll be able to see whatever you want. It's all public record. You can come get a copy of everything we do.

[Host]

Yes. Lying in the hospital bed, she really asked the police officers investigating the crash if she could see the body cam footage. Her father responded no, because it's not going to be pretty. How cold does your soul have to be to act this way? You've just accidentally or maybe not accidentally killed your boyfriend and your friend and you want to see the body cam footage of these poor police officers discovering the whole mess. Why? So you can cover your ass? This isn't the only instance of Mackenzie's odd behavior after the deaths of Davion and Dominic. Dominic's family had been having strange interactions with Mackenzie since the crash. Here's Dominic's mother, who happens to be a defense attorney herself.

[Caller]

She did say something that was pretty damning the other day.

[Brady]

Have you seen her in person or just.

[Caller]

I've just seen her twice at the cemetery.

[Brady]

How does she get there? Can she drive?

[Caller]

Mother takes her in the.

[Brady]

Is she in a wheelchair still?

[Caller]

Yeah, she could only put weight on her left leg.

[Host]

Okay.

[Caller]

And then she's supposed to arts of physical therapy. And then I've also kept in touch because she's dangling photos, she's dangling videos, you know, where she just pieces one or two out instead of saying, I think you'd enjoyed it. Like we were at the cemetery and we had this bee problem between the two of us. I still have the be problem. The few people are coming today, but Dom had called me about the bees and I don't know what she was recording, but it's all his voice. At least you know, because it has his voice. And so she finally sends me that one. But it's like every single time we try to get a picture, she's all over my son. So I can't even get one without her in it.

[Host]

He catered her.

[Caller]

She claimed she had a gluten free problem or something. And I would make dinner and then I would be questioned on was the stuff okay for her diet because her stomach. And if I didn't have everything that would have complied with her stomach diet. Whatever it was, I never believed it. He would cook for her supper always. And she's a slob. She never cleaned her mother's house as a slob. My house isn't the greatest either, but I'm just saying, it's just, you know, if Dom's going to cook for you, do the dishes, clean up after yourself. Do you know what I mean? That sort of A thing. But everything was always about her. I mean, like I said, even with her parents. So while Kenzie was in the hospital, they were already making up stories, Right, Okay. As to what happened. But the deer, the epilepsy, the seizure.

[Investigator]

Oh, yeah.

[Caller]

And the point of all of that is the fact that the mom never said the kids home. She never checked in with me ever. The only time they would ever come over would be once in a blue moon to drop something off or to take pictures for some of that. Do you know what I'm saying? But Kenzie, I mean, Dom took her to Polaris. Dom made sure she made it to school. Mom didn't do any of that. Okay, so it was all Dom. But the girl had no problem sitting with me, looked me in the eye. A lot of these girls can't look me in the eye. That right there bothers me.

[Automated System]

Yeah.

[Caller]

You can't look at me and you can't talk to me. I feel that there's something more. Kenzie was always okay with that, you know, came and wet, had no problems walking to my house. And it was, you know what I mean? And I just.

[Brady]

That made it easier to like her because you didn't.

[Host]

She was always right.

[Caller]

And she, you know, she came over for holidays and they'd, you know, they'd include me and things like that, you know, and. And I just figured maybe she just needs to grow up.

[Host]

She's young.

[Caller]

I mean, do you know what I'm saying? You don't think that it's going to come to this? I do. I mean.

[Pacific Source Representative]

I mean, I feel bad.

[Caller]

Know the girl forever. I mean, I can't imagine what she's feeling like whether she did it on purpose or she claims she knows nothing, she remembers nothing. And even saying that all Dom's problems were because of her and being upset. And I needed to realize that she wasn't as sweet and innocent as I thought she was.

[Listener]

It's heartbreaking to me because, like, the day before I went to Florida, which is the last time I seen him face to face, he was really just talking to me about. Yeah, about, like, how he can't keep letting Kenzie, like, run his life. But not even an aspect like that. Like he said, like, all right, for example, you know how I was saying how he can't go to, like, he can't go out with even me occasionally because she's upset about and this and that. He said that she holds him back. Like, I think he was really, honestly finally getting to the point to where, like, even if she was like, saying, I'm gonna hurt you. He would have, like, maybe even taken that chance because it was getting. It was more like two years. He'll be like, dude, he would be so nice and as accommodating as possible to stop the fight. And she'd be one of those people that is just petty, petty, petty, petty. He's just like. I remember times him expressing to me how frustrated that he was saying, I do every single thing I can for this girl. I ask her what's upsetting you, make it better, this and that, blah, blah. And she finds, like, any single thing just be mad at me about. You know, I'm saying, like, it's like I witnessed it a lot, too. Like, I don't know. Did you ever stuff with.

[Investigator]

Did you ever see her hit him, put her hands on him, her hit him? Like, just go. You know, or throw stuff at him or.

[Caller]

Actually, now that you say that, I remember several times now because my memory is getting jogged, that he would say, mom, can you get Kenzie out of.

[Listener]

She's refusing to leave.

[Caller]

She's refusing to leave. She's out of control. She's hit me. I do remember that. And I never wish I would get on the phone and say, just leave and go home.

[Listener]

There's times. There's multiple times, even pretty, like, recently, before all this, that Don would have to call Kenzie's parents, call her, call her mom and stuff and say, hey, you need to come get Kenzie out of here. She's refusing to leave my house. She's being crazy. And it'd be a situation where they'd be in a fight. Keep in mind something stupid that she started. And he's like, listen. He's like, just go home. He's like, well, we'll hang out tomorrow. It'll be like a whole new thing. He finally had to get her out. She'd be the type to show back up at his house, pound him out his window, no, I'm coming in. Blah, blah, blah. We're talking this shit out right now.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Like before, you lied. You lied and said you would never lock me out of the house again. That is why we got back together last time we broke up, but I forgot because you are a little weak. This is your last chance to open the door or you are not coming out of this house all night because.

[Listener]

I will not leave Kenzie.

[Host]

Look, look, let me go to dinner.

[Pacific Source Representative]

No, no, no.

[Host]

You can let me go to dinner. Then I can let you come over later.

[Pacific Source Representative]

No, you're not. I'm coming to dinner, too. I'm coming to dinner, too.

[Host]

Why you want.

[Brady]

You should have told me you wanted to come.

[Pacific Source Representative]

You recharge here. You put me on the reservation. So open the door, you dumbass.

[Brady]

Like, let's just go next door, then.

[Pacific Source Representative]

No, we're not going next door.

[Brady]

No, I'm not letting you hit the house.

[Pacific Source Representative]

We need to talk first. Now. Because you thought. You just, like, betrayed me.

[Host]

All right, we can talk outside.

[Investigator]

Don't.

[Host]

Don't try to come in.

[Automated System]

Dom.

[Pacific Source Representative]

If you do not open, like, I'm. You think I'm joking? You think I'm joking? You think I'm guilty?

[Paramedic]

Like, I'm dead ass.

[Host]

What? What are you dead ass about?

[Pacific Source Representative]

You know, that's exactly what I mean. It doesn't.

[Paramedic]

You don't know exactly what I mean.

[Pacific Source Representative]

You're going to come open this door right now or there's going to be a serious problem.

[Host]

Kenzie, I really don't think I can. Like, why can't we just do this? Like, why can't we just do this?

[Pacific Source Representative]

We're not doing it later because I'm coming to dinner. You have five seconds to open the door.

[Caller]

Would you want to come to dinner with us?

[Host]

You want to come to dinner with us?

[Listener]

Is that what you're saying?

[Paramedic]

The door right now.

[Host]

You can come to dinner with us if you want.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Open the door, Ken.

[Host]

If you want, you can come to dinner with us.

[Pacific Source Representative]

If you don't open the door, I'm keying your car. All right.

[Paramedic]

Is the door locked?

[Pacific Source Representative]

I'm about to test it.

[Host]

No. Him.

[Brady]

Why are you acting like this?

[Pacific Source Representative]

Dom, I'm going to give you one last second or I'm going to have to key your car.

[Host]

Why? Why? Why would you. Why would that ever be, like, an option?

[Pacific Source Representative]

We're broken up. If you don't let me in the house, I'm breaking. I will break up with you. I'm going to break up with you if you do not open this door.

[Automated System]

You.

[Host]

L took all your and left.

[Brady]

I thought, like, you didn't want to be here.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Okay, I'm going to break into your house then.

[Host]

Dude.

[Investigator]

What?

[Host]

No.

[Investigator]

What the actual.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Well, I just broke your key thing, so that sucks.

[Investigator]

What key thing?

[Host]

Come here.

[Pacific Source Representative]

I will break. I will break. Do I have to, like, call the police?

[Host]

Why? Why would you call the police?

[Pacific Source Representative]

Do I have to call the police or you're not going to let me into my house?

[Host]

This is not your house, all right? I'm calling my mom. I'm calling my mom.

[Pacific Source Representative]

No, you're Not.

[Automated System]

That's my mom.

[Host]

I'm calling you.

[Caller]

You're not doing this.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Then we're going to break up and.

[Paramedic]

We'Re going to my house.

[Caller]

You're.

[Pacific Source Representative]

We are done. If you do not let me in the house that I sleep in every night, we are done.

[Host]

Just listen to this narcissistic, entitled, childlike brat that has apparently never been told no in her entire life. She's just hearing that word for the first time just now. The verbal kicking, the stomping, the crying, the waa. Like a toddler angrily making noises and stomping their feet because their pacifier fell to the ground. And screaming is the only way to combat the force of gravity. She's literally threatening to call the police whilst committing a crime. What a fucking moron.

[Listener]

She'd make threats. He definitely say that she's the kind of person to follow through with those threats.

[Investigator]

He believed you would follow through.

[Listener]

Yeah. Not like. I mean, obviously everybody makes false threats and empty threats and stuff like that, but some of the stuff he would or she would say. I do remember him telling me. Yeah, because he's crazy. She would actually probably do that shit.

[Caller]

I mean, that's the problem, you know, she threatened him constantly.

[Host]

I told you.

[Caller]

It was one week before we had to pick him up on the highway. When she threatened to crash the car then. Okay, it's not. I was on with Dom.

[Automated System]

Dom.

[Caller]

She sat there and texted me. Dom was out of control. Tom was very calm, said, mom, you need to come get me.

[Investigator]

We did see those.

[Brady]

Yeah. That's one of the things we wanted to bring up.

[Host]

Was that right?

[Pacific Source Representative]

He.

[Caller]

They were on the side of the road. She said, I'm calling the police if you don't get him. And I said, you can. I on the phone saying, she can call the police all she wants, but we are on our way. What are the police going to do?

[Host]

If she had called the police the numerous times she apparently threatened to, maybe these kids would have been forced to break up a long time ago. Maybe Mackenzie would be in juvie and Dominic and Davion would still be alive. McKenzie was known for making threats, though, most of them empty. The police from the forensic vehicle inspection came back and showed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the car. It worked fine. Well, not after the crash, but you know what I mean. Images of MacKenzie trapped in the car that day with her fuzzy Prada slipper pressing the accelerator to the floor suddenly looked even more suspicious. We don't have details about this, but it's on record that Mackenzie Drove that exact route a few days prior. She was casing the joint. Investigators also knew that Mackenzie had threatened to crash the car with Dominic in it just a few weeks before. And it seemed incredible, increasingly probable that this was a threat she followed through with. In the months following the tragic car wreck that claimed the lives of 20 year old Dominic Russo and 19 year old Davion Flanagan, detectives in Strongville, Ohio, diligently conducted interviews, reviewed evidence and methodically built their case. As they pieced together the puzzle, the evidence increasingly pointed towards the driver, 17 year old MacKenzie Shrilla, leaving little room for doubt.

[Investigator]

So since the crash and the passing of Dominic, has. Has she been in contact with you? Has she reached out to you?

[Listener]

She texted me multiple times. I could read you the text word for word. She never once, never once said, I'm.

[Investigator]

Sorry for your loss.

[Listener]

She never once said, I'm so sorry for what happened. She never once took her responsibility, not even having to take any responsibility, just saying, I'm sorry, Dom's gone, like anything. But she asked me for forgiveness about 10 times saying, really, I hope that you forgive me. I still want to be a part of your family.

[Host]

I.

[Listener]

Listen, I'll just show you the text to make it easy. She texted me on August 6th. Okay, before that. The last time she texted me was May 7th.

[Investigator]

Okay, so May 7th was the last.

[Listener]

Time she texted me and it was just to say Dom's phone died. The last time she texted me before that was she was asking me if I could do homework for her because she was too lazy to do her math work.

[Investigator]

Wow.

[Listener]

And so, I mean, honestly, like, so May 7th.

[Investigator]

And then when was the next time after May 7th? What was the date?

[Listener]

August 6th, after the crash?

[Caller]

That was the day she got her phone back.

[Listener]

And you could read it. This is what she said word for word.

[Investigator]

August. Hey, Angelo, I don't know if you hate me, but tomorrow for the funeral, would you be able to go in Dom's room and grab some photos from his desk for me and him so I could put them into the casket so he can be with me forever?

[Listener]

Doesn't say sorry. Doesn't say nothing. Doesn't say anything. It says, hey, Angelo, I don't know if you hate me, but can you go grab pictures of us and put him in his cassette so I could be with him forever? How, like, honestly, how psychotic does that sound? That sounds fucking twisted. She texted me again after that, and all just to say, please let me know. And she texted me again, August 23rd. Actually, she did say sorry. One time. First time that she ever said this. She said, here, we can read it if you want.

[Investigator]

Says, hi, Angelo. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know you probably think this is all my fault and I'm not asking you to feel bad for me, but I just wanted to say I'm so sorry and I know you miss him so much. I wish he was here too. This should have never happened. He loves you so much and I k you. I know.

[Listener]

Yeah, I know.

[Investigator]

You know that. I don't even know what to say to you or just feel so bad. I hope you guys can forgive me because I always look at you guys as family. You don't even need to respond to me. Just wanted you to know I'm so sorry.

[Listener]

Okay, but see, even these texts.

[Automated System]

That.

[Listener]

She sent me, even in this one, okay, it would, it maybe would have been something if it's like, hey, if it was just I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, you know, but then she has to go, just one line.

[Host]

It.

[Listener]

It's one sentence of I'm so sorry. And then it goes, I know you probably think this is all my fault and I'm asking you to feel bad for me. Why would I feel bad for you in this situation? How to take you one sentence of saying sorry and then just to go to that, it should literally be like, I'm so sorry. I bought the pain. It should all be about who you're texting.

[Brady]

She's worried about what you think of her, so she's using the buffer.

[Listener]

Like the whole, the whole, like the whole entire, like the whole entire consistency of her is just self, it's just, she's just self, self absorbed and self centered. Everything that she texts me, even if she's finally saying I'm sorry, there's, it's, it's about her. It's not even about me.

[Investigator]

So I know since we gave her the phone, she's been back active on social media and all that. Any of your friends screenshots, you, anything? Have you. You know, we've, we've received some photos of her in the wheelchair out and about.

[Listener]

I could definitely get some screenshots.

[Automated System]

The.

[Listener]

I'm not on social media much at all.

[Investigator]

Okay.

[Listener]

But the first thing I did hear of at the time, we didn't even know if this was her mom or her or what, because we didn't even know if she was even awake to use a phone. We didn't know severe injury was or anything, you know, and the first thing I seen from her. She didn't text my mom, she didn't text me. She didn't text my dad. She can text anybody in my family. The first thing I seen from her contacting anybody where she texted a modeling agency that reached out to her and said something and she went to it on Instagram.

[Host]

Here's what the company commented on one of MacKenzie's photos.

[Paramedic]

We love this look.

[Automated System]

Kenzie Sharilla.

[Paramedic]

Can we use this post on our website and emails?

[Automated System]

We'll make sure you're credited.

[Paramedic]

Reply to this comment with community.

[Host]

If so, most of us have probably gotten comments like this in our own Instagram accounts and we all know it's spam we should ignore. But Mackenzie's mother, Natalie jumped at the opportunity and replied to the comment with her own account, typos and all.

[Paramedic]

She said, thank you for this amazing opportunity.

[Automated System]

Hello, this is her mother. She would love if you would use that.

[Paramedic]

She's actually been trying to contact you.

[Automated System]

Guys for PR email.

[Host]

It was a tragic accident and she.

[Automated System]

Did not purposely mean put an end to any of her close friend's life. This is just as painful as it is for her as it is for everybody else, or maybe even a little bit more painful heart emoji.

[Host]

Ben Mackenzie chimed in from her hospital bed and commented, 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.

[Investigator]

Thank you.

[Listener]

But that was before even like you're going to go and reach out to Instagram, let them on, use your picture before texting several people. Yeah, many, many people in between that should have gotten that text beforehand. You know what I mean? And then like her mom, her dad has said so never even text me once. I already had her. I already, previous to this, had somewhat of a relationship with her mom, talking about her daughter's issues or whatever and what I think or whatever and you know, and it wasn't like we never talked before, you know what I mean? I come say hi to her in the driveway when she dropped off and before she was driving. It was a while ago, but.

[Brady]

But she definitely has your number. She could have.

[Listener]

She's never said, not even a word. Not a peep, neither from her dad or nothing.

[Host]

Some people, not very many, but a few still wanted to defend Mackenzie and her lack of remorse. They're called enablers. And a lot of bad people have a lot of those people in their life. One of those people was her friend Paul, the host of the party.

[Investigator]

This is all speculation, but at this point, you Know. Yeah. Kenzie, if you're on social media, did you see Kenzie talking with this modeling company after the crash, after we give her a phone back?

[Paul]

I saw people talking about that, yeah.

[Investigator]

What did you see?

[Paul]

Just people really enraged.

[Investigator]

Enraged about what?

[Paul]

That she is talking to the modeling company.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Investigator]

To see how happy her mom was that she's. That the modeling company is trying to help her plan her future. She just killed her boyfriend and another kid with a very bright future. She killed two people. And the reaction is, I'm worried about my modeling career instead of. That's what I'm saying way. All that. As, you know, as the time comes, you know that people can put on a really good show about how devastated they are, but then you look at their social media, and you're back talking about your career and your future plans. If I kill my friends or if I'm responsible for the death of somebody, it's devastating, you know, and I hope you never, ever have to experience that. But the reaction that you saw and that we saw is something that is intriguing.

[Host]

All this evidence was certainly intriguing enough for the county prosecutor to pursue charges against Mackenzie. And after a very slow and secretive investigation, she was officially charged in November of 2022. MacKenzie would face four counts of murder and felonious assault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, and one count of drug possession. Oh, and also one count of possessing criminal tools.

[Investigator]

Where is she?

[Brady]

Back there, pal.

[Investigator]

Hi, Mackenzie. Step out for me. I'm Detective Huzoo. I'm the one who's been investigating the crash. You're under arrest for aggravated murder times two. Okay? Nobody's gonna ask you any questions. Nobody's gonna bother you. Can I have your key, please?

[Pacific Source Representative]

Could you please be careful taking this one off so it doesn't break? The bracelet, please.

[Automated System]

You got it?

[Host]

You got it. Mackenzie and her defense attorneys decided a bench trial would be the best route. This meant that she would skip the whole jury trial and the judge alone would hear her case and decide her fate. It's quite a gamble. You got to get a good judge in there that you think you can get on their side somehow. This is just a hunch, but perhaps her defense attorneys knew that she'd be perceived pretty badly by a jury. A jury that's probably had plenty of experience with bratty children and have maybe taught them better. Anyway, they probably hoped they would get lucky if they only had to convince one person. If that was their plan, it turned out to be a bad one.

[Paramedic]

In a bench trial, the judge sits as the Jury and the finder of fact as well as the ruler of law. And it is a reminder of just how difficult a job it is to serve just finder fact. Whether it's a bench trial or a jury trial, the rules of law are the same. I have done what I am sworn to do. I have carefully and deliberately considered all the evidence in this case, including the testimony of the witnesses, the science, the expert opinions offered, the medical evidence, physical evidence, the photographs and the video evidence. This trial is a culmination of decisions made by one person defendant. Those decisions have forever altered the futures of three families. And a view also begins. And your decisions forever Rob, Dominic and Taviona of the futures that they had before them. If there is one thing that can be taken away from this case, as painful as it is, it is this. Every decision we make is important. Every action we make is important, regardless of whether the decision is a good one or a bad one. When the actions are good or not, the result is the same. The consequences ripple through time and affect many more people than one might think at the time of the decision. And at this point I would like to comment specifically on exhibit 802, the crash video. This is the type of evidence you can never unsee. You can never forget the visual or audio of this exhibit. It was chilling and tragedy. As you review that exhibit, you know that you are watching the oncoming deaths of two people and there is nothing that will stop it. The video clearly shows the purpose and intent of the defendant. She chose a course of death and destruction. Exhibit 802 crystallizes the deadly decision making of the defendant. She mourns from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she makes her way down the street. Mackenzie alone made the decision to drive her car, to drive an obscure route, a route she visited a few days before and a route not continually taken by her. Mackenzie allow chose the time to make the drive early in the morning when any reasonable person would expect that few people would be nearby to witness it or offer life saving assistance. She made these decisions despite knowing, as any reasonable person would, that her mission of death could have involved others. Not even in the car with her. Other people, other cars, pedestrians. She had a mission and she executed it with precision. The mission was death.

[Host]

The difference between this and a jury trial is that when the verdict is read in a jury trial, it happens all at once. Mackenzie had to listen to this judge's speech and slowly piece together where she was going with it. Kind of like Alec Baldwin, if you saw that happen, boy, what a Clusterfuck, huh? Anyway, before she even got to the verdict, Mackenzie knew what it would be. She sobbed and listened as this judge read out guilty verdicts for every single count. Her parents sat behind her, looking shocked, apparently that there was going to be some accountability, a word that they had apparently never heard of before. When it came to her sentencing hearing In August of 2023, just like any other defendant, Mackenzie's friends and family were permitted to speak on her behalf.

[Paramedic]

My name is Natalie Cherilla.

[Pacific Source Representative]

I just want to say. Am I allowed to address them at all? 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 in their heart. Broken, 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. She almost died, too. And we're asking that you please not run the sentence as consecutive. He was family, and we all loved each other. In the hospital. That vitality post, I commented on that because somebody had called her a murder. Murderer, okay? And she wouldn't. 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 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. 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? 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 accident. What was the other thing?

[Paramedic]

I'm hearing an awful lot about your daughter.

[Pacific Source Representative]

I'm not hearing very Much about the chief debate, Dominic. Okay, I'm asking you for a leniency because this was a tragic accident that she does not remember. And Davion. We don't. She's a new friend. I'm so sorry. 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 I mean? I don't. I don't know. Sorry.

[Paramedic]

Isn't that part of the problem? That they all trusted each other? Isn't that part of it?

[Pacific Source Representative]

It's not a problem at all. It was wonderful how they all ended.

[Paramedic]

Up in a car together.

[Pacific Source Representative]

I understand. I understand what it looks like. I'm saying that it was a tragic accident. She would never. I understand. 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. Look at that. Look on that with different eyes if you can. Please.

[Listener]

This is.

[Automated System]

That.

[Paramedic]

Those things are not relevant.

[Pacific Source Representative]

Not at all. Not at all. 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. I'm sorry. I love you.

[Host]

The apple does not fall far from the tree. Mackenzie spoke after her mother.

[Pacific Source Representative]

The families of Valentinia. I'm so deeply sorry. I hope one day you concede I would never let this happen or do it on purpose. I wish I could remember what happened. I feel so sorry. I'm heartbroken. I love Doc and Davion. We were all friends and down with 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.

[Host]

The victim impact statements from this case are a tragic juxtaposition to the empty excuses and late apologies offered by Mackenzie and her family. Here's Davion's little sister.

[Paramedic]

Hi, you, Honor. My name is Devine Flanagan. Devion was my older brother. The passion of Davion Rachel Flandan has been very difficult for me. We have gone through everything together since day one. Davion was a big brother to me and my Nephew. We all got adopted together in 2012 after DA DA trauma and past pain have came into my life. He was the person I trusted the most because he made me feel safe. I hate the fact that he has gone because someone decided to take his wife. Now that day down is gone. I feel stuck. I feel as if I can't move forward.

[Pacific Source Representative]

I feel lost. He was the one who picked me.

[Paramedic]

Up when I fell. He was my best friend and the only person that has stayed with me since I was born.

[Caller]

No one wanted this to be a murder or to punish Mackenzie Shirilla from this accident. This was not a car accident. The evidence and science proved that Mackenzie Shur, my son Dominic as well as Damian. There's no fix put in in this case as the sh want to thank str police department in 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 while staying. My heart's rubber broken. The prize purred from the shrill face and friends after the verdict are nothing more than a lack of remorse. Conviction had a choice. Dom and Davion did not. We were all Left here more. July 31, 2022 loss of her son and Davion and because he was in the hospital, the first statement said to me was, oh, please don't listen to what everyone's saying on Facebook. Yeah, my son's dead, his friend is dead and I'm checking in indoors. Social media is less important. Social media is being a game. It's part of the life of McKenzie and it's making a game out of this heart wrenching tragedy. No one can imagine the pain of losing a child unless they've lost one themselves. The pain is forever more. Time does not heal this wound. Mackenzie go into prison because she did this. Be thankful that Jericho is still alive and in the future, whatever that may be. Dom and Davion were around of their future, their hopes and their dreams. Showed no mercy on Dominic, nor did she on Davion. Only God at this time can adversity come us forward. Thank you.

[Paramedic]

If any reasonable person reviews exhibit 802 there can be no doubt in your mind what happened this night. There can be no doubt of the absolute terror of the two people in that car. 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 tariff 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 31, 2022, 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, Mackenzie renewed her driver's license 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. 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 murder. 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. There's a very good likelihood, Mackenzie, 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 Mackenzie will not be out in 15 years. So she sentenced on count to the murder of Davion Flanagan, 15 years to life. She sentenced on count one, the murder of Dominic Russo, 15 years to life to be served concurrent to each other with credit for time served.

[Host]

As far as we're aware, Mackenzie and her family still claim her innocence to this day. Some people just never learn. We have no doubt that she will exhaust her appeal efforts. 17 year old Mackenzie Shrilla's mission was death, literally. As the judge said, she changed the course of history with one decision and now she'll have to pay sa. Well, that does it for another one. If you like the show, head on over to the old website, swordandscale.com There's a brand new episode of Sword and scale television there waiting for you. It's episode seven. You might like it. If you're into this whole true crime shenanigans business nonsense, check it out and stay safe.