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Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

Disturbing text messages have been revealed between Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, before she ultimately took his life and the life of his friend, Davion Flanagan, in a horrific, fatal crash.

The recently released Netflix documentary The Crash tells the story of the toxic relationship between Shirilla and Russo, as well as the events leading up to the crash.

Shirilla, of Strongsville, Ohio, began dating Russo while she was a freshman in high school. He was three years older than her. The couple later moved in together at a home owned by Russo’s family.

While the couple portrayed an image of a happy relationship on social media, those closest to the couple knew how toxic the relationship had truly become.

Between January 2020 and July 2022, the pair would send frequent text messages back and forth that ultimately foreshadowed the tragic decision Shirilla would make on July 31, 2022. The then 17-year-old was driving her vehicle at approximately 100mph when she crashed into a brick wall with Russo in the front passenger seat and Flanagan in the back.

While Shirilla survived and ultimately recovered from her injuries, both Russo and Flanagan are believed to have been killed instantly. Shirilla was later charged and convicted of both of their murders and is serving 15 years to life behind bars.

“I’m so mad,” Shirilla texted Russo during a past argument between the two of them. “I’m gonna kill someone.”

“I j[ust] want to bang my head on the wall till I’m dead,” she also wrote.

Russo appeared to have been attempting to break off things with Shirilla.

At one point, he sent a text message to her that read, “Kenzie, I think we should take a break again itll be good for both of us.”

“We haven’t been getting along and u need to make some friends,” and “I think it will be good for both of us,” he also wrote.

Russo repeatedly accused Shirilla of threatening violence against him before the fatal crash. Russo was just 20-years-old at the time of his death, while Flanagan was 19.