Dominic Russo's older sister, Christine Russo, is trying to get a new law passed that will prevent Shirilla and other criminal influencers from profiting from their wrongdoings
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix (2)
NEED TO KNOW
- Dominic Russo’s oldest sister is speaking out about Mackenzie Shirilla, calling her a narcissist and fame-seeker
- Christine Russo is petitioning the Ohio state legislature to modernize its Son of Sam laws to prevent convicted influencers from profiting from their crimes
- Christine says Shirilla is “acting like she’s famous” while serving her two 15-years-to-life sentences for killing Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan in 2022
Dominic Russo’s oldest sister is far from surprised at the way Mackenzie Shirilla is conducting herself behind bars.
“She's just on her high horse in prison,” Christine Russo, 37, tells PEOPLE. “She's in prison and is very much acting like a princess and like she's famous.”
In the early morning hours of July 31, 2022, Shirilla, then 17, drove her car into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio, going nearly 100 mph, with Dominic, 20, in the front passenger seat and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 19, in the backseat.
Convicted in 2023 of double murder for killing the two young men, Shirilla, now 21, was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life with eligibility for parole in 2037.
The sensational case made headlines at the time but now, with the release of Netflix's The Crash, interest in the case has soared to an all-time high.
“Becoming famous,” says Christine, who is featured in the documentary, “…is all Mackenzie has cared about for a very long time. After she killed my brother and Davion, within hours she was making TikToks of herself and trying to get modeling gigs.”
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix; Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office
Following the crash, during the trial and since Shirilla's conviction, Christine — who hosts “The Big Sister: Unhinged,” podcast on YouTube — alleges she "has shown no remorse. She is a typical narcissist.”
Asked about Shirilla’s recent attempts to ask Ohio’s highest court to appeal her conviction, Christine says, “She's always appealing her conviction. She can't take accountability or responsibility.”
During her trial, prosecutors argued that Shirilla intentionally drove her car into the wall. Surveillance footage showed the car whizzing by cameras in a flash before hitting the wall in what sounded like an explosion. Information retrieved from the car’s event data recorder (EDR), its “black box,” revealed that the accelerator was pressed to the floor with no signs of braking in the five seconds before the crash.
“She's got to be a psychopath,” Christine says. “She murdered two people and rammed into a wall at 100 miles an hour so you have to be some form of psycho.”
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She is also upset that Shirilla seems to be profiting from social media as a result of the media frenzy surrounding the case.
In response, she has started a petition calling for “Dom and Davion’s Law,” asking Ohio state lawmakers to modernize its Son of Sam laws for the digital age.
Not only have Dominic and Davion’s families had to relive the tragedy because of renewed public attention from The Crash, the petition website reads, “what hurts even more is seeing how modern social media culture allows violent offenders to gain attention, followers, donations, publicity, and influence from the crimes that destroyed families like mine.”
New York enacted the original Son of Sam law in 1977 to prevent serial killer David Berkowitz and other criminals from profiting off of their crimes in the form of movie, television and book deals.
But, Christine points out that in Ohio, "Son of Sam laws don't cover social media."
"Our current laws are outdated because they were written long before TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, podcasts, and affiliate links were even thought about," the petition continues.
In addition to trying to protect her family and other victims' families with the proposed new law, Christine also started a GoFundMe to raise money for the Change the Game for Dom Foundation, intended to help underprivileged kids be able to play basketball.
Christine says the last four years since her brother's death, and especially the last few weeks, have been a blur because of all of the media attention surrounding Shirilla, adding that she hopes the public gives her and her family time to grieve the brother she loved so much.
“I miss everything about him,” she says. “I really do. Every single thing.”
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