Mackenzie's Mom Calls Police For 'Mean Post' on Social Media- "There Are 2 Girls Bullying Mackenzie"
44m 28s
The Mackenzie Shirilla case centers on a 17-year-old girl convicted of murdering her boyfriend Dom and friend Davion after a high-speed crash. Despite her conviction, Mackenzie and her parents, Steve and Natalie Shirilla, maintain it was an accident, asserting no intent or evidence of wrongdoing. Throughout the case, the parents have repeatedly defended their daughter through public interviews and social media, including a viral Netflix documentary. This behavior has drawn widespread criticism, with netizens accusing them of immaturity, emotional manipulation, and inappropriate conduct—such as Steve wearing a "boom" shirt and joining his daughter’s OnlyFans account. The parents’ claims are met with skepticism, especially as they fail to address key evidence or provide credible alternatives to the prosecution’s narrative. The case reveals how public discourse, fueled by misinformation and emotional reactivity, can overshadow factual accountability. Critics argue that the parents’ persistent public engagement only amplifies the perception of guilt and undermines trust. The narrative is further complicated by intimate details, like Snapchat messages showing Mackenzie’s comments on relationships, drug use, and modeling school, which suggest a complex, conflicted adolescence. Despite these, the core issue remains: the parents’ refusal to remain silent, even in the face of condemnation, underscores a broader theme—sometimes, silence is more powerful than speech, especially when confronting trauma and public judgment.
sometimes shutting up is the best answer and i say this with full irony just ironically as someone
who posts hours and hours of footage every week of herself yapping to no end but sometimes yes
the answer is being quiet the answer is no answer the answer is in staying silent it's probably the
reason why so many defense attorneys spend a great deal of energy convincing their client who's
probably kind of dumb of everything that they could mess up if they testify on the stand at
their own trial a lot of defense attorneys believe that how the person comes across to the jury is
arguably way more important than what they actually testify to which is why more often than not it's
not worth it in most cases for clients to testify i mean i guess it's just a thing humans do you
would think that no when you're on the jury for a major case you want to make sure that you're just
listening to the judge but once someone involved starts yapping it becomes less about the facts
and more about do i like
this person do they seem trustworthy i don't know if they do in 17 year old mckenzie shirilla's case
she does not testify july 31st 2022 17 year old mckenzie crashes a car going nearly 100 miles per
hour straight into a brick building her boyfriend dom in the front passenger seat is killed their
friend davion in the back seat is killed and the only survivor is mckenzie and she is now a
convicted murderer she didn't testify during her murder trial although i will say it wasn't a jury
trial she opted for a bench trial meaning it's the judge that's going to be determining if her
testimony is trustworthy but even after being convicted mckenzie and her parents do not believe
she's a murderer they think that this is an accident all three of them mckenzie and her
parents natalie and steve they sit down with netflix for the very viral documentary the crash
they try to explain their side and the reaction is probably not what they were hoping for the
reaction that they received to this whole thing of yapping on netflix
ranges anywhere from oh my god i hate the dad what's wrong with his shirt all the way to people
spreading rumors that they think mckenzie and her dad have an inappropriate relationship that
was happening in odd hours of the night steve shirilla the dad even gets placed on leave from
his job he's an art teacher at a catholic school because of the comments that he makes on the
documentary and one might think that it would probably be in everyone's best interest for
natalie and steve to let things quiet down
after this netflix documentary goes live after steve loses his job because
maybe just shut up for a second right but no they do not they want to keep quote clearing the air
they want to keep sharing their side of things and every time they open their mouths it feels
like they're just making it worse since the release of the netflix documentary steve shirilla
has done a few sit-down interviews and it's just the point that he's trying to make doesn't feel
like it's being made on a large scale people just seem to hate him more
steve passionately rants in a more recent interview there was no evidence to support
the charges there's none there was none the prosecution came up with that she's a danger
to society blah blah blah and there was no proof of that you know they said she has no remorse
they never spoke to her which i mean i guess sure but one could also argue that taking photos and
videos getting high in her car likely driving that's very dangerous to society considering
she also just did kill people in a car crash and as for the
no remorse she did go to a kid cuddy concert in a wheelchair and dressed up for halloween and went
out in a ripped corseted outfit with corpse-like makeup so i don't know if they necessarily have
to talk to her to gather in their opinion that she has no remorse but chris cuomo who is the one
interviewing steve tries to ask him about well you know i mean maybe the no remorse part comes
from all the dms and like the social media posts like what what about that steve goes from being
very loud very aggressive to a little bit softer
that was something that was involved prior because you remember she was like talking to the modeling
agency he's like that was something that was involved prior some of that is taken out of
context is blown out of proportion what is she supposed to dig a box or or dig a hole and just
hide in the hole for the rest of her life after this chris cuomo fights back oh no but it was
right after well what does that mean what does that mean so now she's not allowed to live she's
not allowed to live she's not allowed to do what she wanted to do she's not allowed to do what she
wanted to do she says she does not remember that has been her story from day one there's no memory
of it and i'm telling you i know my daughter does not like pain she would never ever hurt herself
intentionally i know my daughter i've known that kid all her life i know when my daughter lies i
just know my daughter people don't really see that as a spectacular defense he just seems to
think it is how can you know your daughter when he himself admits that he didn't know about the
driving and smoking weed videos and photos so like how well do you really know your daughter
as for what happened in the car he says i'm not saying pots is the reason for it i'm not saying
the car had an issue i'm not saying the boys did anything i don't know i have no idea what
happened in that car and if i don't have any idea nobody does okay yeah i mean i don't know
how fucking intergalactic space works doesn't mean it doesn't work okay or space travel like
i don't understand how any of these work yeah i feel like we all have an idea except why she turned
out the way she did
but he doesn't by this interview and he says the analogy about how mckenzie was found guilty and
he's saying this all after the fact he's saying the analogy is the wife dies the husband did it
that's it that's the analogy that's going on here there's no evidence of why it happened there's no
evidence of why there will never be any evidence of why and that's the point that needs to be taken
the black box information is is about the car i can't explain the acceleration i can't explain
why the pedal was down
could it have been the slipper stuck on the pedal that they refuted could it have been the car uh
yeah it's just as likely as she did it on purpose and there's no evidence of purpose and speeding is
not a precursor to murder it's not i'm sorry it's recklessness it's reckless that's why it should
have been vehicular homicide in juvenile court he says if it's just the black box information that
made his daughter guilty in the court of law then quote the black box information then the car did
this the car did it put the car in jail
we have no evidence of why and you can't just say well the science says she was going fast so that's
intent that is absolute bs wow there seems to be a very interesting explanation for just about
everything that people have been pointing out on the internet people are saying that mckenzie was
a bully in school i mean there are multiple school reports in the foyer requests that
don't necessarily depict mckenzie in a great light one teacher literally told
administration that she couldn't handle being verbally assaulted by mckenzie anymore and
steve's reaction is well i can't explain it look was she an angel no did she have a problem with
authority sometimes i believe when she felt she was being unjustly treated she stuck up for herself
that's the simple fact they state that the trial was unfair and they think that mckenzie's lawyer
did not represent her fairly and they at the time didn't know any better steve says you know are we
bad parents no are we uninformed parents of a child that was on trial for murder yeah as for his
and how Mackenzie grew up, he says there was not a problem with her until this accident and how it
got blown out of proportion and how everything now is so blown out of proportion. Steve starts
rambling more or less about whether or not Dom's mom knew the judge and if they had any sort of
working relationship, which I will say the judge and Dom's mom and Dom himself, they all share the
same last name, Russo, but it's not a particularly unique last name and they are not related. But
when Steve is asked whether or not he has proof that there's some sort of fix going on in court
because he keeps alluding to some sort of fix that must have happened, Steve says, I have as much
proof that it's a fix and that the judge is dirty or incompetent as they do that my daughter did
this on purpose. All I have to do is say it. So it's true, right? That's what the prosecution did.
Steve ultimately believes, quote, I'm sorry, no lawyer, no person is ever going to make me believe
that my daughter did this on purpose. So I'm sorry, no lawyer, no person is ever going to make me
believe that my daughter did this on purpose. And that's probably like the only
statement of his that I truly believe. What do you mean? No one's going to convince him
that his daughter did this on purpose. But the two parts of his most recent interviews that have
been going viral is there's this one part in the interview where he's talking to Chris Cuomo and
he's just talking about how he thinks that the judge is biased and he's just throwing all these
allegations out there. And there's this very light, airy voice coming from the side because
this is a video Zoom recording, like a Zoom interview. And he's just talking about how he
and it's like, I'm a bus baby that can dance like a man. I can shake. I'm a fancy. I can shake my
can. Yes. And it's like the most uncomfortable, weird, bizarre. Chris Cuomo looks stern and he
asks, what is that? It's my phone. It's a phone ring. That's your ringtone. It's for a friend of
mine. So the ringtone is from a show called Adventure Time. It's like a cartoon. And it I
to the weirdness of like, I've seen a lot of memes online now where they just say the whole family
jail, the whole family jail. They just don't get good vibes. Is it a children's thing or children's
cartoon? I think it's an adult cartoon, if I'm not mistaken. But I think the choice of that in a
ringtone is very bizarre. Exactly. At that age. Yeah. And who would you want to set up that ringtone
for? You know? Yeah. It's just very odd. The whole thing. I mean, this whole interview is probably the reason why
defense attorneys, not that Steve needs a defense attorney. That's not what I'm saying. But a loose
example of probably why defense attorneys don't necessarily think involved parties speaking for
themselves.
is ever helpful in any situation.
The whole interview is a dumpster fire.
Steve starts running through hypotheticals.
He's like, what if we can prove
that her pots caused her to pass out
and she seized and it caused the accident?
Which like, there's already so much wrong
with that statement
because typically when you pass out from pots,
typically it's not a seizure.
You don't seize.
You pass out, you go limp.
Chris Cuomo, who was an attorney
before he is like a journalist, newscaster, right?
But he quickly responds,
then it would be an accident.
What if we can prove that either one boy
or the other boy did something in the car
that caused the accident?
Then she would not have the intent
and maybe not the act to trigger a charge.
What if we could prove the car malfunctioned?
Then it was an accident
and maybe there's a case against the manufacturer.
It just seems like every single point
Steve tries to make, nothing really comes of it.
It just feels a lot like angry ranting.
He'll say some crazy things like,
just because you don't like my daughter
doesn't mean she's guilty of murder.
Just because you don't like what you see
on the internet about my daughter,
doesn't mean it's murder.
That's speculation.
That is reckless speculation on anybody's part.
And I tend to agree with that.
Like technically the points he's making make sense.
Just because you don't like somebody
doesn't mean they're guilty of murder.
But it's the fact that your daughter Mackenzie
is convicted of murder.
That makes her guilty of murder.
She is guilty of murder.
That is a statement of fact in the court of law.
She has been found guilty.
That is not speculation.
That's not even reckless speculation.
It's literally a matter of public record.
Otherwise, you could have a field day
suing everyone.
One for defamation.
Chris Cuomo goes to ask about
Mackenzie and Dom's volatile relationship.
And I think this is the point in the interview
where I realized there's no coming back for this person.
Like there is nothing that he can say I think
would convince me or maybe people who feel like me
to even open their minds to the idea
that Steve might be onto something
because he's just so far off the pulse.
There's this moment where Chris Cuomo
brings up the relationship
and Steve ducks his head
and he starts laughing
because Chris Cuomo categorizes
Dom and Mackenzie's relationship as volatile.
Steve starts laughing.
That's a lie.
And I cut you off.
Sorry.
That is a lie.
That's a lie.
Volatile is not the right word.
That is harsh.
These kids fought and they broke up
and they got back together.
That was their MO.
They weren't fighting.
This wasn't a volatile relationship.
They were never going to break up.
They were talking about getting married.
They were talking about a life.
They were buying furniture for that house.
They were making a life.
They were making a life for themselves.
Period.
That's it.
They were not breaking up.
And anyone who says that,
sorry, that is untrue.
That is a lie.
And that is a narrative
that the prosecution needed to go
to put my daughter in a bad light
to make it seem like
she had a thing against this kid.
He claims they absolutely
were not going to break up.
They did not have a volatile relationship.
But is that really true?
We went through the entire FOIA
and there are never ending fights
between Mackenzie and Dom.
Mackenzie threatening to break up
and the front door to be let into his house,
refusing to leave him alone
and a reoccurring fight between the two
where Dom accuses her of engaging in sex work.
Does Steve Sherilla know all of that
and still categorizes their relationship
as not volatile?
Or does he genuinely think
that that is not a volatile relationship?
Or is he in denial?
This is part three of the Mackenzie-Sherilla case.
We would like to thank today's sponsors
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We'd also like to thank you guys for your continued support.
As always, full show notes are available
at RottenMangoPodcast.com.
Today's case involves mentions of illicit drug usage,
reckless driving, driving while intoxicated,
self-exit, and possible domestic violence and sex work.
We did pull the FOIA for this case
and literally went through tens of thousands of pages
of text messages, detective incidents,
incident reports, autopsy reports, and more
so naturally quotes and statements may be condensed for brevity.
Secondly, there is a list of discourse surrounding the case
from loved ones involved all the way to unrelated netizen audiences.
So in order to explain the entirety of the case,
we're going to go over all of those
but just keep in mind throughout that
any opinions, comments, or speculations made by netizens
do not represent our own.
And this is part three of a five-part series.
In the first part, we went over the crash itself
and generally what people believe happened that night.
In part two, we broke down the Netflix documentary
as well as we actually interviewed Rosie and Bubba,
two of the more controversial individuals in the documentary.
We asked them all the questions social media had.
In this part, we're going to be breaking down all the relationships
as well as covering internet rumors,
conspiracy theories that people have about
Mackenzie's relationship with her parents
and whether or not people believe they played
some sort of indirect role in all of this.
In part four, and I might switch this with part five,
but in part four, we'll probably be breaking down
the entire 31,000-page document of text messages.
between Mackenzie and Dom.
And in part five, we're going to cover the jail calls,
the alleged prison girlfriends, the trial,
and the appeal and where we're at.
So with that being said, let's get started.
I've watched a lot of documentaries
where police will talk about how they're tasked
with death notifications for loved ones
and they always describe it in a very similar
yet very similar way.
That the family members let out
what sounds like a guttural scream.
Some people have even described it
as almost sounding animalistic.
It's not just this like, oh, I'm so scared.
Oh, I'm so shocked I let out a scream.
They say it feels primal.
It's almost like the scream is being ripped out of them.
Steve Sherilla says in an interview,
if you would have heard her,
he's talking about his daughter.
So he's saying, when we told Mackenzie
that Dom, her boyfriend, is dead,
quote, if you would have heard her
when she found out that Dom died,
if you would have heard the sound
that came out of her,
it would have crushed you.
Natalie describes how Mackenzie found out.
You know, she says, in the night,
Mackenzie says, where's Dom?
And this is when they're in the hospital.
I had to tell her, I had to tell her
that it was him, that he didn't make it.
And so she screamed and I said, I'm so sorry.
She goes, no, it's not him.
It's not him.
Please go check, go check.
And I said, Mackenzie, it's him.
Because if it wasn't him, he'd be here.
Steve says, that was devastating to hear her.
The sound, I mean, it was gut-wrenching.
Natalie says, right after, she was asking,
well, what about Davion?
Is he okay?
And I had to say, no, he didn't make it either.
And she was like, oh God.
And I just thought that this was
such an unfortunate interview.
I get that Mackenzie was dating Dom
and was friends with Davion.
So I'm not discounting that this didn't happen.
Like I'm saying, this probably did happen
or that these emotions were not genuine.
But when her parents describe her finding out,
it's not really sympathy inducing.
Because yes, she can be upset and be sad.
But ultimately, she's the one that caused their deaths.
So it's like, you can have this experience,
but maybe like, don't share.
Share it with the world.
And I didn't even want to show this footage,
but I've seen it circulating now.
And every time I watch it,
I think about how Mackenzie's parents
were describing her reaction.
And it's just unfortunate.
Because this footage, I mean,
I think we finally hear what the police
and the documentaries are talking about
when they talk about doing these death notifications
and how they're the most painful thing to do.
When Dom's mom is told that Dom didn't make it,
there are two cops.
So they go to her house and they have to inform her.
There's two cops that are squatting down
on their knees next to her.
She's sitting outside on this,
this chair on her front porch
and they're sitting down next to her.
And they're just telling her,
just stay seated, please.
Take your time.
Take a deep breath.
And she's screaming
and they have to try to calm her down.
And she keeps screaming,
oh my God, no, he can't be.
He can't be.
What did she do?
The scream, it's almost like
she doesn't really know entirely
what to do with her body as she's screaming.
She almost reflexively jumps out of the chair,
but she doesn't necessarily have anywhere to go.
It almost feels like as a mom,
maybe she's trying to go help,
go do something.
Save her child.
But there's nowhere to go.
There's no one to be saved right now.
So it's just this very strange moment to watch.
I mean, it was like,
I really didn't want to put it in,
but I think I was just getting very upset
because I kept remembering
what Mackenzie's parents were saying about her
when she found out about Dom's death.
And I was like crying
when I was watching Dom's mom's death notification
body cam footage that was in the FOIA request.
It's just like, it's so long.
Eventually when they think that she's calm enough,
they go.
They go inside her house with her.
The police do.
But she's just,
she's like pacing around her living room screaming.
It can't be true.
It can't be true.
It's like she can't sit still,
but she also,
she's like in shock.
She's in denial.
It seems like there are multiple points
throughout that the officers,
they either seem like either
they know they need to let her
go through these emotions
or they almost like don't know what to say
to bring her any comfort.
But Dom's mom starts asking,
what happened in the car?
What happened in the car?
I didn't want her driving anyway.
I don't like her driving.
Oh my fucking God.
And that other kid,
I don't even know him.
I don't even know him.
So she's talking about Davion
and it seems like she's getting hit
with the impact that
not only is her son gone,
but another life,
like another child is gone
because later she's outside
and she's crying.
Oh, that other little kid.
He's younger.
I think that little kid,
it can't be.
She asked the police,
why couldn't they save him?
The officers have nothing to say.
They can't even respond.
She explains,
I was making buffalo chicken dip.
They said that they had some party to go to
and they were going to be back
to eat the dip. I was making the dip. Dom's
mom will later tell the judge that when she found out that Dom and Davion were gone, she says,
I called Mackenzie's mother hysterical with the loss of my son and Davion. I knew Mackenzie was
in the hospital. And the first statement Natalie, Mackenzie's mom, said to me was, oh, please don't
listen to what everyone's saying on Facebook. Yeah, my son is dead. His friend is dead. And I'm
checking on yours. But social media is what's important. Social media after the crash in
Strongsville, Ohio, has been a literal hellhole. People who know Mackenzie are posting things
about her, against her, in support of her. And a lot of the posts are just questionable and weird
at best. For example, one of Mackenzie's friends decides that she's going to post Mackenzie on
Snapchat. And it is a picture of Mackenzie in the driver's seat of her car holding a giant blunt.
I mean, it doesn't look like she's in motion, but she's in the driver's seat holding a giant blunt.
This is an absolutely, completely sane picture to choose considering the circumstances, okay?
And this friend writes in the caption,
Happy birthday, Kenzie Shirilla. You're in everyone's thoughts and prayers, beautiful girl.
Nobody involved deserved this whatsoever. And to the people talking down on her as if any of you
haven't said some shit you probably shouldn't have respectfully, fuck right off. Just because y'all
had beef don't give you the right to speak about her when she's fighting for her life right now.
She was the sweetest to the people she cared about and loved, always greeting everyone with
a smile and a hello. I'll never forget chopping it up with you in gym class, hitting our pens.
Happy birthday, gorgeous. You're going to get through this.
Which is a good thing.
I'm not saying that you can't form a real friendship over smoking weed together in gym
class, but like that's your fondest memory of Mackenzie and you're ready to defend her with
such a picture and such a passion. It's so odd to me. Meanwhile, Mackenzie is DMing Rosie,
the friend that we interviewed for the last episode. This is after the crash. This is like
a few days after the crash. Did you get the new skims? I got this cute skims. Yeah. Skims like
the dress, like the lounge wear. I got this cute set, soft lounge. Rosie responds. Oh my God. No,
I need to order more. I need the leggings.
Show me when you can. The new ones. This is 20 days after the crash. Mackenzie is just saying,
I got it in pink too. Literally, we need to become the skims duo. What is happening? Crazy. What is
happening? The police even agree with Dom's mom because Dom's mom is later telling the police,
like when I first called Natalie, she's talking about Facebook and I wanted to punch her in the
face. The police agree. And one officer tells her, you know, we went there to the hospital
and her biggest concern was what the people are posting on the Strongsville page on Facebook.
And can we intervene? And that was her biggest concern when we walked in.
Even in the first hospital visit, one of the officer notes in his report, quote,
Natalie expressed concern about the public's reaction on social media. Mackenzie was barely
able to speak. She asked to see photos of her vehicle. I told her once she's discharged,
we can arrange for her to see them. Then a few days later, Natalie calls the detective again,
reporting a couple of girls for saying, quote, mean things to her daughter on social media.
Although Natalie said her daughter was no longer on social media, she states that there are two
girls bullying Mackenzie. The report reads the second girl whom she only identified as Jenna
Mackenzie for killing Dom on purpose. Natalie said Mackenzie had screenshots of the messages.
I asked her to email them to me and I would look into it. I further explained to Natalie that unless
the speech was threatening in nature, I will not be able to control what people say about the events.
Natalie never emailed me the screenshots. Even later, when police are giving Mackenzie her phone
back, the officers are just saying like they're still investigating. To which Steve, the dad butts
in. What are people coming in and saying? He's asking like, what are people reporting to you?
The cops naturally tell him, I cannot tell you that. That's the investigation.
To which Natalie, I don't know who made her the police chief. She says, well, it doesn't matter
if it has nothing to do with the crash. The officer explains, well, we don't know. We have
to put everything together. And I can see why people think that all Natalie and Steve care
about are what people are saying about their daughter rather than what she did that caused
those two boys to lose their lives. Another report from the hospital record reads, patient
continues statements of depression and quote, why did this happen to me? Mom and dad both
acknowledge her feelings and assist with making patient feel better. And it just feels like,
it takes a very special person to be talking about skims 20 days after a fatal crash where two people
died and you were the driver, but still wonder why, why did this happen to me? It's all so weird.
Like how do you even get to that point? A lot of people think it's the parents and I have seen
people online and maybe it's based off looks or maybe it's based off the fact that two of them
have really viral Netflix documentaries where they're both interviewed or the fact that they're
both moms who knows, but a lot of people have been, I've seen compare Natalie to Kendra. Remember the
mom who is texting and bullying her own daughter for years. And then yeah, to Kendra that Kendra was
comforting her daughter while also being the one that was anonymously cyber harassing her Kendra
that Kendra, some netizens point out that both Kendra and Natalie have this very weird feeling
that they give people where it just feels like they want to be friends with their daughters.
They don't want to be moms. They want to be in high school and they want to be friends with all
the friends. But Kendra once was basically bullying the daughter the whole time. Yes. Natalie Sharilla
was more what enabling. So why, what's the similarity exactly? I think the similarity
lies in the fact that they both want to be their daughter's friends. Like they both want to be in
that age group, not necessarily friends. Like I know, you know, Kendra is bullying her daughter.
So it may not seem like she wants to be friends with her daughter, but more so they're stuck in
like this arrested development phase where they all act like high schoolers. So instead of
disciplining their daughter and being like, no, you're not allowed to do that. They act like a
dot. These are opinions online. These are not facts. It's just opinions. And it's the energy,
I suppose. For example, there's this one incident where even when, okay, this is from the body cam
and I don't know, maybe I'm being petty. Maybe I'm being like hyper judgmental, but the officers
informed Natalie and Steve Sharilla that most likely Dom and Davion have passed. They're in
the hospital. So Mackenzie's being operated on and it is without a doubt an incredibly traumatic
situation for them in their own perspectives. But Natalie is asking for the officers that
she might need a puke bucket. And this is like such a niche experience, like that I'm connecting
to this. Okay. The officer goes to fetch one for her. And like the way she asked for a puke bucket
almost seems casual. Like she's like, oh my God, I'm going to throw up. It's not like, no, I'm
genuinely going to throw up. So the officer is like, do you need a puke bucket? She confirms
she needs a puke bucket. Officer goes to fetch one for her and the nurse is bringing it and says
something along the lines of like, well, you're in the best place to have one. Okay. You're in a
puke bucket. Okay. Do we need to like, do we need to throw up or do we need to convince the nurse
to quit her job and pursue standup? Like, I just thought it was odd. Right. But then she, in my
personal humble opinion, and this might be like hyperjudgmental because I have a lot of experience
throwing up. Okay. I am someone who is super prone to nausea. Everything makes me nauseous.
I have Zofran on the go at all times. She's not really sitting like someone who's about to throw
up. She's sitting with her legs crossed in the chair and she's leaned back.
When I have to throw up, I've never met someone who's about to throw up. They're always forward
and they have a puke bucket or some sort of container ready to go just in case. Or they're
kind of hunched because when you extend your stomach, it always makes the nausea worse.
That's why people go into like a fetal position when they're throwing up all night from drinking
or whatever it may be. Right. And she's leaned back. She hasn't even touched the puke bucket.
She just places it on the chair next to her. So she doesn't look like she's about to throw up.
Yeah. And like, none of this really means anything, but I just thought it was weird
because you're in such a highly tense emotional situation. The last thing I would do is like go
through this whole dramatic back and forth with multiple parties of getting a puke bucket. If I
genuinely was not on the verge of throwing up, it just feels like a really weird, intricate song
and dance involving multiple parties of grabbing this puke bucket and doing a lot when you were in
this heightened emotional state. Like if I were in this situation, I just could not foresee myself
asking for any sort of puke canister bucket.
Bag. Unless I was literally on the verge of throwing up on the floors. And even then I think
I would try to hold it in until I could no longer. None of this again means anything, but I guess it's
the whole energy that Natalie gives off is a little bit strange. And maybe I am being harsh.
I just thought it was a little dramatic. She also, Natalie does this thing where she makes custom
balaclavas that Mackenzie will wear. So like the kind of, they look like rave balaclavas,
like, you know, with the bunny ears, like a ski mask with the face cut off and then
with the bunny ears and then you wear them with like bikini.
The raves. Okay. Okay. Makes them. Yeah. She, I guess she hand makes them and Mackenzie will wear
them. And sometimes I guess she sells them because I see a lot of Instagram DMs where she's trying to
sell them. And Mackenzie will tell people like my mom custom makes them. Her ad is this. You can DM
her and I think she's only going to charge you $20, but if you live far, she'll have to add $5
shipping, but it shouldn't take long, probably a week. And again, I don't have children, but if my
17 year old daughter were posting these types of videos, wearing the balaclavas that I made and
wearing these types of clothes and filming herself,
smoking weed, I feel like I would have to ground her for half a century. It's just like not hard
to feel that Mackenzie's priorities are all screwed up. And it feels like maybe even Natalie's are
even when the officers are giving Mackenzie her phone back, Natalie, the mom clarifies with the
officers and this is in the hospital. And this is in the hospital report, the officer report,
you'd search activity. You download the date, everything, you know, now nobody's looking at it.
So that's what can you explain? So Natalie is asking the officer, like you got the search
activity, you downloaded the date, like everything. Now nobody's looking at it. Like no one's going to look at
her stuff. Like her phone is private now. And the officer is like, we mirrored the phone. We're going
to look through the phone. Right. But everything she does now, now she's on her own. So they're
like, yeah, now she's on her own. Like we're not going to, we don't have like a tracker on her
phone. We're not watching in real time what she's doing on her phone. And it's just interesting that
Natalie is so gung ho about that. Later she asks again. So this, you know, this one does have total
privacy again. Yeah. Total privacy. From here on out, everything we're going to look at, we have already obtained through search warrants for, you know, everything, including social media.
And while they go over the copy of the search warrants, Mackenzie asks the officer, are people going through my Snapchats to like opening stuff?
Because she's got her phone back for the first time in the hospital.
We did not. We just mirrored your phone.
So they're like, we didn't go through your Snapchat, but like we mirrored your phone because I see like three of them open.
The officer clarifies with Mackenzie.
We did not. But either way, even if we did, we have a search warrant.
We're going to look through everything that's on your phone.
So like maybe we didn't now, but we are going to.
I'm not entirely sure why that's her biggest concern right now.
But if she must know, we did receive four massive folders just containing her Snapchat data extracts.
So, yeah, they did go through your Snapchat.
And so did we.
We FOIA'd this case and the Snapchat files the police gave us were extensive and ridiculously out of context.
I'm just taking you on the journey that we went on in the multiple zip files of Snapchat evidence.
We kept seeing, OK, like, obviously.
We saw messages and like we saw her posting like random things on Snapchat.
But we also saw there would be like random things out of context.
And we're just trying to like contextually piece it together.
We see so many pictures of Mackenzie with a white wall behind her, almost like a passport photo.
Like why is she Snapchatting passport photos?
It's so weird.
Just variations of poses.
Sometimes it's slightly pouty, less pouty, hair back, hair in front, one side of hair in front, one side of hair in back.
I'm like, OK, is she getting a passport?
And I don't know why we're like we need to get to the bottom of this.
We were like literally.
Sitting around the dining table and I'm like, OK, team, we got to get to the bottom of this.
No, no reason.
OK, but we just needed to know.
We needed to see it through.
And we think based off the context clues, those are the photos that she's sending to fake ID websites to try and buy a fake ID online.
Because she just like screenshotted that right before.
Yeah.
So it's like fake ID dot com, like something as ridiculous.
It's the most fake fake ID website name that you could think of.
And she has screenshots of her applying for fake IDs on those websites.
She also screenshots pictures of her phone.
Of her like weird search history.
Can you see a person's age using a debit card?
Then she screenshots the answer from Quora, which reads none.
Nope.
In the States, there is nothing on your debit card to indicate your age.
Your card lists your bank name, your name and cards expiration date and your debit card number tied to your bank account.
That's it.
She seemingly documents her search for the best senior quote of all time.
She starts searching on Pinterest.
The 100 most epic and funny senior quotes planet of success.
She clicks on that one.
One of them reads, see kids.
I told you.
Your mom was hot back in high school.
Another reads, I have to be successful because I like expensive things ultimately.
And like you would have to tell me if you can confirm if you have this yearbook.
It seems she settles on this poetic masterpiece.
You can't get what you always want, but I certainly can.
I don't know how that's it.
Yeah, it's like the weirdest quote.
Yeah.
She also complains to her friends about Dom on Snapchat via audio notes that I think she thought disappears forever into the ether.
It goes into.
The intergalactic space, but like we have them.
She sends this to a friend.
No, like he gets me flowers and stuff like that.
I don't know, though, but I have to be like, if you don't do this, I'm breaking up with you.
If you don't make it up to me, we're done.
Like you have until six o'clock today or we're done type shit like that's like how it is.
So it makes it like not special.
He can never just like apologize on his own, make it up to me on his own.
I have to like kind of give him that like a little no, actually a giant ass fucking push.
Like I have to shove him off a fucking 60 foot diving fucking board type shit.
Another audio message.
Where Mackenzie says, I have told him a million times that I will be the perfect girlfriend.
I will fucking clean his house in a fucking maid costume.
All he has to do is be good and get me what I want and be good to me.
Like literally, that's how it is.
Like that's how it is.
He can't do that.
Like it's really not that hard to please me.
Then another one.
Guys are like pea brains, like real shit.
They do not think big at all.
She complains quite a bit.
She also whines to another friend.
So she got into this modeling school and like by God in her parents paid for it.
Okay.
That's pretty much it.
She says today was the worst fucking glass.
I have literally ever been in my whole goddamn life.
Like I'm honestly starting to feel like this shit's a scam.
Like I paid $4,000.
I mean, my family did for me to go to this modeling school.
I thought I would get placed immediately, but like, dude, this shit's taking so long
and we're like doing repetitive shit.
It just feels like cosmetology school all over again.
Like, I don't even know.
They treat us like fucking children too.
Like, bitch, I don't even know how to describe.
This to you.
I fucking hate it every second of it.
And this is going to sound even worse.
I don't even know the fact that some of these people even made it in.
It's shocking.
It's shocking.
Y'all ugly as hell.
Like how the fuck are y'all in here?
Like we need the supermodel looking bitches.
Like there are five girls that are hot in that class and the rest are weird.
Like it's fucked.
Also in her Snapchat folders, you know, she's filling out this medical exam and it asks
her like most do, do you currently smoke or vape?
Yes or no.
And there's a lot of people that are like, I don't know.
There's like a little box next to yes.
Low box next to no.
Okay.
She of course indicates yes, but instead of doing a check mark or an X or filling
in the box, she does a heart around.
Yes.
And then takes a picture and sends it to somebody on Snapchat.
I don't know because now we have it in the Snapchat file.
So yeah, Mackenzie, the police went through your Snapchat history.
And so did we.
So kind of a dumb question to ask whether or not the police opened her Snapchat,
but on the note of dumb questions later, Mackenzie asks the
office.
If they were all wearing body cameras, which side note, this is before her arrest.
So it's possible that she thinks that they're just investigating and the case is going to
be concluded with her getting her license suspended for like 10 years, which is what
she asked them to do.
Right.
But she asks if they're wearing body cams.
They confirm she asked to see them.
They tell her no.
When was this?
When was she asking?
She's in the hospital.
Oh, so there's like after the crash and the police is currently wearing a body cam.
This is being recorded.
Well, they were audio recording a lot of these hospitals.
Yeah.
They were not.
I didn't get the body cam probably because HIPAA and like there's lots of stuff happening
in the actually.
Well, I do see lots of body cams in hospitals maybe because she's on.
Well, yeah, but we only got audio.
Yes.
And so she's acting like this is just like a friendly hee hee ha ha girly pop chat.
And she's like, why can't I see it?
Like, what do you mean?
Why can't you see it?
This is an open investigation.
Like they're not just going to give you.
What do you mean?
She's like, my mom will give it to me.
Yeah.
What would have given to me like 10 years ago?
You can get what you want.
But I certainly.
I certainly can.
Exactly.
What the hell is going on right now?
It's just all very deplorable behavior.
And I don't know if Natalie and Steve ever call their daughter out on it or if all they
do is sympathize.
Natalie, as per her very recent Daily Mail interview.
So Steve's been doing like I've seen at least two on camera interviews.
Natalie has a Daily Mail interview.
She says, I'm always going to be a villain in someone's story because I'm the mom of
someone driving a car who killed two kids.
That's OK, because I know I'm not going to be a villain in someone's story.
I'm a good person.
So is my daughter.
She's not how she's being labeled online.
She struggles with this daily.
She's being labeled online as a murderer and she was convicted of murder.
So I don't know.
She says, quote, I feel trapped.
I feel like we're stuck in quicksand and we can't get out.
I feel so bad for Mackenzie.
But at the same time, I feel so bad for the other families.
I love Dom.
I still love Dom.
Mackenzie still loves Dom.
She's struggling.
Dom was like part of our family.
Steve says in the documentary, she's lucky to be alive.
But I was torn.
I had some guilt.
Being happy for my daughter and knowing that Dom and Davion passed.
I think what you wear to a very important event is very indicative of who you may be as a person.
I mean, typically you don't wear white to someone else's wedding unless asked to.
And if you do, it's very indicative of who you are as a person.
And maybe sometimes you don't wear a graphic T-shirt that says boom on there when you're
being interviewed about how your daughter crashed a car into a building at nearly 100
miles per hour to the point where investigators say it looked like the car exploded and ultimately
that car crashed.
Kill two boys.
Maybe don't wear the boom shirt.
Was this in Netflix?
Yes.
Netflix.
That's even crazier.
Yeah.
It's freaking, you know, this is a documentary.
People like wardrobe is a huge thing.
And like the emphasis that they have on lighting.
Like if you see some of these like setups for these documentaries behind the scenes,
the amount of lights, it's like 10% room, 90% lights and camera crew studio.
Like it's just so intense.
Everything is to the T.
Yeah.
And I'm sure they don't have like a makeup team.
You know, documentary interviewees, but like it's still a big day on the calendar that
you think of and you plan ahead of time and you're like, okay, well, I need to wear something
that is.
Yeah.
But no, he wears a boom shirt.
It's a shirt that reads boom on there.
It looks like a graphic T and he's wearing this throughout the Netflix documentary and
netizens have thoughts ranging anywhere from it's just a shirt to he's an art teacher.
He's trained in media literacy.
He did this on purpose and it's wild.
Another one reads, it feels like he's making a joke about his daughter.
His actions.
Maybe I'm reading into it, but it's not a good look.
Another says their level of immaturity in that family runs deep.
Another says zero situational awareness whatsoever, to which later Steve does an interview where
he's asked about this boom shirt, but not before he very sarcastically points out.
So in this new interview after Netflix, he's wearing this solid orange polo shirt.
So it's got the polo logo, but most like just mainly orange, right?
He says, is this okay?
I don't want to trigger anybody in this world and I'm wearing this orange polo.
I hope it's, you know, I'm not colorblind.
They're blind enough for anybody.
Oh, the shirt I was wearing is from drip drop.
So the boom shirt, he's like, it's from this drip drop, which is crime circus on YouTube.
Crime circus has been a defender for my daughter.
He's been made many posts saying she's innocent and he shows the evidence and he contradicts
what people say.
There is a YouTuber defending Mackenzie Shirella?
Like way before the Netflix documentary, like during the trial as it was happening, I believe.
And this is their merch?
It's one of their merch.
I mean, people have been saying he's got tons.
of merch you could have chosen from? This is the merch
was related to this case no no okay unrelated to this case still crazy yeah and yeah yeah he's like
you know he shows the evidence he contradicts people that who say no she's guilty blah blah
blah and he goes no you have to look at this and this about a month after her trial one of his
posts showed up with us somebody had sent it to us and he had found five six videos interviews
from the strongsville police department that were not in discovery or were not in the discovery that
we could find and he says that in those videos people allude to mckenzie passing out and having
seizures so it's like it's a very lengthy police discussion with angela which is dom's brother
and he like alludes like yeah i've heard about mckenzie passing out and having seizures right
or whatever but he's saying like oh that's proof regardless i don't really think it's that
pertinent because the verdict did come out the way it did come out he's saying that he didn't
get it in discovery which i mean if that's true that's
a huge huge allegation and i would imagine that their appeal would go forward but it hasn't so far
i mean they're going to the supreme court but it's just a huge allegation that i i don't know
because i don't know what they got in discovery right when i i mean i got it when we did the foia
request i didn't particularly find anything in there nefarious like you know the points where
i was talking about in the last episode where dom's mom was saying oh i'm not even worried
about mckenzie's attorney he's not a concern for me they kind of took it as oh they're not
everything is rigged i took it more as like she found out who the charilla's hired i don't think
she's the one that told them to hire them and then she's like i don't think he's a great attorney i
think that was the vibe i got yeah of like he's not like this crazy he's not fucking mark agnifilo
probably anyway back to the shirt he said the shirt was crime circus's logo and one of his
swag that he sells so i wore the shirt to say thank you for what he was doing for my daughter
and he's done a lot if i see him i'm gonna hug him that's the first thing i'm gonna do he's been a
daughter and the lack of evidence to support the charges so that's what the shirt was about
not me being colorblind to two boys dying because it was horrible a day doesn't go by that i don't
think about it and that was one of the toughest things for me to do with this whole thing at the
beginning was how can i be happy that my daughter is alive and breathing and the fact that these two
boys died the shirt was a thank you to crime circus it wasn't me being colorblind or insensitive to
anybody because that's the most idiotic because oh my god why would i do that that's got to be
the dumbest take on that shirt and again but you did
you did wear that yeah and then apologize yeah you can still explain but just apologize that
was his apology and then he hits it with a you know and again everyone this is orange i'm sorry
if it's offensive i apologize now they're just so not likable they're making everything not
regarding to the case or legal side of it they're just such unlikable people yeah they're people
that i would not want to spend any second of my free time with willingly like probably the only
time i would spend time with them is if i were forced to be in a jail cell with them
for whatever reason that would be it like you really they just are not fun people yeah i just
wouldn't spend any free time with them they're just very unlikable people in another comment
it reads he's the type of dad that joins his daughter's only fans account for quote support
that comment got like 48 000 likes so this is a sentiment that i mean i don't know you describe
a lot but that to me is a lot of people that liked it mckenzie's dad steve shirilla says again am i
a perfect parent no and natalie is like backing him up and she's like no but i'm not a perfect parent
nobody is no one is have i made mistakes with my kids sure it's it's like life you know mckenzie's
mom natalie butson but she wasn't a bad kid she didn't need to be disciplined a lot you know i
mean she i mean the only the worst is her mouth and clearly our definitions of good parenting and
bad kid are so vastly different that one of us might be reading the dictionary and the other
party might be reading the freaking hobbit because like what do you mean but this is where i'm going
to leave you with the first half of part three in the next part we're going to dive into some of the
more talked about topics that i'm going to be talking about in the next part and i'm going to
text exchanges between mckenzie and her dad the infamous warm milk text messages at 3 a.m and why
people have been commenting things such as mckenzie's dad is the type of dad to join her
only fans account for quote support so with that being said stay tuned for the second half of part
three and i'll see you in the next one
Thank you.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The documentary highlights how the Mackenzie Shirilla case sparked intense public scrutiny, with her parents choosing to remain vocal despite facing backlash, including online harassment and accusations of inappropriate relationships.
Despite the conviction, Mackenzie and her parents maintain that the crash was an accident, with Steve Shirilla arguing the prosecution lacked evidence of intent, and emphasizing the absence of proof regarding her actions or remorse.
The parents’ public statements, interviews, and social media activity—such as sharing personal details, wearing controversial clothing, and defending their daughter—have been widely criticized as unlikable, self-serving, and contributing to a narrative of emotional and moral imbalance.
Summary:
The Mackenzie Shirilla case centers on a 17-year-old girl convicted of murdering her boyfriend Dom and friend Davion after a high-speed crash. Despite her conviction, Mackenzie and her parents, Steve and Natalie Shirilla, maintain it was an accident, asserting no intent or evidence of wrongdoing. Throughout the case, the parents have repeatedly defended their daughter through public interviews and social media, including a viral Netflix documentary.
This behavior has drawn widespread criticism, with netizens accusing them of immaturity, emotional manipulation, and inappropriate conduct—such as Steve wearing a "boom" shirt and joining his daughter’s OnlyFans account. The parents’ claims are met with skepticism, especially as they fail to address key evidence or provide credible alternatives to the prosecution’s narrative. The case reveals how public discourse, fueled by misinformation and emotional reactivity, can overshadow factual accountability.
Critics argue that the parents’ persistent public engagement only amplifies the perception of guilt and undermines trust. The narrative is further complicated by intimate details, like Snapchat messages showing Mackenzie’s comments on relationships, drug use, and modeling school, which suggest a complex, conflicted adolescence. Despite these, the core issue remains: the parents’ refusal to remain silent, even in the face of condemnation, underscores a broader theme—sometimes, silence is more powerful than speech, especially when confronting trauma and public judgment.
FAQs
In many cases, silence can be strategically beneficial. Defense attorneys often argue that how a person comes across to the jury is more important than what they say on the stand. Testifying may highlight inconsistencies or emotional reactions, and in some cases, it’s simply not worth the risk of damaging credibility.
No, Mackenzie Shirilla did not testify. Her case proceeded as a bench trial, meaning the judge, not a jury, decided the outcome. She remained silent throughout the proceedings.
The parents' attempts to share their side of the story have drawn strong negative reactions, including accusations of inappropriate relationships, social media rumors, and public ridicule. Some people even claim the parents are trying to manipulate the narrative.
Their persistent public commentary—such as defending their daughter's innocence and criticizing the trial's fairness—has been seen as intense or emotionally charged. Critics argue that this behavior fuels outrage and appears to be more about persuasion than factual evidence.
Steve Shirilla stated there was no evidence to support claims that Mackenzie was dangerous or lacked remorse. He argued that the prosecution's narrative was built on speculation, not facts, and that the black box data did not prove intent.
Mackenzie’s parents have faced criticism for their social media presence, including wearing a 'boom' shirt in a documentary and joining her OnlyFans account. These actions have been interpreted as immature, insensitive, or politically motivated, sparking online backlash.
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