The Strongsville Police Department in Ohio released approximately 32,000 text messages and recorded jail calls on May 27, 2026, from the case of Mackenzie Shirilla, who was convicted of murder for a fatal 2022 car crash.
The newly available evidence includes exchanges between Shirilla and her late boyfriend, Dominic Russo, weeks before the high-speed collision that also killed friend Davion Flanagan.
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The text messages reveal that Shirilla discussed losing awareness shortly before the incident occurred in Strongsville, Ohio.
"Scared it's just gonna get worse," Shirilla stated in one message.
The conversation escalated into a dispute after Russo suggested a vitamin deficiency might be affecting her cerebral blood flow.
"Keep treating me like this see where that gets you," Shirilla replied.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that Shirilla deliberately accelerated the vehicle to 100 MPH into a building without braking, using surveillance and phone data as key evidence.
The defense argued the crash was not planned, and Shirilla's mother said the teenager suffered from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), which causes rapid heart rates and dizziness.
The filmmakers behind the Netflix documentary "The Crash," Gareth Johnson and Angharad Scott, had prior access to these files through local law enforcement during production.
"None of this material is new," they stated.
The production team reviewed the correspondence from a neutral perspective to understand how prosecutors built their case, focusing on the year before the crash.
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"We mainly looked at correspondence dating back a year before the crash," the filmmakers said.
The directors noted that their review analyzed both positive and negative interactions within the relationships involved.
"We examined the positive and negative exchanges within the relationships involved," they stated.
The filmmakers emphasized their commitment to factual accuracy and context, contrasting their methods with online discussions.
"We looked at the evidence from a position of neutrality," they said.
The team warned that unverified social media analysis often distorts the reality of the incident.
"When we make a documentary, we fact-check everything, and we do not take messages out of context," they stated.
The creators said misinformation complicates public understanding of the fatal event.
"Social media doesn't stick to these guidelines, so misinformation can quickly spread — and this isn't helpful to anyone involved in this tragedy," they added.
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Shirilla is currently serving two concurrent life sentences for the murders and will become eligible for parole in 2037.
