Dominic Russo’s sister reflects on fatal crash and Mackenzie Shirilla

(NewsNation) — The sister of Dominic Russo is speaking amid the release of a new Netflix documentary that explores his death in a fatal car crash in 2022 and the investigation into his then-girlfriend Mackenzie Shirilla. Shirilla was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in 2023 after being found guilty of murder in connection with a crash that killed Russo and Davion Flanagan inside her car. Investigators say Shirilla, who was out for an early-morning drive with the pair in July 2022, intentionally accelerated to 100 mph before slamming into a brick wall. She was found guilty of four counts of murder in what prosecutors called an “intentional act.” Russo’s sister, Christine, tells NewsNation affiliate WKYC that she is keeping busy amid the spotlight that has been cast on her brother’s death with the release of “The Crash.” Nearly four years on, Russo says she holds mixed feelings towards Shirilla. “I’m torn, too; sometimes I hate her and sometimes I feel bad for the entire situation. My thoughts are this never should have happened,” Russo said. “My brother should be alive. Davion should be alive.” Russo said her family is still searching for closure and just wants to know what happened in the car that day. “It’s hard to have such anger for her sometimes. I feel bad for the entire situation, but at the same time I know how narcissists and sociopaths are — and she clearly is one of them. She’s a psychopath, a stone-cold psychopath,” Russo said. “She keeps appealing and appealing. She’s rotten to the core. Sometimes I feel bad. Sometimes I wish I didn’t hear her name anymore.” Russo’s sentiments are echoed by Shirilla’s former prison mate, Kat Crowder, who tells NewsNation she saw no signs of remorse while inside with the convicted killer. “When Mackenzie first walked out in the documentary, my jaw dropped because that was not the person that I saw in prison when I was with her. She walked around in a very light demeanor,” Crowder said. Crowder spent six months in prison with Shirilla. “It was never this dark, smug, tough girl act that was in this video trying to portray some sort of remorse… From my observations, there was never any, you know, behaviors that looked like somebody who was remorseful,” Crowder added. Crowder said other inmates told her Shirilla allegedly said she was high during the crash. “I do say that she wanted to be like Regina George. I mean, just the way that she did her makeup, the way that she, I mean, it was like she was going out to a club or something,” Crowder added of Shirilla’s disposition in prison. Following her brother’s death, Russo said she launched a podcast on YouTube known as “Big Sister Unhinged” so that people had a place to find “the correct truth and correct information.” “I started it to make sure that my brother’s legacy and reputation stay where they should be,” Russo said. “I also started it to see if I could just tell people, too, there are certain things on the internet that people put out for attention that is just so cruel. Like certain videos of my stepmom or my dad finding out that Dom passed. I just wanted to spread awareness on not clicking on those things and not giving that kind of disgusting thing attention.”